Category: Business

How To Market Your Business On TikTok
For some, TikTok may just be another video app for teens laced with sounds, lip-syncing effects, and elaborate transitions. Perhaps it’s for that reason why not many business owners consider this social media platform as a potential way to introduce their brand to a broader and more versatile audience. If you’d take the time and effort to understand these short mobile videos app, you might be surprised how they can help your business market bigger and better.

Understanding TikTok Platform

Before diving into the swarm of short videos and possibly getting muted with the loud noise of the TikTok platform, it’s best to explore first and understand how it works. You can create a small business account on the app to study how each video is made and for what purpose. Try to look around at what other brands are doing and notice the traction they’re making. Get a feel of the strategies used by watching a couple of videos.

Once you think you’ve already seen a ton of videos, you may try creating one using your phone. It doesn’t have to be a professionally taken video. The goal is to have an experience and see how easy or difficult it is. Add music or effect that you fancy and post them if you like. If you think you’re not ready for others to see it yet, you may delete it and create a new one later. The important thing is you get to know the level of skill it requires.

If you’re from England, you can opt to hire a marketing expert from Bristol marketing agency and others to help you get started on promoting your brand on TikTok.

Creating Fun And Creative Content

One key aspect you need to remember about TikTok is that the platform is all about creating fun and creative content. Users go there to watch entertaining stuff, and that’s exactly what you need to provide if you want to keep utilizing this social media tool. There isn’t even a need to make the content highly polished or near to perfection. Users would know and appreciate content that’s fueled by creativity and entertainment.

The challenge is to make your video as lighthearted and brief as possible. The longest time allowed for creating TikTok content is up to a minute only, which means you need to come up with a marketing strategy that’d fit in this length without compromising the message you want to convey. The key is to highlight your product or brand authentically.

Taking Advantage Of The Hashtag Feature

Just like other social media platforms, TikTok makes use of a wonderful feature called the hashtag. Before anything else, it’s important to research what hashtags are currently trending and how you can relate them to your business. Trending hashtags are most likely the kind of content active users view consistently. They’re popular for a reason, so you should use that to your advantage.

Be careful not to add hashtags just because they’re popular. You can’t afford to disappoint users by misleading them about your content just so you can have more views. When that happens, you can’t expect those users to come back or view your content again. The hashtags you’ll use shouldn’t just be popular but also relevant to your brand in a creative way.

One great way to utilize this feature is to create a hashtag challenge for your followers and customers. They can curate content and use your hashtags whenever they post their videos. This is a proven and highly effective way to market your brand without directly selling it to your customers. Your followers will do the marketing for you, and what’s more, it looks more genuine and natural.

Advertising On The Platform

Aside from creating organic content, you can also tap into the business feature of TikTok, which is their ad platform. There are several ways to advertise on TikTok, and these are:
- Native ad: This is a skippable type of ad that pops up in between user content.
- Brand takeover: The brand takeover ad appears when a user launches the app on their device. If you’re making an exclusive offer, you can place a landing page on this ad.
- Branded lens: This is an ad feature that lets brands design filters that resonate with their audience. Users can choose to add these filters to their content.
- Sponsored hashtag challenge: This is an excellent idea if you want to increase awareness and engagement with your brand. You can sponsor a hashtag challenge that users can join in and discover on the Discover page of the app.
Conclusion

TikTok is quickly becoming a powerful social media tool for online marketing that can be an effective and helpful way to market your brand. Just be sure to be authentic and creative when making your videos. Utilize features such as hashtags and ad platforms to make your marketing strategies be more visible and felt.
August 11, 2021
Professional Tips To Know Before Starting Your Own Business Online

Starting an online business is not as easy as many people think it is. You don’t just need a website. Like any other business, you need an overall plan to successfully launch an online business. Research shows that almost 80% of start-ups fail within a year because of a lack of planning. Still, don’t panic! Just start planning now and use the following tips as a guide.

Research Well

Just like you have to research a company before an interview, you have to research your competitors before starting a company. Believe it or not, your unique idea could have been implemented before, which means you already have competition. Still, that doesn’t mean you should give up on your idea. Myspace started the idea of social media first, but it was Facebook that reaped the benefits. So starting first doesn’t mean success; it only means you have a competitor you need to properly research and study.

Choose a Business Model

What kind of business do you intend to start online? Is it a membership site or maybe an online store? If you decide on building a membership site, don’t confuse it with subscription sites as they are different models. Membership sites are more dependent on loyalty as you support a brand or a cause that you like; on the other hand, you pay a monthly subscription for any service on a subscription-based website, so it is not a long-term commitment. For example, Sephora.com is a membership-based service while Netflix is a subscription-based service.

Understand Your Audience

As a business owner, you need to have a certain buyer persona in mind in order to successfully launch your business. Think about who your audience will be, their age, hobbies, work, concerns, monthly income, abilities, etc. The more details you have in mind, the better it is to plan your marketing strategies.

Set Up Your Mission and Vision

Your mission statement is your ‘Why.’ It is what differentiates you from others in your field. Why is what you are doing important to people? Why should people support you? The answer to these questions is what connects people to your brand and sets you apart from others. To help you understand more, read about Coca-Cola’s mission statement and its implementation. The company’s mission statement is to refresh the world and create happy moments, which is exactly the image people associate the brand with.

Set Up A Business Plan

Now that you know your competitors and your mission, it is time to set up a business plan with all the requirements of every aspect of your business. What is your product? Where will you get the funds? Will you need human resources during the first stage? You will also have to think about the legal steps you need to take to register your business in your country. Even online companies require specific procedures for registration, so consult your lawyer or ask for legal help if you need to.

Analyze All Risks

There are many risks you have to keep in mind as an entrepreneur. Perform a SWOT analysis of all the opportunities, risks, threats, weaknesses, and strengths you can think of for your business. Then, think about the insurance policies your business may need to cover some of the risks. For example, if you have a machine that your production process depends on, you might have to buy a machinery all-risk insurance policy.

Calculate Your Human Resource Needs

Usually, start-ups don’t need many resources, so focus on your minimal needs to keep the ship going with minimal expenses. As a business owner, you are not expected to know every aspect of the business; however, you are expected to have the skills to analyze the elements you need help with. For example, search for an accountant if you don’t trust yourself with numbers. On the other hand, if you are good at writing, you might not need a content writer at first.

Additionally, think about the legal aspect of your business. Do you know a good lawyer who can handle things like contracts, business registration, etc.? If not, you might have to ask around.

Set Up Your Website

An online business depends heavily on the website, which means you need to think thoroughly about how your website should look and what resources you need to build it successfully. If you only have one service, then you will need a static website, which means you might not need much help in terms of technology. If so, think about using services that help you set your website easily, like Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress. Still, don’t use their basic themes. A tailored website with a specific logo and design ensures you have an identity that people can connect with. So even if you manage to save up on IT help by using a content management system, hire a web designer and an illustrator to design your logo and site structure.

Ask for Advice

As an entrepreneur, you don’t have to think that you always need to do everything by yourself. It is easy to stumble and fall if you increase the burden on yourself. Instead, relax and look for others who made it and seek their advice when needed. Ask around your industry for successful individuals who can help you and attend their webinars, workshops, and events for some insight. You can also hire a coach to help you if you feel direct advice is what you need.

Finally, try not to be too intimidated by the idea of starting your own business that you end up giving up before you even take your first steps. If you have read this far, there is a good chance you already have a plan in mind. Keep that plan and take notes on how to develop and improve it further. Think of becoming your own boss as a new challenge and do everything to succeed. Have the discipline needed to follow all the steps above, and you will easily map your way to success.

August 11, 2021
Learn Here How To Make Better Marketing Decisions

Marketing is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of business that people should work on. Without proper marketing, it wouldn’t matter if your business provides the best services or goods in the field. People are still going to choose other brands that are more visible than yours.

For the most part, marketing is about making your business stand out using a selection of materials that strive to catch the audience’s attention. It’s easier said than done, of course, which is why it takes people years before they can master the art of marketing.

Many factors affect the success of a marketing campaign. In truth, it’s mainly about the decisions you make for the campaign that results in its rewards. If you want to make better marketing decisions, then here are a few things that you need to consider.

Help Your Customers Make Decisions As Well

Marketing all comes down to getting people to buy your products or services. It’s about helping them decide who to support in the industry your business is in. It would be a good idea to help them make the decision with a little practice called direct response marketing.

This form of marketing is about creating a sense of urgency for your customers when they stumble upon your services or products online. In essence, direct response marketing in 2021 is effective because people are always on their smartphones. As such, there are plenty of opportunities to give them that sense of urgency the practice is about.

A good way to do direct response marketing is by giving them flash deals on your website. Wow them with statements like “order within the next 20 minutes for a 10% discount!” These statements will help people see the importance of making a transaction with your business as soon as possible.

Use Analytics

Your marketing campaigns should never be supported by what you think is effective. It should be about what the number says is effective. Many business owners don’t see the merit in using analytical tools. For them, these are confusing data that can only make marketing strategies more complex.

In truth, however, data is the most important aspect of a marketing campaign. If you want to make better decisions for your marketing campaign, you need to use analytical tools to see the type of people your business appeals to. The numbers should support every decision you make for your marketing.

Many tools will allow you to analyze and put your data to good use. Even simple solutions like Google Analytics and Facebook’s Business platform will help make your marketing campaigns better. Don’t be afraid of data, as it’s one of the most important aspects of a business.

Be Dynamic

The thing about consumers is that they can be fickle. What’s in for the one-second may be off-putting the next. Being just as dynamic when it comes to your marketing strategies is one way to show that you are more than capable of giving them whatever they want when they want it.

Understand that marketing strategies aren’t always about long thought-out campaigns. It’s also about abrupt changes that you make to your current marketing techniques that matter too. Always make room for adjustments, and keep in mind that your marketing decisions are never really final.

Look At The Competition

It pays to be mindful of what your competitors are doing. Don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from what they are doing with regards to their marketing campaigns. Analyze what they are and what they aren’t doing properly. Use your observations to fuel your next marketing campaign.

By competition, you should look towards what your direct and indirect competitors are doing. You should also look at what the big leagues in your industry are doing because whatever it is, they’ve done with their campaigns. It helped them reach where they are today.

You shouldn’t exactly copy what your competitors do. You can draw inspiration from them, however. In cases like these, it pays to be late to the party because you can see what everyone else is already doing.

Expand Your Marketing Campaign To New Mediums

When people think about marketing, they usually think about making ads for social media nowadays. However, there are many forms of digital and traditional marketing that you might want to consider. Being as flexible about these options is a good way to make your marketing campaign more aggressive and effective.

For instance, try email marketing for a change. Many people think that email is dead, but this is quite different from reality. In truth, email marketing is a good way to generate direct leads. The reason why so many businesses rely on email marketing is that it has proven itself useful over the last couple of years.

This helps you make better decisions eventually because you get to see what your customers are looking for a lot easier. The broader your marketing campaign is, the more opportunities you have to know what else you can do to help your strategies become more effective.

Be More Open About The Idea Of Others

Last but not least – listen to others. Creating a good marketing campaign means understanding what a lot of people are hoping to see. You alone aren’t capable of thinking what everyone else is thinking. Be open to the insights of others as they themselves could provide useful tips on what you should and shouldn’t do.

Marketing is a team-based task. The more great minds are working on a project, the more successful it can become. No man is an island when it comes to marketing.

Making better decisions for your marketing campaign does sound tough, but that doesn’t mean it’s not doable. These tips hope to make you a better marketer one day. There are many decisions to be made when doing marketing, and making each one count can make a lot of difference when it comes to results.

August 11, 2021
Learn How To Manage Your Company’s Website And Attract More People
The digital world offers so many spectacular opportunities, of course, to those who are ready to implement them. Nowadays, it seems like a lot of people think it is relatively easy to market your business and attract new consumers.

But is it really like that? Depends on who you’re asking. For instance, younger people are constantly changing their strategies, thinking that the next one is better than the previous method, however, that’s not the case with more experienced individuals.

They have already developed a couple of tactics that work for them perfectly. If you want to know their secret, then you’ll just have to scroll below because all the answers are right there. Let’s check them out together!

Smart Ways To Attract New Audience To Your Website

Blogging

If you’re truly serious about this whole thing, then you should definitely turn to blogging right away! Many experts claim that it is one of the best drivers to traffic when it comes to the internet.

More importantly, a lot of successful people tend to say that precisely blogs have helped them advertise their products, services, and brand and eventually become widely popular. Of course, in order to be a good blogger, you have to constantly work on yourself, analyze everything related to your line of work and try out many topics to see what works perfectly well and what doesn’t.

Consider Hiring An E-Commerce SEO Company

Unless you are extremely familiar with SEO, having an SEO expert by your side is always a great idea if you want to attract new customers. Fortunately, there are a lot of reputable, skilled, and experienced SEO companies, like this eCommerce SEO Agency that can actually help you optimize your website the right way. So what are the benefits of an SEO company?

Certainly, one of the biggest ones is the fact you can efficiently and easily attract and keep new consumers, which is the whole point of having an E-Commerce business. At times, business owners find it difficult to drive a maximum number of people to their site, which is why you should consult with an E-commerce agency.

Bear in mind that developing an SEO strategy is not a piece of cake and a lot of business owners tend to focus on their business only. An expert who knows what he or she is doing is going to help you create a superb strategy that will help you increase the number of crucial visitors to your web page.

Adding More Ways That Can Benefit You?

Advertise

Advertising can be done in so many ways and if you do it the right way, it can be very effective. Social media advertising paid search, as well as display advertising all represent the methods you can utilize to attract more people.

The point is to adjust some of these paid strategies to match your goals. Ask yourself, do you want just to have more traffic, or to also increase conversions? Whatever you decide, remember that every paid channel has both negative and positive traits, so be very careful when opting for one.

Furthermore, if your goal is to have more traffic to your website then you will have to target commercial intent keywords. Yes, the truth is, competition for most of these search terms can be very tough, however, it’s definitely worth it.

Create Your Buyer Personas

This should serve as some sort of guiding light in practically everything you do. Namely, these personas are supposed to represent a perfect consumer. If you want to attract more visitors to your site, you should first learn all about these types of people, what are their habits, aspirations and needs.

Moreover, precisely these buyer personas are going to guide the content creation and make sure you are developing crucial and precise content. There are some questions that need to be asked before you start identifying this persona. This is how they’re supposed to look like:
- What is their title or job?
- Do you consider them to be your champion?
- What does professional success mean to these people?
- Do they have any challenges, and if they do, what are the biggest ones?
- What types of messages resonate with these individuals?
- What’s their favorite type of communication? Is it phone, email or something else?
- What kind of struggles do they have on a daily basis?
Get Social

These days, a lot of entrepreneurs turn to social media when they want to take their company to the next level. With their help, you can easily attract essential traffic by sharing enticing content from your web page.

It can be in the articles or blogs you have written. No matter what you choose, just don’t forget your main goal, which is traffic growth of course. Now, just because you are relying on social media platforms, it doesn’t mean that you should neglect your website.

At the end of the day, it is the only virtual place you can actually control one hundred percent. Unfortunately, there are a lot of business owners who almost instantly turn to social media without even owning a website.

Bear in mind that these platforms should be utilized as a way to attract new consumers to your websites. Luckily, advertising on social media is far from expensive. For instance, on Facebook, you can do it with just one dollar per day.

Consider Having A Link Building Campaign

This represents a process of gaining links that point directly to your web page from other sites. These are also known as backlinks. Certainly one of the best ways to earn them is to tie business activities precisely to link building. Besides that, you can also do this:
1. Ask people you already know to mention your website on their sites
2. Promote your content to consumers that are highly likely to link to it
3. Have solid relationships with other companies from your industry
4. List your corporation is trustworthy and authoritative business directories
Attracting a new audience to your website doesn’t just happen overnight, however, as you can see, there are so many excellent strategies that can help you accomplish that. Just remember, even when you succeed, your job isn’t done!
August 11, 2021
How to Get Started With Online Marketing?

Online marketing is already becoming more and more essential not only for businesses but even for influencers and individuals. This can be attributed to the fact that several people now rely on the internet to find any information, product, or service that they need. If you want to get started with online marketing, below are some of the most useful tips that you need to keep in mind.

Establish an online presence.

One of the primary things that you need to do to get started with online marketing is to establish an online presence. Regardless of whether you are an individual attempting to build followers or a business trying to pique the interest of your target audience, the first thing that you need to focus on is your presence online. In this way, people will be able to find you whenever they search for any information, product, or service related to your brand.

To do this, you can begin with building a website that you can customize to suit the needs of your brand. You should also take the time to build a social media presence on different platforms to target the audience that you want to captivate. This will allow you to show people active in the digital world what your brand is all about, as well as what you are capable of bringing to their plate.

Familiarize yourself with the latest trends.

Another thing that you can do to help you get started with online marketing is to familiarize yourself with the latest trends in the industry. Keep in mind that the trends in digital marketing are always changing, which is why you need to exert extra effort to be on top of these trends. To be able to do this, you can explore online sources. This is where you may come across the Marketing Training by Flint McGlaughlin which can provide you with a good insight on what you need to know to get started with online marketing and eventually reap the fruits of your labor. Apart from online classes and virtual pieces of training though, you can also consult with the experts who will be able to mentor you and guide you every step of the way.

Study analytics.

In the future, for you to have a good idea as to whether your online marketing efforts are successful or not, you should have a good understanding of analytics. Thereby, early on before you even begin your online marketing journey, you already need to familiarize yourself with this aspect. With analytics, you will be able to know what your data says about your campaign, as well as which aspects you need to further improve.

Get certified.

There is also the option for you to get certified in online marketing for you to be able to begin with it seamlessly. When you do acquire certifications, it means that you have to undergo pieces of training and courses that will help you pass the assessments for you to get the certificate. With the knowledge that you acquire from the courses, you will be able to begin your online marketing journey more seamlessly. Just keep in mind to be keen on applying all that you have learned.

Let your creative juices out.

While there are certain guidelines that you need to follow when it comes to online marketing, you should also allow your creative juices to flow. This means that for you to begin and become successful with online marketing, you should not limit yourself to what you can do just to conform to the traditional means of digital marketing. After all, your contemporary ideas can just be the key to set you apart from your competitors.

Launch your brand again.

When it comes to online marketing, there is the option for you to try and launch your brand again like a new product. This will allow you to begin anew in your journey to online marketing campaigns. As much as possible, apply what you have learned from the courses and the virtual pieces of training you have attended when it comes to launching your brand like a new product.

Think of something worth the buzz.

In conjunction with launching your brand again, it is also a good idea to try and come up with something that people will talk about to begin your online marketing journey. When you have something that your competitors lack, then there is a great chance for you to get ahead of them as your target market will most likely talk about your brand more. This means though that you need to exert the effort to figure out things that will prove to be unique and contemporary, worth talking about.

Drive referral traffic from the best sites.

To begin with online marketing, you should also have an idea as to how you will be able to drive referral traffic from the best sites. In this case, you can try to learn what content syndication is all about. In a gist, it will allow you to take one of your articles and distribute it to various sites at once. However, you have to be careful about how you implement this because it can contradict your SEO efforts.

Work with other online marketing specialists.

Finally, there is always the option for you to work with other online marketing specialists who will be able to help you jump-start an effective online marketing campaign. In this case, you may explore how to become a guest post in one of the most credible websites relevant in your industry. If you provide excellent content, other sites will regularly invite you to post eventually

To get started with online marketing, you first need to establish an online presence and familiarize yourself with the latest trends. Take the time to study analytics as well and strive to get certified. This will help you get your creative juices out in launching your brand again or coming up with something worth talking about. From there, understand how to drive referral traffic from the best sites or work with other online marketing specialists. All these are geared to jumpstart your online marketing venture seamlessly.

August 8, 2021
7 Important Things You Have to Know about the Stationery Design

Marketing is one of the most crucial aspects of a business. As a business owner, you need to create a good strategy that exposes your products or services to as many people as possible. It takes a lot of time and effort to come up with a marketing plan, not to mention a lot of money. One of the most affordable approaches to branding your business is stationery design.

Stationery includes various items that display the company logo, contact details, and any other information that you deem necessary. It ranges from customized business cards to letterheads, invoices, notepads, envelopes, and much more. Stationery design is the easiest, most cost-effective form of marketing your business. Business owners invest in it to engrave their brand in customers’ minds, but they have to be smart about it. If done right, stationery design can be the perfect tool for your business’s exposure. Here are a few important things to know about stationery design.

Decide on Brand Identity

The first thing you need to decide is what you want people to grasp when looking at your company’s stationery design. Your logo is the first element that captures the eye, so you need to think long and hard about your brand identity before you create your design. Remember to integrate your logo in every stationery item, whether printing it as a background for maximum visibility or using the conventional corner placement. Keep your target audience in mind when designing your logo; you need to establish the message you want to convey through your stylistic choices. A law firm may want to consider a professional, classic font with neat borders, while an advertising agency may go for a more casual design.

Choose a Uniform Design

When you’re in the designing stage, you must consider how it will look on different stationery items. What works on a business card may not fit on a pen; you can end up with an extremely tight design or an overly stretched one. The folks at junocreative.net.au believe your design showcases your brand as a symbol for your business’s visual identity. The design phase calls for experimentation; don’t be scared to try out various styles. Have a couple of designs and test them with a few of your friends and colleagues. After you’re set on the best version, make sure to use the same design for all of your stationery. This will reflect your company’s attention to detail, making your work look professional. Having a uniform stationery design speaks volumes about your company’s image.

Aim for Quality

Your business stationery is the face of your brand to any customer or collaborator, so you wouldn’t want to skimp on the materials. You’d want people to admire the quality of your design and the materials used for your stationery; otherwise, it will be discarded as soon as you hand it out. Using high-quality printing material reflects the standards your company lives by and sends the message that you are serious about what you do. This is one of the elements that you should consider spending some cash on because a good first impression attracts customers to your brand.

Be Clear and Concise

You’d want to have a design that gives a good idea about your brand without crowding it with too many details. It’s important to include your contact details and address with the logo if you’re printing a business card, letterhead, or invoice; it might not be necessary to include all that on a pen. Maintain a neat and brief design to convey a clear message that people can easily understand. Don’t use too many font variations in your design; limit them to 2 or 3 at the most. Make sure to leave some space between your words for a more welcoming design. You want your content to stand out with a neat eye-grabbing style to highlight it.

Think about Colors

You should consider a couple of factors when choosing your design’s color and how the content is visualized. Don’t be afraid to use colors, but choose wisely depending on your type of business. It’s perfectly fine to use classic colors when you’re running a corporate firm, but it’s appropriate to experiment with bolder colors if your brand calls for it. When choosing colors for your design, make sure they complement the color of your stationery. The final design should stand out without being too flashy. You want the first look at your stationery design to create a good long-term impression, which increases your chances of getting customers as well as partners for your business.

Consider the Visuals

Another thing to keep in mind is the order of your written text. Make sure to emphasize the most important information first using bigger font size and minimize the rest of the information gradually, which ensures a smooth flow of reading. You can use delicate elements to support your design like borders or patterns, creating a theme that’s found on all your stationery, which highlights your brand. Take care to not overdo it or use all the options in one design. Try different templates and add or remove different styles to give you an idea of how to best design your stationery.

Be Different

You don’t have to replicate anyone’s design even if it belonged to a major company. You can use templates to get you started, but try to apply your personal touch as much as you can. After all, you need to make your stationery appeal to customers and business partners. Don’t feel the need to go over the top with shiny colors and glossy business cards, but don’t play it safe either. Try to find the right balance that suits your line of business and makes you stand out.

Finally, it may seem like a lot of work to design your stationery, but it’s actually less time-consuming and more cost-effective than many marketing strategies. It’s the easiest, most effective form of marketing because it’s the first thing that a client sees in your company. People will remember your catchy logo and striking design. That will make them want to know more about what you have to offer.

August 7, 2021