Category: Strategies

Marketing is more complicated than it used to be thanks to the introduction to social media and internet advertising. With so many avenues to market a single product or business, it’s more important than ever for your team to establish a workflow that increases overall efficiency. To reduce deadline stress, use these 6 methods to streamline your digital marketing efforts.

1. Use the Right Tools to Stay Productive

Reducing the amount of software you use can instantly make your team more productive. For example, if the bulk of your digital marketing force switched to one social scheduling tool, they could drag and drop each piece of content inside of this program. It can be difficult for each member of your team to stay up-to-date with all of their business clients if they’re switching back and forth, so ask your clients to conform to your methods, not the other way around. Plus, your team won’t have to be trained on a new scheduling tool every time you sign a new contract.

2. Create a Shared Workspace

Keep a schedule for your team to keep track of, whether you’re by yourself or have a small marketing team. There are multiple calendar programs available to suit your needs. Even something as simple as Google Calendar can keep everyone on track for each promotion. With a schedule, it will be easier to adjust changes on the fly, which will result in fewer missed deadlines. It may also be necessary to store marketing content as it’s being created on a shared online workspace, like on Trello, to brainstorm ideas before they’re concrete and ready to post.

3. Establish a Digital Marketing Guideline

Define your marketing process with your team to reduce the number of questions or internal conflicts that could arise between clients or project heads. Consider creating a shared resource on Google Docs or via the Cloud to establish what brand voice you want to make. For example, your branding’s tone and voice should all be the same across each marketing platform, so customers immediately recognize your products. You may also want to jot down grammar and punctuation rules, continent creation guidelines, and the approval process for editors.

4. Choose the Appropriate Marketing Channels

Sometimes streamlining your digital marketing efforts can come from reducing the number of places you post advertisements. For example, traditional marketing (billboards, radio, television) should be reduced where necessary because it’s expensive and only reaches local customers. Spreading yourself too thin on social media platforms could also cause chaos and increase the urge to cut corners. Email marketing may be appropriate if you have a website because it gives direct access to your customer base. Adjust so you only hit the platforms that will benefit you.

5. Set Goals for Your Team Members 

All businesses should create an atmosphere that’s goal and achievement base to know what they want to accomplish. Try not to set a goal that is difficult to obtain, like hitting 100k followers on Instagram in the next month when your business only has 5K. Instead, ask your team to reach 10K in 2 months or after a month-long campaign, as that is less overwhelming and achievable. Create goals associated with boosting brand recognition, driving traffic, promotion, conversion, and engagement because they will get you to that follower milestone.

6. Choose Whether to Outsource, Automate, or Hire

As a new business, you may not have a full team of employees. If you do, you may start questioning whether certain aspects of your digital marketing workflow can improve through automation, outsourcing, or with new hires. Hiring may be the option if you need someone in-house to form several duties, but outsourcing will come in handy if some aspects of digital marketing, like content creation, are possible remotely. Automation, especially in customer service, can free up time for your digital marketers to perform more tasks without distractions.

Amazon is the world’s biggest retailer. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that they also have the biggest affiliate program. About 0.9% of all websites currently use the program. The number represents 2.3% of the total market share of all sites that monetize with affiliate networks or advertising. Reputable companies like New York Times and Buzzfeed use Amazon Associates for monetization.

The platform allows you to sell almost anything you please. It is a great option for earning money. Depending on the sales you plan on making, you can make up to 10 percent of your sale amount.  Do you want to use Amazon Associates as a passive source of income? Here is a guide to help you.

Amazon Affiliate Marketing

Amazon affiliate marketing is the process of marketing Amazon products on your website. You earn a commission when visitors click and make a purchase on Amazon. The secret to earning lots of money in commission is focusing on a specific niche. Things are much easier when you have a site that receives lots of traffic. Many companies use affiliate marketing and Amazon is no different. Here are a few

Reasons to Join the Amazon Affiliate Marketing Program

The program is specifically designed for people who wish to promote Amazon products and earn commission. After joining the program, you will have access to various materials and tools to help you display products and their links on your site. Here are a few benefits of joining the program:

•  It is free to join
• Certain categories allow you to earn up to 12 percent in advertising fees
• You can choose from millions of products. You get to advertise products that match your customers’ needs
• Adding the affiliate links to your site is easy.
• The payment system is transparent and well-managed
• You can promote products from all over the world
• Support is extensive and easy to access
• The program is generally simple and well-organized. It is well-used by affiliate marketers from all over the world
• You get a commission every time visitors on your website click on Amazon links and make a purchase. If they buy any other items on Amazon within 24 hours, you also receive a commission.
•  Amazon Associates is big and that gives it a major advantage. It covers almost every market. If you sell physical goods, Amazon has them.  
• Amazon is solid. It attracts billions in traffic and has been around since the 1990s. This experience means it understands consumer needs.

How Does It Work?                                                        

Like any other affiliate program, Amazon Associates is a referral program at its core. You get a commission whenever you refer someone to Amazon, and they make a purchase. When a visitor to your site clicks on an affiliate link, they will be directed to Amazon. The program is available to Amazon affiliate countries only. They include Japan, China, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, and Poland.

The link tags them as a referral from you. You get a percentage of anything they may buy for the next 24 hours. The sign-in process is easy. However, you need the following to qualify as an affiliate:

• Website

You must have an affiliate niche site focused on reviewing and selling the products in your niche. After joining the program, you can use Amazon tools to add affiliate product images and links.

• App

You may use your app to display Amazon products and links. It is one of the best ways to monetize your site.

• Blog

If you blog on a niche topic, consider promoting Amazon products within your content. When you are an affiliate member, adding affiliate links to your site is easy. Encourage your readers to click on links and make purchases.

•  Social Media Channels

If you have a big following on social media, registering with Amazon Affiliates may be a good idea. You may earn commission sharing product links on your channels. Amazon offers built-in support for Twitter and Facebook.

How to be a Successful Amazon Affiliate

• Avoid Grasping at Straws

Do not work from a point of desperation. Amazon affiliates must be honest about the needs of their audience and their areas of experts. Pick products that match your content. Does your audience need a new book, a new recipe, or special tools?

• Dig Down

Do not be generic. At a time when everyone is creating the same content, dig deep to attract their attention.

•  Product Selection

Do not assume that every product that matches your niche is worth posting. If you have the habit of hopping on every product that comes up, you are likely to lose credibility. Feature bestsellers, hot releases, and the products you really love. If there are any flaws, do not be afraid to address them.

Amazon Vs. Other Affiliate Programs

Amazon is not the only affiliate program but it stands out from the competition. The main benefit is that it is perfect for almost all niches of physical products. The commissions are great as well.

• Conversions

Amazon is perfect for conversions. Few companies could convert customers more effectively than Amazon. According to a 2015 study, it converts 13 percent of non-prime visitors and 74 percent of prime visitors. The average conversion rate is 3.32 percent for online retail.

• Various Ways to Promote Offers

There are many ways to promote Amazon offers on your site. You only need the product link or site stripe function. Even though regular product links are the basics, there are other options for monetizing your blog. Native ads are a common option. They look like product carousels and you may create them individually. The ads are category-based and you can insert them with ad-code managers. Mobile commerce makes up 60 percent of the digital sales.

• Great for Upselling

Amazon does really well at upselling. When you send them traffic, you will receive a percentage of whatever they buy within 24 hours. Today, Amazon lists more than three billion products across different marketplaces. If a visitor buys something on Amazon, they are highly likely to buy something else. Amazon uses AI technologies to encourage purchases. Most of its revenue comes from AI power.

In conclusion, being an Amazon affiliate marketer is one of the best ways to make money without leaving your home. The marketplace has products for millions of customers around the world.

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread, many businesses were forced to close their doors to customers and clients and send their employees home. Some had no choice but to layoff or furlough their employees during the downtime, as they ceased operations or scaled back as much as they could.

However, other businesses opted to shift gears and take things virtual. Even now, as vaccines roll out and life starts to go back to normal in many ways, many have chosen to continue to keep some or even all of their employees remote.

In a new world of remote operations, it has never been more important to look for new and improved ways to automate your operations and take them to the web. If your business is working remotely in 2021, keep reading to learn three automations that you should have in place.

1. Automated Interactions

Any upgrades that will save your employees time means less time wasted, more productivity and more profits in your pocket. Automated interactions are one of the best ways to not only save your employees time, but save them stress and hassle as well. 

The term “automated interactions” actually covers a variety of tools and features. Any kind of customer self-service tool that allows customers and clients to answer their own questions or get instant help without interacting with a real, live employee is a type of automated interaction.

You can use an automated chatbot interaction to streamline initial communications with clients. In many cases, the answers they are looking for are somewhere on your website. Channeling these initial communications through the chatbot means your employees can spend their time dealing with more complicated customer problems.

2. Virtual Call Centers

With your employees now going to work at kitchen tables and home offices instead of cubicles and high rises, nearly every part of how they get work done has likely changed, even if their job description hasn’t. This has been easier on those in some positions than it has been for others.

One position that has faced a number of unique and difficult challenges in this new remote world are call center employees. Even small call centers often feature many employees in a smaller, confined space. Even for businesses moving some operations back to the office, many call centers have remained remote.

But moving your call center operations to the web is harder than just e-mailing out spreadsheets or opening a Slack channel for team members to chat. That’s where a virtual call center comes in. This software gives your call center employees all of the tools and features that they need to do their job effectively, from anywhere. In fact, it may be so effective, you might opt to keep it around even after things return to normal.

3. Workflow Automations

One thing that hasn’t changed now that employees are working virtually is that mundane, daily tasks still take a lot of time. Workflow automation is one solution for this.

This software can be implemented to automate regular daily tasks, like inputting data, setting reminders and more. Much like virtual call centers, workflow automation is a tool that many businesses will likely keep around after the pandemic for their convenience.

Automating Your Call Center in 2021

Adding automation to your call center is a great way to streamline operations and mitigate problems brought on by the new remote work world.

Whether you want to automate workflows, utilize a chatbot to instantly respond to customer inquiries or make the switch to a virtual call center, these features are a great way to increase productivity for your enterprise in 2021.

When starting a business, you do it with a high level of optimism, zeal, and dedication. You want to see it grow, expand, and succeed while generating the maximum possible income. However, you also know that for you to get to where you want, you cannot achieve success alone. You will need to employ and work with different types of people for different tasks within and without the organization.

Of course, hiring the best candidates from the job market and outsourcing services from some of the best providers in the industry will mean increased productivity and profitability. However, this is just part of the puzzle solved. As with anything else, success comes with maintaining consistency. If you guessed right, productivity is one of the things you will want to ensure is consistent, preferably on an upward trajectory. A decline in productivity often means lower efficiency, reduced profits, and plummeting growth.

With this having been mentioned, here are some tips on how to make sure the productivity of your business doesn’t decline. 

1. Embrace Technology 

Every business needs streamlined operations, and in this age and day, one thing is for sure. Ensuring streamlined operations means embracing modern technology solutions. This also means choosing the right technological solutions for your business needs. If you run a fleet management business, an efficient system that addresses the challenges faced by fleet managers will come in handy. Such a system will save you time and money while boosting your team’s productivity by a huge margin. A system with integrated monitoring solutions such as GPS and ELD will help monitor your drivers and the fleet easily, ensuring that everything flows smoothly and can be accounted for.

In a nutshell, the right technology can help keep your processes and operation on track, avoiding delays and minimizing costs. It can also help speed up customer response time, thus improving customer service. You will also need a professional website for your business so that you can enhance customer relations. Purchasing systems can offer competitive pricing by opening up highways for potential suppliers. You just need to utilize the right tech for your business, from procurement to CRM, accounting, payroll, and everything in-between.

2. Provide a Good Working Environment 

Productivity is what every entrepreneur is after, but some challenges come with this mind-blowing tactic in business. For one, you have to create an inspiring environment for your employees. Without a doubt, the work environment will reflect in their job performance even as the employees are subject to a company’s productivity. It is two-way traffic. As the employer, you must ensure a smooth sail by being subject to holding necessary meetings, giving a structured and efficient workflow, updated technology and equipment, clear and achievable goals, among other factors. 

3. Implement Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 

This is a motivational theory by Abraham Maslow portrayed in the shape of a pyramid. It explains how we can fulfill our needs as humans in a specific order. As an extension of the previous point, it is best to create an environment that supports, inspires, and motivates your employees’ potential. Here is a sneak peek at the hierarchy:

• Physiological– Pay on time and give them adequate facilities 
• Safety– Safe environment, quality health benefits, and pension 
• Belongingness: Make the employees have equal access to the company, embrace diversity and collaborations. 
• Esteem: Reward them when they perform exceptionally well. It motivates the rest to participate in team contributions and want to be recognized. 
• Self-Actualization- provide mentorship programs that will make the employees explore their potential. 

This law changes when you have to apply it in the business field since, in this case, you are glued to attaining productivity. 

4. Train and Upskill Employees 

Your employees are not toys, neither are the machines. You need to invest in them to achieve the desired results. Use their strengths to your advantage and strengthen their weaknesses by taking them through training. Employee training and development in the workplace will help ensure that members of staff are placed in areas where their strong suits are maximized. Also, a trained employee becomes more efficient in the workspace despite his weakness. Offering online safety courses will ensure that the ball keeps rolling even when an employee goes on leave or has an issue that will make them not attend to his delegated duty. After all, taking breaks to refresh with a mental pause is mandatory for your employees. Training, by all means, ensures that productivity levels are top-notch. 

Finally, what is a business without setting goals, targets, and deadlines? What is setting the above mentioned without working towards them? There are many procrastinators even in the work industry, and to deal with such, if you are one, you will need to get a second set of eyes- an accountability partner who can help you stay on track. Reward yourself when you achieve and punish yourself when you do not perform. All the same, do not be hard on yourself. No… be specific, simple, and realistic about your goals. Have a to-do list and reminders to help you hit your targets. Accountability is equal to productivity.

Slack is an online messaging application that has achieved significant popularity over the last few years. It enables businesses to communicate with their employees remotely. Now, with the advent of SMS messaging being integrated into the application, more and more business owners are making the shift to Slack over other platforms. In this article, we are going to tell you why businesses are moving their messaging platforms over to Slack, and why Slack is better than ever with SMS messaging. If you were unaware you could SMS on slack, well, now you know!

Sending SMS from Slack has never been easier!

Wait, Why Do We Need SMS Messaging on Slack?

Integrating your communication channels onto Slack and using Slack to send SMS’ is a great way to improve your business’s overall operations. If you already use Slack, then using Slack SMS will make your business run a lot smoother. If you do not use Slack just yet, then by integrating your communication channels onto Slack, and then making use of Slack SMS, you will be able to communicate with all areas of your business through Slack. SMS messaging on Slack means you do not have to go in and out of your phone’s messages, but instead, you can operate your SMS’ directly from your phone.

Customer Satisfaction

According to a survey, up to 89% of consumers prefer using or want to use messaging to communicate with businesses. This means that by using the platform to send SMS from Slack you will be meeting their demands. It can be a massive headache to have to navigate from your messages to platforms and back and forth to maintain communication with clients and your colleagues.

 By integrating SMS onto Slack, you will be able to use the platform solely to communicate with your clients, which can make your life much easier and mean that you have everything in a single place, rather than several different places.

Employees

Employees around the world are all in agreement that Slack is one of the best platforms to use for business communication. It is used in virtually every single industry in the entire world because of how smoothly it runs and how easy it is to navigate. With that said, however, there may be times where you have to communicate with your staff through SMS, but by using Slack, you will be able to message your employees directly on the application without having to go elsewhere.

Owner Satisfaction

Slack is the most satisfying and easy platform that there is to use, and business owners all agree. Owners from around the world, especially now that SMS messaging is being used in the platform, agree that Slack is the easiest and smoothest platform to use for their business communication. SMS communication through Slack can make your life considerably easier if you are a business owner and can mean that you do not have to worry about losing track of communication or messages.

Slack is a great platform and can be a great addition to your business. If you are a business owner, it may be time for you to use Slack. Thank you for reading, please come back and visit us again soon.