It seems crazy that it’s been an entire year since the pandemic started. Just think, a year ago we were all either binge-watching Tiger King in quarantine, learning a TikTok dance, baking bread, or becoming first-time plant parents. ????

Does anyone else miss in-person networking or big conferences? ✋????

Over the past year, virtual events have increased significantly, for obvious reasons. According to a survey by wirke.com, only 42% of organizations were holding virtual events before the pandemic, but now that number has doubled to 84%.

Those statistics are pretty hard to ignore. So what’s the big deal about virtual events and will they stick around post-pandemic? We happen to think they will, so we’re going to share a few insider tips & tricks to help you host a great one…

What Is A Virtual Event?

A virtual event is simply an event that’s hosted online through either pre-recorded videos or live streaming. Social media platforms have all upped their live streaming abilities in recent years, projecting the importance of virtual connection well before the pandemic. (Wait….. No let’s not go there.) TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are all great places to go LIVE for a virtual event, and each platform has its own pros & cons as well as its own target audience.

Why Host A Virtual Event?

Even though the pandemic has put virtual events in the spotlight (mostly because no other type of events were allowed ???? ), virtual events have always had benefits independent of social distancing, and they will continue to in the future. Hosting a virtual event can benefit your business because it can reach an audience that normally wouldn’t be able to attend an in-person event due to busy schedules, financial restraints, or physical disabilities.

As a small business, virtual events are a great way to talk to your audience without breaking the bank. They’re much more cost effective than in-person events because there’s not a physical space to rent out and well, wine and charcuterie are expensive… ????????‍♀️

Virtual events are often used for:

So, Now That You Know What A Virtual Event Is, How Do You Plan One?

Step 1: Create A Detailed Game Plan

Even if your event is in-person, it still takes planning! Having a schedule for the event will keep your team organized and ready to perform. (Pro-tip: If segments become too long, audience members may hop off the Live Event. Keep the event interesting by having a list of commonly asked questions to answer during a demo.)

It’s important to give your team specific roles for the event. The amount of people working an event will vary, but here are some examples:

1. A Camera Person – They should understand what angles are best for the event and to make sure the Live is running smoothly.
2. A Comment Monitor – It’s important to have eyes on the comment section so the audience can ask the questions and feel like they are participating.
3. A Director – This is one of the most critical positions during a Live because they make sure everything stays on schedule, they can give (silent) direction to keep things moving, and they can signal to the MC or host to give more energy.
4. An MC – This is your star! Whoever is the most comfortable giving energy, but also knowledgeable enough to answer questions about your business should be your go-to MC. (Pro Tip: Virtual Events require even more energy than in-person events. If you feel ridiculous, you’re probably giving enough energy for a virtual event.)

Step 2: Pick The Right Day And Time For The Event

Analytics and insights are your best friend. If most of your audience is working during the day and time you choose, the event won’t do as well! So checking your social media analytics will help you choose the best time for your specific target audience.

Step 3: Promote, Promote, PROMOTE!

Alright, this is the fun part. Promoting the event at least 2-3 weeks before is generally the best practice for a virtual event. If you promote too early, your audience may forget, but if you promote it last minute, they may not be able to make time to attend.

There are a lot of great ways to promote virtual events— Social media posts, email marketing campaigns, posting in local groups, and using interactive Stories are all great ways to promote for free! We happen to think promotion of virtual events should be done holistically, meaning use every channel you have to reach the most people.

Step 4: Make It Fun, Engaging, And Inclusive!

Since your audience isn’t in-person, it’s even more important to remember to include viewers in the conversation! Encouraging your audience to ask questions and holding small giveaways throughout the event will keep your them interested and most importantly, will keep them from X-ing out of the event to get back to scrolling their feed. Who doesn’t love free stuff? ????

Final Thoughts

One of the most critical pieces of advice we can give you is: have a practice run-through. During the run-through, you can get an idea of what needs to be changed before the event. Remember tripods for the cameras, make sure all batteries are charged, print out the schedules, secure a laptop & a phone to monitor how the event is going, and grab lots of coffee to excite your speakers. (Caffeine is a good idea, always. ☕️)

Problems are bound to happen, but you’ve got this!

We encourage you to consider adding virtual events to your marketing strategy to increase your brand awareness on a lower budget, reach new target markets, and overall to freshen up your marketing game.

Does this help? Let us know!

It’s our favorite time of year! That’s right, the 2021 Web Design Trends round-up is here. We’re breaking down our very favorite web trends, but this year we especially want to share trends that our small business clients can actually utilize.

Chances are, small business owners aren’t going to have the budget to overhaul their website with every new passing web design trend. So, let’s look at the trends that have either had staying power in the last few years, or we project will stick around in the coming years.

1. Retro Elements & Fonts

We’ve seen things come back in style that we never… I mean never thought we’d see. (Lookin’ at you, mom jeans.)

Right now, throwback typography and design are having a moment. Remember when retro meant the 70’s? Well get ready to feel old. Retro now means the 90’s. Yep. We’re starting to see a fun trend of reimagining of classic 90’s fonts, designs, and logos… And it’s being called “retro.” We’ll just go sit and think about that while we reconsider our skinny jeans and side parts. ????

2. Horizontal Scrolling

Previously thought of as a faux-pas, horizontal scrolling is a fun surprise to make your website stand out.

We’re seeing more web designers experimenting with horizontal scroll. Those who do it best don’t do it just for the sake of being different, but also as a practical way to share information in a good user flow, such as Goodfight’s current website. Their use of horizontal scroll causes visitors to see more of their products in the order they want them to before they leave the page. Horizontal scroll is also a good way to make yourself stand out if you’re in the creative field, like zerocodegirl.

3. Multimedia

With faster internet speeds becoming more accessible (???? ), multimedia web experiences are becoming a more popular choice in web design. Putting together a mix of text, imagery, video, and audio creates a captivating and highly engaging user experience for any website homepage. And let’s face it, nothing can sell a business online like a well-done video.

4. Gaussian Blur

We love a good design evolution. Bright & bold gradients have been on trend in recent years, but this year we’re seeing gradients evolve into a soft Gaussian blur. These soft swirl and soft focus gradients provide a calm and cool aesthetic that doesn’t try too hard.

5. Surrealism Illustration

Illustration, and specifically Surrealism, isn’t going anywhere this year. Surrealism often uses dream-like scenes, symbolic images, as well as unexpected, and illogical juxtapositions. We have loved seeing all of the super fun turns in illustration styles over the past few years, and we see illustrations continuing to replace photography-only design, at least in the near future. Here are some we like, and check out the Gaussian Blur on the Analytica Alimentaria website. Bonus points for using 2 trends!

6. Dark Mode Design

Dark mode is becoming even more prevalent in 2021, so more designers & brands are embracing the dark mode aesthetic. It’s just the reality, and we’re thinking if brands don’t adapt design to work with dark mode, they may fall behind. But hey, have fun with it! Black is the perfect dark backdrop to create designs with colors that pop.

Plus your eyes and your frown lines will definitely be thankful for this trend. ????

 

Final Thoughts

We hope this list helped! Did you have any favorite website design trends? Are there any you see matching your brand aesthetic? As a small business with a small budget, you can still have a modern, of-the-moment, but classic site… one that will give you the most bang for your buck! We’d love to help.

It doesn’t matter what size or even what type of business you own, influencer marketing can be a huge benefit to you. If you think about it, famous people have been selling things to the masses for years, whether through commercials or print ads. Influencers just represent a new age of celebrity, and compared to traditional celebrities or commercial actors, social media influencers are actually seen as much more relatable to the average consumer.

In fact, data from MuseFind shows 92% of consumers trust an influencer more than an advertisement or traditional celebrity endorsement. I mean come on, do you really think Jennifer Anniston colors her hair with an at-home box dye kit? ????

Influencers are seen as more trustworthy because they post real thoughts and moments from their daily lives, so their followers actually build a virtual relationship with them, so much so that many would consider themselves to be virtual friends!

Okay that’s all good and well, but what does it mean for your business?

Why You Should Work With An Influencer

Influencers can…

Okay that sounds intriguing…

6 Steps to The Perfect Influencer Partnership

So how do you actually BEGIN to work with influencers? We have 6 simple steps to get you well on your way!

1. Determine Campaign Goals

What are you trying to accomplish by working with an influencer? Brand awareness? Increase product sales? Encourage more user generated content? Before you can properly choose an influencer to represent your brand, you need to know exactly what you want your business to be known for and what you want to accomplish with your campaign.

2. Define Your Campaign Audience

What kind of audience are you trying to reach? It’s important to learn about and identify the exact type of customer you’re going after to help you determine what type of content and which influencer will best appeal to them. You likely know exactly who your target audience is, but you may need to dig a little deeper to understand what type of media your audience is consuming. You want your target audience to align with the influencer’s following.

3. Set Your Budget and Choose An Influencer Type

There are So. Many. Different. types of influencers on social media today, all with completely different followings. There are macro-influencers like actors or Youtubers who have MASSIVE followings, but if you’re not one of the few companies that can afford the $500,000 Kim Kardashashian reportedly charges for an Instagram post, there are other plenty of other options for you! There are also micro-influencers (i.e. stay-at-home moms who share their favorite life hacks with a couple thousand followers). Each type of influencer has its own benefits. So if you’re struggling to get responses from celebrities/influencers, or if they’re asking for more money than you have in the budget, micro-influencers can be a great option for you. In fact, they’re just as or even more effective because of the trust they’ve built with their following and their dedication to building a larger audience. Working with a micro-influencer also allows you to test multiple markets at once to see which get the best ROI. (You can also check out our blog on how to choose the right micro-influencer for tips on getting started.)

4. Choose Your Influencer & Review Their Work

After you find an influencer that works for your brand, take time to look over their page and try to get to know them. Look at what they are posting for other brands to make sure it’s high-quality and they keep their end of other deals they make! Then begin liking, commenting, and replying to their posts to get them familiar with your brand at least a few weeks before you message them. Make sure to include a unique message that directly references things they’ve posted in the past. Some influencers are being bombarded with hundreds of messages a day so you’ve got to find a way to stand out.

5. Finalize Campaign Expectations With Your Influencer

Alright, you did it. You have an influencer and they’ve agreed to post for you! You’re done, right? Unfortunately, not quite. You should be friendly, open to suggestions, but also be extremely clear what your expectations are for the campaign. (Pro Tip: get it in writing and have them sign it!) There’s nothing worse than spending weeks trying to find an influencer and then their post goes out with incorrect or insufficient information about your brand. Or even worse, they never even post (It happens A LOT unfortunately). Don’t forget to thank, compensate, and support your influencer’s posts even after the campaign is over! This helps to build trust with them to keep doors open in the future.

6. Measure Your Results

You’re almost done! Lastly, it’s a great idea to measure your results and determine the level of success you had in reaching your audience with the help of that influencer. How many people did it reach? How many of those people followed your brand after seeing the post? Did the campaign bring in conversions? If the influencer’s reach went above your expectations, make sure to let them know and show your gratitude! If it didn’t meet your expectations, it’s okay! Just take that information and let it guide your decisions going forward about who you choose to work with.

Final Thoughts

OK, so maybe it’s not THAT simple. Influencer marketing requires a lot of time and well thought out planning, but the ROI can be well worth it. If you need help, we’re always here for a one-on-one strategy session. Hit us up here.

If you’ve been in a #MOOD ever since Instagram took away the Recent Hashtags tab in November during the election and stayed there through what we’ll lovingly call the “December Drop” in engagement, we’re here for you. (Isn’t that what businesses are supposed to say now-a-days? ????) But for real… we are.

Every year in December, Instagram rolls out shiny, new changes to everyone’s favorite thing: the algorithm. Add in the distraction of holidays, and this leads to an annual period of low engagement across the board.

Is There Something Wrong With Me If My Engagement Is Down?

This is really annoying, but it’s nothing new, so trust us… there’s nothing wrong with you if your engagement has been down, and it will level out eventually. But in the meantime, we have some tips that may help you boost your engagement, and maybe even get it higher than it was before the recent slump!

Before we get to our #tips for boosting engagement, let’s bust some algorithm myths we’ve seen circulating the interwebs. Is it too soon to say #fakenews? Got it. Let’s get to the list.

The Current Top 3 Instagram Algorithm Myths:

Myth #1 — Instagram Will Punish You If You Edit Your Published Posts

There’s a rumor out there that Instagram will punish you if you edit a post after it is published. There’s even a popular post with what we’re guessing is just anecdotal evidence showing two posts with drastically different engagement, one of which was edited. Here’s the thing. Instagram will not punish you for using a feature they provided to help you. There is tons of evidence showing that editing posts doesn’t hurt engagement. And at the end of the day, if Instagram didn’t want people to edit their posts, they would have never added an edit button. Looking at you, Twitter.

Myth #2 — Instagram Will Punish You If You Use Too Many Hashtags

Here’s another case of “why would Instagram punish you for using a feature they provided?” Instagram currently allows accounts to use up to 30 hashtags per post. If they wanted you to use 10 hashtags, that would be the max. So our advice is to maximize reach by using as many hashtags as you can.

Myth #3 — Instagram Will Punish You If You Use A Partner App To Schedule Posts

Different rumor, same answer. Instagram allows a few official partner apps to schedule and auto-publish posts to their app. Official Partner is code for $$$. Considering Instagram is making money through these apps, it’s highly unlikely that they would punish the apps on their platform. That’s just bad business.

The Current Top 3 Instagram Algorithm Boosting Tips

Tip #1 — Be Consistent

It’s no secret that the algorithm encourages posting as much as you can. But if you don’t have the margin to post quality content every day twice a day (because literally who does?), the next best thing to posting all the time is to be consistent over time. Our advice is to post consistently at the same time over a long period of time, post 3x per week on the same days each week, or posting every other day. Do this for a while and see if anything changes!

Tip #2 — Use Reels

Specifics about the algorithm are usually debated, but one that is agreed upon across the board is that Instagram Reels are currently boosted and favored in the algorithm. If you’re not posting Reels, the algorithm is going to punish all your posts. If you post Reels, the algorithm will reward you with engagement across all of your posts, not just Reels. So if you have the margin, get your creativity on.

Tip #3 — Use #AllOfTheFeatures

Instagram likes when you use all of the things, and we mean all of the things. Feed posts, Stories, Reels, IGTV, Shoppable posts, lions, tigers, and bears… oh my, that was a dad joke. Sorry. Anyway, this includes special features on Stories like the “I Voted” sticker, polls, sliders, etc, etc. So buy in… do all the things… make a deal with the Devi— Okay too far. I think we may be in a #mood, too.

Final Thoughts

We know this seems like a lot. If you can’t do it all, don’t go crazy trying to keep up with the Algorithm Joneses. Just do what you can when you can. Try some of these tips. A little change is better than nothing. And as always, if you’ve thought about outsourcing social media for your own sanity and to maximize your ROI, we’d love to help!

Business owner, if you’re not utilizing email marketing, you may be missing out on a ton of new and even recurring business. In fact, according to a recent study, email marketing produces more conversions than social media, and email campaigns result in 28.5% higher ROI compared to direct mail.

While weekly or monthly emails are one of the most common ways for companies to update and connect with their audience, they can be difficult to pull off really well. You have to not only create compelling copy, but also use clear CTAs, design eye-catching templates that work across multiple devices, and more.

If that sounds like a lot, don’t worry. We’re breaking down the dos and don’ts of email marketing below—

The Top Four Do’s of Email Marketing

1. Use Eye Catching Design – Eye catching graphics are what pull the reader’s eye to your important email content. So, make sure your images and other graphics are bold and draw your readers attention to the content you want them to read.

2. Make it Mobile Friendly – Designing your email for mobile-first viewing is crucial in today’s world. It’s important to create an email design with a width of 600px to ensure it appears correctly on any screen size.

3. Provide Clear CTAs – Great content and design are super important, but they won’t ultimately close business. To drive conversions, your readers should immediately know what action to take next and how to take it through clear Call To Action buttons. The CTA button should be front and center and have straightforward expectations, such as “Read more,” “Download now,” or “Email Us.”

4. Send a Test Email – Always always always send a test email. Then go through it and double check every element of your email including grammar, typos, and links!

The Top Three Don’ts of Email Marketing

1. Write a Vague Subject Line – A great subject line often makes the difference between an open and a “Move to Trash.” You want to develop a subject line that’s both catchy and concise, with 9 words or fewer. The average modern consumer has an extremely short attention span, so your subject line needs to not only grab their attention, but also entice them to take the time to open your email and see what it contains.

2. Forget about Accessibility – Over 2.2 billion people live with a form of vision impairment, so accessibility online is super important. You want to make sure you don’t alienate members of your target audience, while also missing out on potential business. To learn more about online accessibility, you can read our Online Accessibility Blog!

3. Ignore the Metrics – Repeat after me: metrics are your best friend. Most email platforms provide free full analytics reports that can really benefit you. Checking your delivery rate, bounce rate, open rate, click-through rate, website visits, and more can help you see where you may need to improve your campaign!

Also, if you want to take a deep dive into analytics and really improve your campaigns, consider A/B testing your emails to determine the most effective subject lines, CTAs, time to send, and more.

Conclusion

Email marketing is a proven marketing tactic that can have a great ROI. But running a successful email campaign isn’t as easy as writing content and hitting “send.” Need some additional ideas for your next email campaign? We’d love to help!

Almost everyone we know jumped into the Christmas spirit a bit early this year. Because let’s be real… 2020 just needed the extra days of cheer! ????

Speaking of Christmas cheer, finding the perfect gift can sometimes be well, the opposite of cheer… but we’re here to make it as easy and fun as possible.

2020 is the Year to Shop Local

Plus, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that we’ve lost some of our very favorite local businesses in 2020, like The Chocolate Moose, Husk, Dark Corner Distillery (store front), and so many more. And there are still so many small businesses that continue to struggle after the shut down, so we think it’s the perfect time to band together and support local Upstate businesses this Christmas instead of big-box or online stores.

So, we compiled a list of local businesses that offer great products and fun experiences here in the Upstate. We promise you’ll be able to find something for everyone on your list, whether it’s your sweet little niece or your impossible-to-shop-for mother in law. ????

Gifts Under $50

For Her:

Mercy Verity Candles – These are hands down the BEST candles.

Given Goods – Fair trade & cause conscious clothes, jewelry, gifts, and more.

Southern Girl Chic Boutique Items – We love this local boutique!

Psalm 91 Studio Jewelry – Give the gift of local, handmade jewelry!

For Him:

Oxford Barber Giftcard or Grooming Essentials – His hair and beard will be on point in 2021.

Billiam Jeans – Get him a GVL hat or beanie… or even a custom pair of jeans.

The Cigar Boxx – Their cedar humidor is filled with small boutique and specialty cigars. Plus they have a private smoking lounge.

Savereign – Hey, guys like plants, too. Get a good one for your proud #plantdad.

For Anyone:

Buena Onda Games & Other Mast General Store Items – Buena Onda games are fair trade & support the Mayan people in Guatemala. Plus they’re tons of fun!

Local Stature – Laser cut wood maps, coasters, and ornaments with all of your favorite places around the world.

Dark Corner Distillery Spirits – Their storefront closed, but you can still support them by shopping online!

Experiences:

Greenville Zoo Membership – Help support the zoo and give your family the gift of experiences together!

Smash Room Experience – Get out some of your 2020 rage!

Hollowed Earth Pottery Classes – Learn a new skill and make your own coffee mugs! Win-win.

Urban Air Membership – Your kids are gonna love this.

Gift Cards At Any Price:

Unlocked Coffee Roasters – We love this new coffee shop & coffee beans under the tree…

AO- The Space Salon & Spa – Sometimes the perfect gift is some relaxation.

Monogram Concierge – Give the gift of time & help. (Great for that mother-in-law who has everything!)

Sidewall Pizza – Pizza. Need we say more?

Kuka Juice – For your vegan friend!

Willy Taco – Tacos make the perfect gift.

13 Stripes Brewery – For the beer lover in your life!

Conclusion

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are SO many great small businesses here in the Upstate, and we like to think that’s one of the many things that makes it so great. As we wrap up 2020, let’s keep killing COVID while we keep small businesses alive! Come tell us your small business gift ideas here.

Maybe you’ve been wondering how to effectively use Instagram Stories for a while, and now you’re overwhelmed with the newest Instagram feature, Reels. ????

Maybe you have no idea what types of content are better suited for each different feature on the platform. Why should your brand care about them? And, most important, how can you take advantage of these features to grow your business?

You’re definitely not alone! And we’re here to help. Let’s start from the beginning…

What Is an Instagram Story?

A Story is mobile content shared in vertical orientation that’s only visible for 24 hours once posted (unless it’s made into a Highlight). Stories formats include: photo, video, boomerang, text, GIFs, and livestream. You can then add filters, polls, sliders, stickers, GIFs, and text to make your Story stand out!

Why Use Stories?

The biggest positives of using Stories are:

  1. They’re given the highest priority spot when a user opens Instagram. Before a user ever scrolls, they have the option to view Stories, and many users watch Stories before ever scrolling down their feed.
  2. Stories are a full-screen format which allows for a distraction-free viewing experience. It’s a chance for your brand to take up a user’s entire screen, which is rare on social media.

F8 is an annual conference held by Facebook, intended for developers and entrepreneurs who build products and services around the website. According to a presentation from Facebook at F82019:

What Makes a Great Instagram Story?

Here are some tips for making great Stories directly from Facebook also shared at F8 2019:

  1. Get Creative – creativity can make or break your Stories.
  2. Use high-resolution Visuals – 56% of a brand’s sales lift can be attributed to the quality of the creative.
  3. Feel the Need for Speed – Capitalizing on quick, dynamic content allows brands to meet users’ expectations and sustain their attention. Think “burst mode” rather than “long take.”
  4. Keep it Vertical – Creating your content in a vertical format makes the most of the screen real estate you have available.
  5. Use Clear CTAs – As much as possible, give a Call to Action. The more clear it is, the higher the chance that you get the response you want.
  6. Test and Learn – Stories are a great chance for a free focus group. If you’re not yet seeing the results you expect, it’s definitely worth trying different things and switching it up to understand which stimuli your audience best responds to. Use Story Polls and Question Boxes to ask them what they want to see more of!

What are Reels?

Reels is Instagram’s latest feature that launched at the start of August 2020 to compete with the highly popular TikTok app. Instagram users can now create bite-sized videos sharing tips, inspiration, or light-hearted content.
What Should You Share in Reels?

Your Reels content doesn’t have to be brand new. You can use existing content from your blog, podcast, and social channels and simply adjust it to work well on Reels.

  1. Educational Content – Do you share informational or educational content in the captions of your main Instagram feed posts? Great. And if you’re not, you definitely should!???? Just take those points, condense them into bullets, and share them on a fun video!
  2. Behind-The-Scenes – Is your team working on a fun project? Doing a team-building exercise? Watering your office plants? These are all fun things to share in short BTS videos.
  3. Your Brand Differentiators – What makes your company unique? What sets you apart? Share that with your following in an engaging video!

Conclusion

Stories are tested and here to stay, while Reels are super fresh. The jury’s out on whether or not Reels are around for the long haul, but brands that invest in this trend will definitely reap the rewards in the algorithm! ????

But hey, don’t feel like you have to do it all. If the only time you can commit to Instagram is by posting regularly in your main feed, do that and do it well! If you have 3 minutes to film a quick “Hello!” on your Stories weekly or snap a pic of some new products when they come in, that’s great, too!

However, if you know you want to utilize these features to grow your brand awareness and your bottom line, but you don’t have the time to commit to it, a social media marketing company or freelancer can be a great asset for you!

There’s no denying that website homepage content is extremely important for every single business. In fact, your site’s content is one of the main factors that can impact conversions drastically.

There are a few well-meaning website homepage mistakes we see pretty often, so we wanted to tackle this on a blog to help out any small business owner who may be wondering why visitors are clicking off of their website, or maybe why they’re seeing a lot of traffic but no new business.

With homepage content, it’s important not to be overly vague and conceptual, but also not to get stuck in the minutia either. Sound complicated? It *kinda* is. But we’re here to help!

What Makes Great Homepage Content?

To have great homepage content, you’ll want a mix of higher level brand messages and actual information your audience wants to know. It’s important to not overfocus on information about your products or services, but also share different aspects of your business, like your story, your process, and what sets you apart from other companies like you.

In today’s world, good content just isn’t going to cut it. You need outstanding content to be set apart, not only with your target audience but also on search engines like Google.

So, how do you create amazing content that Google likes and your target audience loves? Let’s take a look.

1. Answer Questions & Overcome Objections

When starting a new website project, it’s important to begin with questions, then build your content around the answers. Before ever writing a single word of content, you need to ask important questions that define the basics.

For example: Who is your audience? What are the main concepts you’re trying to communicate? What do you have to offer? What makes you different from your competition? What do you want visitors to do once they’re on your website?

2. Prioritize Important Information

You should always format sections of the homepage so visitors will find and engage with the most important information first. It’s helpful to share the most pertinent content on the homepage because it saves users from potentially getting lost or disinterested before finding what they need. For example, the most important part of your homepage is what we call the “hero” section. It’s always first, and a good one always has a header that answers the who, what, and where questions.

After you ask the important questions, answer them in the different sections of your homepage! The content of your homepage serves a few important purposes. First, your homepage should introduce your service or product, answer the most important questions about your company and what you have to offer, and entice users to click further into the site.

3. Share Your Differentiators

4. Give Clear Calls to Action

Do you know what you ultimately want your visitors to do after reaching your site? Do you want them to email you? Fill out a form? Call you? Once you answer this, visually highlight the most important calls-to-action for them. One way to do this is to use eye-catching colors with enough contrast to help primary buttons stand out—and place them in prominent locations where users can’t miss them. It’s important to make the path to this action very clear using obvious, clickable buttons for a smooth user flow.

5. Optimize Everything

After you write your outstanding content, you’re going to want to optimize it for the following:

How do you do this?

Conclusion

A good homepage is the best first impression you can give people of your business. Think of your homepage as your modern day storefront. The more visually appealing and eye-catching it is, the more visitors will pause and really look into what you’re offering. But don’t stop there, you need to have content that is as informative and engaging as your visuals. This will not only help with SEO, but also user experience.

As always, if this feels overwhelming, or if you just simply don’t know how to write to your target audience, and you’d like someone to hash it all out with, we’d love to do that with you.

If you’re a business owner, you probably know Google reviews are important, but you may not know how to get them.

If you’ve been stumped about how to get more positive Google reviews, we can help! We’re breaking down not only how to get more Google reviews, but also why you need them.

The Benefits of Positive Google Reviews

According to a recent study, 54% of consumers said that the average star rating is the most important factor when researching a company, while 46% consider the quantity of reviews as the second most important.

Google reviews are basically modern-day word-of-mouth advertising. They’re trust indicators for many online buyers, so in short, the higher quantity and quality of Google reviews you have directly translates into higher credibility for your business.

As you get more positive reviews, you should start to see several benefits for your business, such as:

How to Get More Google Reviews

Are you ready for the big secret? There are two extremely important steps to get great Google Reviews. Here they are:

1. Provide a Great Product or Service.

2. Ask for a Review!

That’s it. That’s the big secret. Seems simple enough, right? ????

Most consumers tend to be passive when it comes to leaving reviews, especially positive ones. Online shoppers are far more likely to leave a negative review if they have a horrible experience! So, if a business has hundreds of positive reviews, that probably didn’t happen naturally, they just simply took the time to ask for them.

So, if you provide a great service, you may just need to give your loyal customers a little nudge, and when you do, the majority of them will be more than willing to leave you a positive Google review!

Who Should You Ask for A Review?

Before you dive in head first and ask anyone and everyone in your database to leave you a review, stop and find your biggest brand advocates and most loyal customers first.

Once you have those initial reviews, you can spread out your “ask” to the rest of your database over several months. It’s important to mention that if you go from 0 to 100 reviews in a week, Google will flag this ‘unusual activity’ as potential spam, and it may hurt you more than help. So, play the long game and it’ll benefit you in the end!

How to Curate Your “Ask”

1. Keep it Simple – It’s no secret that people are less likely to read longer emails, so if you really want your audience to get to the CTA, keep it short and sweet!

2. Be Specific – If you want 5-Star Google reviews, ask for that! If you want Facebook reviews, ask for that. Be as specific as possible to get the results you’re looking for.

3. Show Appreciation – Make sure to thank your customers for patronizing your business. Let them know how much they mean to you! And don’t forget to thank anyone who gives you a great Google review, too.

4. Create an Easy Link – Don’t expect people to leave their email app, open a browser, type in “Google,” find your business, and click “Write a Review” on their own. That’s way too many chances to lose them in the process. ???? The fewer steps the better. Did you know you can actually provide them an easy link to click and leave a review straight from your email? It’s true. Here’s a quick how-to for that.

How to Handle Negative Reviews

We know what you’re thinking— What happens if you ask for reviews and get negative ones? That’s a legitimate fear… and the reality is, it’s somewhat unavoidable.

So, if you do get a negative review or two, don’t panic! We’ve got you covered. Check out our blog on how to manage negative reviews here.

Conclusion

If you’re not currently asking for Google reviews, it’s definitely time to start! It’s an easy way to increase your online visibility and conversions.

How much time should you spend getting good reviews? Simply decide how important they are for your business… and that’s how much time you should spend getting them. And we think they’re pretty important. ????

As always, if you need help with consulting on any marketing topics, or if you need to outsource email marketing or a Google review campaign, we’d love to chat!

Stuck pouring money into traditional advertising channels only to get zero leads? We get it. We love figuring out creative strategies for our clients, because no two businesses are alike. So why advertise them all the same way? And especially for small business owners who don’t have big ad budgets, every single dollar matters.

So we’ve put together a list of a few “outside of the box” and more budget-friendly advertising ideas that usually have a pretty good ROI, if done the right way. Shall we?

Micro-Influencers

If you’re aiming at acquiring and retaining new, local customers, the most effective form of marketing is hands down word-of-mouth. Influencer marketing is essentially word-of-mouth online, albeit a bit less organic.

Simply put, an influencer is someone who either gets paid to promote a product or service on their own social media channels, or someone who trades free goods/services for the same promotion. A micro-influencer is a niche influencer with fewer than 100,000 followers and usually a large local following. And for a small business owner, that’s really what you want! Choosing a reliable and professional micro-influencer is so important, and in fact, we wrote a whole blog on micro-influencers last year if you want to go check it out!

If you don’t want to read a whole blog, here are the cliffs notes:

1. Make Sure They’re Legit— Do the influencer’s followers seem legit? Are they local? Real people? Are they regularly engaged on their posts? It’s a good idea to make sure their following is genuine and actually engages with their content, that way you know they’ll see it and be interested when that person posts about you!
2. Set Clear Expectations— Have an agreement ahead of time for how often you want the micro-influencer to post about your brand on social media, what platforms the posts should be on, and what they should include.
3. Use a Contract— Have them agree to the partnership – this can be done with a verbal agreement, software forms and tracking, or a formal contract committing them to meet the established expectations.

Brand Ambassador Programs

Brand ambassadors are pretty similar to micro-influencers, but there are a few key differences. While an influencer will only work with a brand initially through a formal relationship, brand ambassadors are often people who already engage with your brand naturally… they’re your biggest online or word-of-mouth advocates. What sets them apart is they love having genuine one-on-one conversations with people who are interested in your brand and products, rather than sticking to a script, like some influencers. Brand ambassadors are people who love your brand, who want to see your brand succeed, and who actively use your products in real life.

A brand ambassador program simply makes your relationship with those people who already love your brand official, and brings them on board with promotions. You can even incentivize them with discounts or points towards products/services for everyone who uses their referral or even a code to shop.

Podcast Ads

Podcasts are increasingly becoming a more and more popular media, because of their on-demand and accessible nature. Listeners can fine tune their interests (there’s a podcast for everything) and they can listen whenever it’s convenient…whether it’s on a morning commute, a mid-day walk, or an evening jog. All these combined have turned into 73 million American podcast listeners, and according to recent data, that audience is projected to grow 81% by 2022.

Needless to say, podcast ads are a multi-million dollar industry at this point… but do podcast sponsorships deliver a solid return on investment? The answer is definitely yes, if done right. So why do they offer so much potential?

According to a recent report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 67% of listeners could recall products and brands featured in ads. Even better, 61% actually paid for a product or service they learned about on podcasts.

It’s important to note if your target audience is listening to podcasts. If they are, you may want to seriously consider this form of advertising, instead of continuing to dump dollars where there is no name recognition or conversion whatsoever!

Blip (Billboard Ads)

Blip billboards are no minimum contract digital billboards that allow small and medium-sized businesses to advertise at their budget level. The good thing about Blip billboard ads is, you can get started on any budget. They’re very similar to social media ad campaigns in that you can choose what level of visibility you want based on what you want to pay, and they’re capped when you hit your budget limit.

A blip is anywhere from 7.5 to 10 seconds on a rotating billboard. The cost depends on the location(s) and time(s) you choose.

Conclusion

When you’re a small business with a small budget, it’s so important to get the best ROI for your advertising dollars. You don’t just have to keep dumping money into Google Adwords or other marketing strategies that aren’t getting you conversions.

Maybe it’s time to get creative and look outside the traditional advertising box to reach new audiences…

As always, if you want help with strategy or even execution, we’re here to help.