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Influencers Marketing

Social Responsibility Marketing Examples & Best Practices…

Social Responsibility Marketing- How does it help and how do you do it?

Social responsibility in business is going to become increasingly important. Now more than ever we are connected globally and therefore have a responsibility in terms of balancing people’s profit and the planet. Most of the marketing organisations do not work in isolation intentionally. Instead, they find that great opportunity exists if the organisation is visibly accessible and involved with the public. Because marketing often operates as the public face of an organisation, when issues arise between the public and the organisation marketing is often at the centre. In recent years, the number and variety of issues raised by the public have increased. One reason for the increase is the growing perception that marketing organisations are not just sellers of products, but also have a great responsibility to be more socially responsible.

In general terms, social responsibility refers to both individuals and companies having a duty to act in the best interest of the environment and society as a whole. It means an organisation shows concern for the people and environment in which it transacts business. It also means that these values are communicated and enforced by everyone in the organisation, and in some cases with business partners such as those that sell products to the company. Social responsibility in marketing narrows this down a little bit by focusing on customers that want to make a positive difference to the environment or society through their purchases, or the use of a service. A good example of this or examples is recyclable packaging promotions that spread awareness of societal issues or, direct portions of profits towards a charity. If a company can brand itself as socially responsible and ethical, it ultimately will attract customers who are engaged in socially responsible commitments, and who want to support the welfare of the community. The key factor here is that the company’s efforts must be truthful and transparent. 

Why is social responsibility important?

It is a duty to be socially responsible in marketing. Companies are increasingly focusing on their social responsibility. Companies that are socially responsible, project more attractive images to both consumers and shareholders alike, which positively affect their bottom lines. Social responsibility in marketing works by focusing efforts on attracting customers who want to make a positive difference with their purchases. Many companies have adopted socially responsible behaviour and elements in their marketing strategies to help a community via beneficial products and services.

  • Being socially responsible in marketing will help in strengthening the reputation of the company and it also develop its identity. 
  • Social responsibility empowers employees to harness the organisational resources available to them to do good. 
  • Formal initiatives in corporate social responsibility will improve the morale of workers and contribute to greater workforce productivity. 
  • It makes companies more marketable. When there is enough competition in the marketplace, standing out from the competition can be challenging. Companies that show an obligation to different philanthropic causes however are usually defined as more marketable than companies whose practices of social responsibility appear to be non-existent. 
  • Employees expect it. 

Socially responsible companies attract employees, who wish to make a difference in the world. People may want to work at such companies. One way to do this is by volunteering and donating.

There is a link between socially responsible marketing and what is termed as CSR- Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR is the same thing except it is broader and encompasses a company’s complete operations existence. 

Examples of social responsibility in marketing

  • IKEA

Apart from selling great homes and loft furniture, this Swedish mega-chain also works globally to support communities in crisis, by building schools, donating toys, and facilitating access to drinking water. They also have a foundation which has given 2.3 million to bring clean electricity to combined one minute million people in India and East Africa.

  • Adidas

They fight to preserve marine life through their run for the oceans campaign. They aim to turn the public’s attention towards the devastating effect of plastic pollution on marine life. 

  • Levi’s

They have run a campaign that reduces water use in manufacturing by up to 96% since the campaign launched in 2011. Levi’s has saved more than one billion litres of water in their manufacturing processes. It has also reduced the hazardous chemicals used to dye and aimed the elimination of hazardous chemicals by 2020. 

  • Reducing carbon footprints 
  • Improving labor policies
  • Socially and environmentally conscious investments. 

Marketing ethics 

Social responsibility and marketing are more than just a trend for companies. It is also related to ethics, which is called marketing ethics. There are six components in marketing ethics.

  1. Pricing

An ethical pricing strategy is more than simply following the law. Not all unethical pricing strategies are illegal or fraudulent. Sometimes ethical decisions are difficult, because there isn’t a proper dividing line between what is morally right and what is wrong.

  1. General code

When a business is commited to a marketing code of ethics, it is committed to conducting its affairs with the customer’s well-being and integrity.  Categories for marketing ethics include ethical values and norms, as defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA).

  1. Customer service

Customer service has an ethics, which are the moral principles that govern a company’s engagement with its customers. They are based on a particular set of values relating to the question of what is “right” or “wrong”. 

  1. Advertising Standards

Ethics in advertising implies a set of well-defined principles which govern the ways in which communication takes place between the buyer and the seller.

  1. Distributor relations

The distribution element of marketing involves the entire supply chain from the manufacturer through wholesalers and distributors including retailers to the final consumer. At each point in the supply chain, because there are economic interactions between these various parties, the potential for ethical issues to occur is quite common. 

  1. Product Development

The most common ethical concerns in this area pertain to the safety of products are safe “for their use as intended” which is a basic consumer expectation. Another growing area of concern is product counterfeiting (copy of the original). Product counterfeiting involves the unauthorized copy of patented products, inventions, and trademarks or the violation of registered copyrights. 

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Influencers Marketing

Everything You Need to Know About Google Web Stories

Google Web Stories #101

In 2020, Google announced that it would be expanding the capabilities of Web Stories, adding new features such as the ability to create multi-page stories and to customize the appearance of Web Stories using CSS. By 2021, there were over 10 million Web Stories published on the web, with new stories being added every day.

In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into Google Web Stories, exploring what they are, some examples, their uses and benefits, how to get started, useful tools, and some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind. We’ll also answer some frequently asked questions to help you get up and running with Google Web Stories.

What are Google Web Stories?

Google Web Stories are short-form, visually rich content that is easy to create and publish on the web. They are built on top of the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) framework, which makes them fast and lightweight, ensuring a smooth and seamless user experience. Web Stories are made up of a series of pages, each containing a combination of text, images, and multimedia elements such as videos and audio clips. They can be easily shared on social media, websites, and other platforms, and can be viewed on any device, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Some Samples

  • Travelogue: A travel blog uses Web Stories to share beautiful photos and captivating stories from their adventures around the world.
  • Foodie: A food blogger creates a Web Story featuring mouthwatering recipes and behind-the-scenes glimpses into their kitchen.
  • News: A news organization uses Web Stories to deliver breaking news and top stories in a visually appealing and interactive format.

Utility

Google Web Stories can be used in a variety of ways, including:

  • Blogging: Web Stories provide a visually appealing and interactive format for sharing blog posts and articles.
  • Marketing: Web Stories can be used to promote products and services, showcase customer testimonials, and drive traffic to websites and landing pages.
  • Storytelling: Web Stories are a great way to share personal stories, experiences, and adventures in an immersive and engaging format.

Getting started

Ready to get started with Google Web Stories? Here’s what you need to do:

  • Set up a Google account: If you don’t already have a Google account, you’ll need to set one up to use Web Stories.
  • Install the Web Stories plugin: The Web Stories plugin is a free tool that allows you to create and publish Web Stories directly from your WordPress website. Simply install the plugin and activate it on your site.
  • Create your first Web Story: Once the plugin is installed, you’ll be able to create and publish Web Stories from the WordPress editor. Simply add text, images, and other multimedia elements to create your story.
  • Publish and share: Once you’re happy with your Web Story, hit the publish button and share it with the world! You can share your Web Story on social media, embed it on your website, or link to it directly.

Useful Tools

Here are a few useful tools to help you create and publish Google Web Stories:

  • Web Stories plugin: As mentioned above, the Web Stories plugin is a must-have for creating and publishing Web Stories directly from your WordPress site.
  • Canva: Canva is a graphic design tool that makes it easy to create stunning images and graphics for your Web Stories.
  • Adobe Spark: Adobe Spark is a powerful tool for creating and sharing visual content, including Web Stories.

Do’s and Don’ts

Here are a few do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when creating Google Web Stories:

Do’s

  • Keep it short and sweet: Web Stories are meant to be short and easy to consume, so try to keep your stories to around 10 pages or less.
  • Use high-quality images and graphics: Web Stories are all about visuals, so make sure to use high-quality images and graphics to grab your audience’s attention.
  • Make it interactive: Use multimedia elements like videos and audio clips to make your Web Stories more interactive and engaging.
  • Use compelling headlines and captions: Headlines and captions are important for drawing your audience in and keeping them engaged, so make sure to use compelling and descriptive text.

Don’ts

  • Don’t overdo it with text: While text is important for conveying your message, try not to overwhelm your audience with too much of it. Use bullet points and short paragraphs to break up long blocks of text.
  • Don’t use low-quality images: Low-quality images can distract from your message and turn off your audience, so make sure to use only high-quality images and graphics.
  • Don’t neglect SEO: While Web Stories are primarily focused on visuals, it’s still important to optimize them for search engines by including relevant keywords and tags.
  • Don’t forget to proofread: As with any content, it’s important to proofread your Web Stories to catch any spelling or grammar errors.

FAQs

Here are a few frequently asked questions about Google Web Stories:

  1. Q: Can I use Web Stories on any website?

A: Yes, you can use Web Stories on any website that supports the AMP framework.

  1. Q: Can I monetize my Web Stories?

A: Yes, you can monetize your Web Stories through various methods such as sponsored content, affiliate marketing, and advertising.

  1. Q: Can I track the performance of my Web Stories?

A: Yes, you can track the performance of your Web Stories through Google Analytics and other tracking tools.

Conclusion

Google Web Stories are a powerful and visually engaging way to share content on the web. Whether you’re a blogger, marketer, or storyteller, Web Stories provide a unique and interactive format for delivering your message. With the right tools and a little bit of creativity, you can create stunning and immersive Web Stories that will engage and delight your audience.

So why wait? Get started with Google Web Stories today and see the impact they can have on your content. And don’t forget to stay up to date with the latest tips, tricks, and trends by subscribing to our newsletter! Spot us on social media at Blustream Integrated

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Influencers Marketing

FMCG and Influencer Marketing Make a Power Couple

How does Influencer Marketing play a pivotal role in FMCG Businesses

Consumer markets are meant for final consumption. In the consumer market, companies try to identify and meet the needs of the consumer through their product and service offerings. Additionally, they try to position the products in the consumers’ minds for better awareness and purchases. Fast-moving consumer goods or consumer packaged goods are one classification of the consumer market. Some of the best-known FMCG companies are Unilever, P&G, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, and so on. These goods generally include a wide variety of frequently purchased products such as toothpaste, shampoo, soap, cosmetics, hair oil, and detergents, as well as other non-durables just plastic goods, LED bulbs, paper & stationery, and glassware.  It may also include chocolates, pharmaceuticals, packaged food products, and soft drinks. The distinctive feature of these products is that they need to be immediately consumed. These fast-moving consumer goods are of low unit value with high volume potential. As the product may be consumed once, it may require frequent purchase. These goods have faster access to field data. They have the ability to customize raports structure and format. It helps in making cumulative profits, and so in diversification. 

What is the role of influencer marketing in assisting FMCG brands to achieve credibility?

FMCG companies are a big part of the consumer’s life. Therefore big exposure is a challenge for the brands, especially in the digital space, when they share their commitment to bigger calls such as sustainability or social impact. These brands have two challenges in two ways. First, if you are a fast consumer goods brand, which is one of the biggest ones, and you are competing with the other great brands, differentiating among them is a challenge for marketers. Because all of them are raising their voices. Another issue is that of credibility. Being a big corporation, it is more difficult to gain credibility, because you are not only having a local impact but you have a global impact too. The consumer nowadays is more informed than ever before in terms of social causes, impacts, etc. So in order to communicate to the customers, the purpose and the standard the brand is taking on social causes, in an authentic and informative way, the brands need to work on maintaining consistency. 

The power of the voice of influencer marketing in the FMCG business was highly remarkable during the pandemic situation. Since the pandemic situation started, more FMCG brands have moved to social media heavily.  The role of influencers is to achieve capillarity, as with them, you can reach out to a lot of audiences from different nationalities, and different topics of interest. The most important thing about influencers is feedback. They also allow you to commit people to your business’s purpose. Once they do this they can also pass the message to their followers, which will make their followers feel it more genuinely. Therefore it is pretty clear that influencer marketing and FMCG business work as a power couple. 

FMCG products which are based on monthly or weekly purchases are sold at low cost. Their purchase usually takes place in stores. But with the pandemic situation, everything changed online to the digital space. In this situation, social media influences provide the perfect assistance for consumers to find their necessary products. As a result of this, FMCG brands have increased their total marketing budget on such content creators. This is all because word of mouth is the most valuable marketing strategy that can be applied to any business. 

Benefits of having influencer marketing strategy applied in FMCG business 

  • Gives credibility and builds trust

Social media marketing or influencer marketing provides the best option for the marketing of FMCG products which were, before the pandemic, purchased in-store. In the times when consumers were apprehensive to go to physical stores, online stores have helped a lot. With the help of influencers, the FMCG brands were able to reach out to their audience, build more credibility and thereby create a successful trusted relationship between the consumers and the business. 

  • Increased ECommerce sales

Any brand in order to gain more acceptance and wide reach needs to be active on social media platforms to create engaging, and active online audiences. This was crucial, especially during the pandemic situation. With the promotion from content creators, the FMCG brands began to create and grow their online presence which in turn helped in increasing E-Commerce sales. 

  • Helps to keep pace with the digital age

Many brands have continued with in-store purchases for years. With influencer marketing and the subsequent growth that happened with regard to eCommerce sales and great profits, the brands had also undergone a great transformation financially and also in the digital space. It has created an impact on digital transformation. 

FMCG companies are fastest selling companies. These goods sell quickly and they have a short shelf life. They are highly demanded by consumers and they are of different kinds. There are many pros of FMCG but on the other hand, there are also some constants relating to this. Many big companies are producing FMCG products. Furthermore, they are highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. People are not allowed to come out of their homes which reduces their buying capacity. Some people did hoarding of products which could result in high demand and high prices for the products. So in short, influencer marketing has played a crucial role in the growth of FMCG businesses.

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Influencers Marketing

What Are Micro Influencers and Why Your Business Needs Them

How Micro Influencers can help your business

Getting more customers in today’s competitive world is nearly impossible. 

Search engine optimization takes months to drive any measurable traffic, PPC costs tons of money and is often difficult for the average marketer to run without hiring an agency. 

Referrals are great, but you can only generate so many of them. The reality is most marketing tactics require tons of effort and months of planning before you see results. Most of us can’t wait that long for results. What are you doing? You use nano and micro influencers. 

 Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to increase sales. 

In fact, according to BigCommerce, 17 percent of businesses spend more than half of their marketing budget on influencers. 

But most people can’t afford celebrity influencers like Kim Kardashian. Fortunately, you don’t really want to use influencers like that. 

 You want smaller, niche influencers called “micro-influencers”.

 What are micro-influencers and why should you use them? 

 It’s no secret that influencer marketing is already a booming industry. 

 The growth of influencers and social media platforms is amazing to say the least. 

 In fact, influencer marketing is a tactic I’ve used countless times to build my brands and businesses.

If you don’t have a growing following, advertising is difficult. This is why influencers are useful. They offer fast promotion of your product or service with amazing conversion rates. 

 This is one of the best ways to increase sales. All kinds of companies and brands take advantage of this. 

 So what is a micro influencer? How is micro-influencer marketing different from regular influencer marketing? Why should you focus on micro-influencers instead of regular influencers? 

 Well, let’s start  with some basic definitions. 

 Micro-influencers are pretty much what they sound like. 

They are hyper-specific influencers with a smaller following in a specific niche. They have an intensely engaged audience, but their number of followers is relatively low (less than 25,000). 

Big celebrities are not micro-influencers. 

They have millions of followers. 

Accounts with less than 25,000 followers are generally considered micro-influencers. They often have a very active audience. Additionally, nano influencers have thousands of followers. 

 Evidence shows that nano- and micro-influencers succeed. 

 Markerly studied over 800,000 Instagram accounts with over 1,000 followers each. They analyzed how engaged their audiences were compared to big celebrity influencers. 

They found that as the follower count increased, like rates dropped significantly.

They also found that comments and engaged users decreased as followership increased: 

This means that the more followers an account has, the fewer likes and comments they get (relative to the follower count. So using influencers who have millions of followers might get you less bang for your buck. 

 On top of this glaring data, they also found that Instagram influencers with 1,000 to 10,000 followers earned likes at a percent rate. In contrast, accounts with over 10,000 only achieved a 2% like rate. 

 The big-ticket celebrity accounts with over 1,000,000 followers only got a 1.7 percent like rate. 

 Expertise surveyed large groups of micro-influencers to see what kind of power they have. 

 Here are two amazing statistics they discovered: 

 Micro-influencers had 22.2 times more conversations when recommending products than average consumers. 

,

 82 percent of consumers said they are very likely to follow a recommendation from a micro-influencer. 

 Micro-influencers therefore discuss purchase recommendations more  than macro-influencers. At the same time, they are more effective when they give real results. 

 If you think you need millions of followers to grow your brand, think again. 

 Nano and micro influencers increase engagement and have better targeting capabilities. 

 So it’s time to stop wasting money on expensive influencers that don’t drive engagement or traffic. 

 How to Find Micro-influencers for Your Brand 

 Before we get into the ways you can use micro-influencers to get more customers, you need to understand how to find these people. 

 Finding the right influencer is critical. It can make or break your campaign. 

If you select the wrong influencer in the wrong niche, you risk wasting money on a failed campaign that won’t grow your business. 

 Fortunately, there are a few tools we can use to collect influencers and begin the process of outreach. 

 My favorite tool is HYPR. This is an analytics tool that allows you to find information about multiple influencers in any  niche. 

 It’s also free for over 100 searches. Most of these tools cost a lot of money, but HYPR gives you free searches and detailed reports. 

 Get started by creating a free account. 

 Once you’re on the dashboard, it’s time to search.While we’re here, we want to set up search filters based on the information we discussed earlier. 

 Remember: Influencers with 1,000-10,000 followers earned % likes, while accounts with more than 10,000 followers only achieved a 2.% like rate. For micro-influencers, we want to focus on  the next 1,000-10,000 accounts.

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Influencers Marketing

How to Become a Social Media Influencer and Make Money

Becoming a Social Media Influencer: How Do You Do It?

These individuals have built a following on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and use their influence to promote products, services, and brands to their loyal fans. 

But how exactly do you become a social media influencer? It’s not as simple as just posting a few pictures or videos and hoping for the best.

There are a lot of strategies involved, as well as a deep understanding of how the social media algorithm works. In this article, we will delve into the world of social media influencers and provide a comprehensive guide on how to become one.

How the Social Media Algorithm Works

Before we get into the steps on how to become a social media influencer, it’s important to understand how the algorithm works on these platforms. The algorithm is a set of rules that determine which posts show up in a user’s feed and in what order.

The algorithm takes into account various factors, such as the user’s interests, the user’s relationship with the person who posted, and the engagement a post receives. So, in order to increase the chances of your content being seen by a wider audience, it’s crucial to understand what the algorithm favors.

For example, posts with high engagement (likes, comments, and shares) are more likely to be shown to more people. This is because the algorithm interprets high engagement as the post being valuable or interesting to the user.

Ways Social Media Influencers Earn and Get Sponsorships

  1. There are a few different ways in which social media influencers earn money and get sponsorships. One way is through sponsored posts, where a brand pays the influencer to promote their product or service. This can be done through a sponsored Instagram post, YouTube video, or TikTok dance.
  2. Another way influencers earn money is through affiliate marketing. This is when the influencer promotes a product or service and earns a commission for every sale made through their unique referral link.
  3. Many influencers also have their own merchandise lines, such as t-shirts, hats, or stickers. They can sell these products to their followers and earn a profit.
  4. Finally, some influencers have a Patreon account, where their followers can subscribe to a monthly membership and receive exclusive content in return.

How to Become a Social Media Influencer

  1. Choose Your Platform

The first step to becoming a social media influencer is to choose the platform that you want to focus on. Each platform has its own unique features and audience, so it’s important to choose one that aligns with your personal brand and interests. Some popular platforms for influencers include Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

  1. Define Your Niche

Once you’ve chosen your platform, it’s important to define your niche. This is the specific topic or category that you will be focusing on in your content. For example, your niche could be fashion, beauty, travel, or cooking. By defining your niche, you will be able to attract a specific audience and establish yourself as an expert in that area.

  1. Create Consistent — High Quality Content

In order to grow your following and become an influencer, you need to consistently create high-quality content. This means posting regularly (at least a few times a week) and putting effort into creating visually appealing and engaging content. It’s also a good idea to use hashtags and geotags to make it easier for people to discover your content.

  1. Engage with Your Audience

One of the key factors that set social media influencers apart from regular social media users is their ability to engage with their audience. This means responding to comments and messages, asking for feedback and input, and generally being present and active on your social media accounts. By building a personal connection with your audience, you will be able to create a loyal following.

  1. Collaborate with Other Influencers and Brands

Collaborating with other influencers and brands can help you expand your reach and gain more exposure. You can collaborate by guest appearing in each other’s content, hosting giveaways, or working on sponsored campaigns together. This is also a great way to build relationships and learn from others in the industry.

  1. Utilize Influencer Marketing Platforms

Influencer marketing platforms are websites that connect brands with influencers. By creating a profile on these platforms, you can showcase your content and reach out to potential partners. Some popular influencer marketing platforms include Tribe, AspireIQ, and Influence.co.

  1. Stay Up to Date with Industry Trends

The world of social media is constantly evolving, and it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and strategies in order to succeed as an influencer. This means keeping an eye on industry news, attending events and conferences, and staying active on social media communities.

Things to Keep in Mind Before Getting Started.

  • Be Authentic

One of the most important things to remember when becoming a social media influencer is to be authentic. Your followers want to see the real you, not a fabricated persona. This means being honest, genuine, and transparent in your content and interactions.

  • Protect Your Personal Brand

As a social media influencer, you are essentially a brand. It’s important to protect your brand by being professional, respectful, and mindful of the image you are presenting. This means avoiding controversial or offensive topics and being careful about the partnerships you take on.

  • Use Social Media Responsibly 

As an influencer, you have a certain level of influence and responsibility to your followers. It’s important to use your social media platform for good and be a positive influence. This means promoting healthy habits, being mindful of your language and behavior, and being an advocate for important issues.

Conclusion

Becoming a social media influencer takes time, effort, and strategy. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can set yourself up for success and start building a loyal following. Remember to be authentic, protect your personal brand, and use your social media platform responsibly.

If you enjoyed this article and want to stay up to date with the latest trends and strategies in the world of social media influencers, consider subscribing to our newsletter. We’ll send you weekly updates and exclusive tips to help you on your journey to becoming a successful influencer. As always, catch us on social media @Blustream

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Influencers Marketing

Influencer Marketing: The Ultimate Guide (And Free Template)

The Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing

What is influencer marketing?

When we look around, most of the time we get to see people online, looking at their phones, and interacting on different social platforms. Influencer marketing focuses on using key influencers or leaders to give a brand’s message and ideas to the targeted audience. Influencer marketing campaigns are designed to tap into a community of active and engaged followers. Influencers are specialists in their particular niche and have established a high level of trust and two-way communication with their followers. When an influencer shares information or update their post, it will be read, shared and followed by a large number of people. That is where the business benefit lies. This brand marketing method is powerful and strong enough to influence tge customer’s purchasing decisions.

How to set up an influencer marketing campaign?

  • Set your goal and budget. 

Think what your goal is. What is the purpose and w do you want to work with an influencer? Making more sales is definitely one, but there are other things that you might not have thought about. More common goals are:

  • Building brand awareness and strengthening brand image
  • Increase social media engagement and interactions
  • Improve conversions like newsletter subscribers, free trial sign-ups, sales, and email list building)
  • Defining your budge

If you are an independent business owner, it might skip this step of defining the budget. But it is always good to keep track of your expenses, as will help you understand whether your marketing campaign is going forward or not. 

  • Finding the right influencer

You need to decide whether you want to use nano influencers or micro-influencers, mid-tier influencers or top-tier influencers. There are pros and cons to each. Brands like to work with nano influencers because their audience is dedicated and they trust them. Their downside is that they lack the time or experience to work. Mid-tier influencers may show great results, as they have a genuine two-way connection with the audience. The only issue with them is that they look for financial compensation. The content and reach of top-tier influencers could impact your business positively if their audience is engaged and relevant to your business. But as influences grow they do tend to lose the connection they have to their audience. Their niche might also start to dilute. Just because they have a large audience doesn’t mean that their audience will convert for you. So don’t just look at the numbers. Ask them for screenshots of their analytics, which you can use to look at the demographics of their audience. Make sure that you are doing this, no matter what size influencer you are working with. 

How to find the right influencers? Go on to Instagram, type in some hashtags and search through the top section. You can also use the tool called Dovetale. It is a robust platform to help you find Instagrammers and YouTubers and you can search based on specific keywords, locations, niches and audiences. You can also send influences a message straight from Dovetale. To check out TikTok influencers, you can use apps like Hypetrace. 

  • Validate your influencers

You need to validate that the content creator can create the type of content that you are looking for. Make sure that you are checking their past work. 

  • Reaching out to influencers

Don’t let something like a follower count discourage you from reaching out to them. 

  • Introduce yourself, so that you can establish a connection. 
  • Let them know that, you know who they are. 
  • Give a genuine compliment. 
  • Tell them why you are reaching out.
  • Explain your expectations. 
  • Let them know where they can find you. Ensure that you include your social media handles and other necessary details. 
  • How to create content with an influencer?

Negotiate the terms of the relationship. This could happen in an exchange of emails back and forth. 

  • Talk about the type of content. 
  • You can have a list of requests that you want the influencer to fulfil. 
  • Give them creative freedom. 
  • Discuss where the content will live. Whether you want a story post or blog content, it’s up to you. 
  • Discuss a timeline

If you want to see the first draft, set the date for when that would be due. 

  • Talk to them and come to a consensus as to how they will mention you. 
  • Agree on compensation.

You can ask them about their rates, if you have a budget to pay for them.

  • You could exchange products for content. This is a very famous way to carry out relationships with influencers. You could exchange professional opportunities for content. 
  • Stay organized and track results.
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Influencers Marketing

A Guide to Instagram Infuencer Marketing for Businesses

Influencer marketing has grown in popularity in recent years and is one of the critical marketing methods on Instagram. Influencer marketing was an estimated $13 billion  industry across all platforms in 2021 and is projected to grow to over $16 billion by 2022. Think platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Youtube. Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform for influencer marketing and around 68% of marketing experts turn to the platform for their influencer marketing campaigns. 

There is no doubt  that every brand and social media agency must take advantage of this special type of marketing  to run successful campaigns. Before getting into the nitty-gritty of Instagram influencer marketing, it’s interesting to learn how and why this marketing tactic has become such a viral and integral part of social media marketing.  

The Death of TV Ads

As poetic as it sounds, the statement is just as true. Now it is necessary to understand that in this case we are only talking about popularity. Television advertising continues to be of great interest in increasing brand sales. However, according to Zenith, a well-known social media marketing agency, 2022 will be the year that social media ads surpass TV ads. The fact is for us amazing and  at the same time obvious. 

 Advertisers will spend more than $170 billion  on social media advertising in 2022 alone. That number is expected to grow to more than $225 billion  by 202

, making social media more than 26 percent of all advertising spending. Research shows that B2C marketing is worth more than $15 billion and B2B influencers are catching up fast. 

 In this era of influencer marketing, Instagram is the most popular platform. Bloglovin conducted a survey talking to over 2,500 micro-influencers who liked Instagram more than any other social media platform. Currently, more than 23 percent of global social media users follow influencers, and Instagram accounts account for more than 60 percent of engagement on the platform. We can conclude  that Instagram is the best place for influencer marketing. Instagram has also changed its user interface to give influencers  more options to create unique content.

What explains the popularity of influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing takes a step back from the general popularity of brands among celebrities. Most influencers are regular people who have built their following on reviews and  products  they actually follow. 

 Television commercials spoke of glory and glamour. The bigger the celebrity, the bigger the sale of the product. To be  honest, this trend has  not subsided yet. However, Instagram gave ordinary people the opportunity to show the real benefits of a service or product. Viewers would rather follow these influencers  than celebrities who are sure they don’t even use the product. Thanks to their raging popularity, brands quickly turned these influencers into their spokespeople. 

 Given the rapid rate at which some influencers have gained popularity over the years, they are now simply considered celebrities. The dominant trend at the moment is the rise of micro-influencers. These influencers have  between 2 and 10,000 followers. Instagrammers value the authenticity of their influencers’ opinions even more than top influencers with millions of followers. 

 Another important reason for the popularity of Instagram influencer marketing  is the dominance of Generation Z on the platform.  Global Index research shows that 16-2

 year olds visited Instagram more than Facebook as of 2019. 

 For the target audience, influencer marketing works wonders because the new generation relies on authenticity and customer reviews instead of high-flying advertisements. 

 How to create an effective marketing campaign for influencers on Instagram? 

 Understanding these metrics will help you create and execute an effective influencer marketing campaign. It should be noted that results vary by industry. For example, the impact of influencers is greatest for cosmetics, makeup or skin care products. Understanding the core industry is also important to execute an effective campaign. 

 Let’s start by understanding the costs of influencer campaigns. 

 Understanding the Costs of Running Influencer Marketing Campaigns. 

 Influencer marketing campaigns don’t have to be expensive at the same time, the main cost of your campaign depends on who you hire for your brand. When it comes to super influencers like Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, or even  A-list celebrities like Dwayne Johnson,  costs can skyrocket, but that’s not what we’re looking for. Our main goal is to understand the costs of micro and mid-level influencers.

How to estimate base costs?

A general rule of thumb is to estimate the number of followers and engagement level of the influencer. Hootsuite notes that the unspoken industry standard is $100 for every ten thousand followers. This price is not absolute, as deliveries related to posters, stories and reels also count. 

 Prepare to negotiate returns. Also consider overhead, logistics and manufacturing costs. Looking at all  these aspects  will allow you to arrive at a reliable number. 

Never forget to budget your campaign

Targeting the right audiences with smoother ads is essential. Allocating your advertising budget will give you an idea of ​​how big your influencer campaign can be. Plus, it gives you the ability to hire multiple influencers if the budget works. Ads are a huge part of influencer marketing and can make or break your campaign. Having the right PPC person or agency is paramount in this situation.

Conclusion

A complete knowledge of influencer marketing will help you run budget and effective campaigns. In most cases, it is difficult for small businesses to take on all the responsibilities. Hiring a social media manager like us can relieve your stress and  allow you to focus on your business.

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Web and App

The Essential Guide to Optimizing Your Emails for Mobile

An Amazing Guide to Optimizing Emails for Mobile

Email marketing has one of the best-known ROIs in the eCommerce world, with the possibilities going up to even 4400%. To put that in perspective, it’s a return of $44 on every dollar invested. Now that you know just how important this field is, let’s take a shallow dive into how you can optimize these emails for mobile phones and their small displays. We’ll briefly discuss some important structural points.

Layout

First and foremost, let’s talk about layout and design. On a mobile device, the screen is smaller, and therefore, less content is visible at a time. To combat this, it’s essential to use a single-column layout and to stack elements vertically rather than horizontally. This will make it easier for the reader to scroll through and digest the content. It’s also a good idea to use a responsive design, which means that the email will automatically adjust to fit the size and orientation of the device it’s being viewed on.

Body

In addition to the layout, it’s essential to focus on the size of your text. Make sure that your font size is large enough to be easily readable on a mobile device. It’s also a good idea to use bold and/or italicized text to highlight important information and make it stand out. When it comes to choosing a font, it’s important to consider readability as well as aesthetics. Sans-serif fonts like Arial and Helvetica tend to be more legible on a small screen, while serif fonts like Times New Roman and Georgia may be more difficult to read.

Now let’s talk about the content of your emails. Keep the messaging clear and concise, and avoid long text blocks. Use bullet points or numbered lists to break up the content and make it easier to scan. It’s also a good idea to use images, but be mindful of the file size. Large images can slow down the loading time of your email, which can be frustrating for the reader. Consider using compressed image files or smaller, thumbnail-sized images to strike a balance between aesthetics and speed.

Preheader

Apart from layout, design, and content, it’s important to focus on the subject line and preheader text of your emails. These are the first things that a reader will see, so it’s important to make them attention-grabbing and informative. Consider using emojis or power words to make your subject line stand out in the crowded inbox. The preheader text is the snippet of text that appears below or next to the subject line in the inbox, so it’s important to make it descriptive and compelling.

Call to action

Finally, don’t forget to include calls to action in your emails. Make it easy for the reader to take the next step, whether it’s purchasing a product or signing up for a newsletter. Use buttons or links with clear and descriptive text to guide the reader to the desired action. It’s also a good idea to use personalized language and address the reader by name to make the email feel more targeted and relevant.

By following these few tips and testing different variations, you can create effective and compelling CTAs that guide the reader to take the desired action. Whether it’s purchasing a product, signing up for a newsletter, or visiting a website, well-crafted CTAs can be a powerful tool in your email marketing arsenal. So, it’s always important to pay special attention to them and make sure they are effective and well-placed in your emails.

Conclusion

Optimizing your emails for mobile and smaller device screens is essential for the success of any digital marketing campaign. Any part of the audience shouldn’t be left unattended and mobile devices make up the biggest share of the email marketing audience. By considering the layout, design, content, subject line, and calls to action, you can craft emails that not only look great but also function seamlessly on a variety of devices. 

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Web and App

5 Usability Principles That Make Visitors Stick (and Boost Your SEO)

5 Tips to Retain Web Visitors

Have you ever heard of the rule of seven? This is the rule in which people see your name, your company brand, and your product or service seven times, and then they are more likely to buy. This rule exists because marketers all over the world have noticed that the more people see your product or brand, the more likely they are to convert and buy. 

What to do if you have zero website visitors?

  • Identify keywords and topics that you can win today. Once you find suitable keywords, filter them based on intent. 
  • Learn from your competitor’s strategy and spot opportunities. Look at the top pages. 
  • Create in-depth content around the main topics you want to focus on. 

How to get more returning visitors?

  •  Remarket your visitors using Google AdWords or Facebook.

Every time someone’s on Google or Facebook or YouTube they will see an ad that brings them back to your website. If you are selling a product or service, this is one of the best things you can do because the people who are more likely to buy aren’t just random people who haven’t been to your website. It is people who have already been there once, they already know you, and you have already built trust. So when they come back to your site they are much more likely to convert. If you are selling a paid product or service, or you are collecting leads, remarketing is worth it. 

  • Start collecting emails.

It is up to you to decide what method you want to use to collect emails. But once you collect them, you can keep emailing those people back on new content that you have, offers, or promos, so that way they keep coming back to your website. 

  • Push notifications

If someone is browsing your website, the system will ask if they want to subscribe through the browser. If they click yes, then when they are browsing any website on the web, they will get a notification that asks them to go back to the previous website. 

  • Let your content match the headline

Make sure the content that you are uploading on your website matches the tagline that you’re giving. Let your content live up to the headline that you are using. 

  • Keep it simple

Avoid using more colors and complex designs on your website. Let it be simple and up to mark.

What is retargeting and how to leverage it?

When someone first comes to your website, they are probably not going to buy. On the high end, you are lucky if five out of a hundred people who come to your website buy. Realistically, one to three out of a hundred are going to buy, the rest aren’t. Targetting or remarketing is that, when someone comes to your website you can pixel them. These are interchangeable. There are a few ad companies that do retarget, and the main ones are Facebook ads, and the second one is Google AdWords. It’s a friendly way of stalking on the web. It is not about collecting sensitive information on the customers. These ad companies are smart and sophisticated in that, they are protecting people’s privacy. What happens is that you are following them around and showing them your product or service and trying to get them back to your website to buy. 

How to optimize your website for more organic traffic?

When it comes to getting more traffic to your website the options are pretty much endless. You can pay for advertising and buy clicks through pay-per-click advertising or PPC. Anything can and often does work when it comes to generating more traffic and getting more visitors to your website. 

  1. Keyword Research

This is all about making sure that your website shows up in the right place at the right time for the right people. It is the most crucial step when it comes to optimising a website and doing any kind of Search engine optimisation or SEO on your website or your content in general. Make sure that the keywords are things that people search for. 

  1. Competitor research

New website owners think that they need to completely reinvent the wheel, and go where no website has gone before. Take some time to dive into your competitor’s websites to see what they are doing, and what you can learn from them. See what keywords they are using, what kind of content they have on their website, what kind of structure, design and layout are they using, and what kind of backlinks they have on their website. 

  1. Website Checklist 

This helps to work through things systematically from top to bottom. Without using a proper and well-structured SEO checklist you may miss something which could completely demolish your chance of getting any traffic or any visitors to your website. 

  1. Provide a great user experience to the visitor. This is very important in retaining visitors to your website
  1. Make your website is more engaging

Most people prefer watching videos to reading long texts. So try to add videos for better communication. This will be a game-changer.

Categories
Web and App

Is Your Website Working For Your Business?

How do you optimize your website for you business?

This Member Spotlight article summarizes one DMI member’s experience with successful websites. It’s all yours to play, so if you want to be in the digital marketing game and make a difference, submit your work for publication on our community review site! 

 Have you ever created a website  and been disappointed with its performance? Or maybe you had a website that once worked pretty well, but  no longer brings in sales? 

 If your website is not  used as one of the important factors in selling your business, you may be in a trap. 

 After working on hundreds of websites and consulting with many business owners over the past 10 years, I have found that most  business owners who need help with their website tend to fall into one of  two traps: 

1.  Knowledge Trap

In my experience, many new entrepreneurs do not understand the importance of  quality web design and marketing. They often underestimate the power of a professionally designed website, often mistaking the low price for value and choosing the cheapest web designer available. 

 Many new entrepreneurs don’t realize  that  all websites are not created equal. Think of it this way:  Ferrari and  Fiat Punto are both cars, but which one performs better? It’s the same with a website.

2. The Stagnation Trap

 What worked for your site a few years ago may not  work today. As more and more businesses are  just beginning to understand the importance of successfully competing  online, the competition for online visibility  has intensified. Those who invest heavily in the continuous improvement of their websites and digital marketing will benefit, while those who stand still and stagnate will die. 

 So whether you’ve built a website that’s doing nothing for your business, or you’ve noticed a significant decline in  your website’s performance, there’s hope. Below I will highlight some  key areas that you need to focus on and improve if necessary. 

3. Results

Everything we do online should  facilitate conversion optimization. Conversion optimization is how we convert website visitors into buyers, effectively turning the website into a sales machine. There are four things you need to do to achieve this  and if you do them right, you will see a big difference in sales; 

  •   digital strategy 
  •   quality website 
  •   quality traffic 
  •   ability to analyze  and improve data

Here are four ways to make it more detailed:

1. Digital Strategy

Let’s be honest, did you have a digital strategy when you started your business and  built your website? If the answer is no, don’t worry, many people don’t start  with a digital strategy. But for the good of your business, it is very important that you do your homework first. 

 When you started your business, you would have had a business plan that gave you  direction, a plan of action on how you plan to grow your business in the short to medium term. A digital strategy is very similar and  also gives you an idea of ​​what the competition is like online and what you need to do online to achieve your goals.

2.  Quality Website

If you want a  quality website that will have a significant positive impact on your business, you need to hire a  quality website designer, and it doesn’t come cheap. A professional web designer just doesn’t work on the cheap, they don’t have to. 

 In my own experience  it can be difficult to find the right designer in Ireland and the  quality can vary. Many of my clients have had to use multiple designers after bad experiences.

3.  Quality Traffic

There are many ways to generate quality traffic to your website, such as Google Ads, SEO, Social Media, but to make it simple, I like  traffic  either paid or free (or organic) Traffic. 

Analyze and Improve

 Without the ability to understand where our customers come from and how they interact with our website, we are in the dark. It’s not enough to install Google Analytics  and just know how many visitors we get; we need to know where the valuable visitors or results are coming from. 

 Example: Imagine your website received 20 hits/visitors yesterday and three people contacted your business. How do you know which three of those 20 converted? Let’s say you discovered and realized that one channel or keyword generated 3 paying customers and the other 17 were useless. You  want to focus on increasing the number of visitors through that channel or keyword and thus significantly increase your sales. This is achieved through tracking technology. 

 Results Tracking  

 Website tracking technology works best  with PPC advertising campaigns. In the past, Google Analytics provided more detailed information to let us know which free keywords produced results, but unfortunately since 2011, Google has hidden this data for privacy reasons, making it difficult for us to understand how our free traffic is converting. However, when used in conjunction with paid advertising, we can see which ads work best. This maximizes the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and reduces our advertising costs. 

 Social Media Performance Tracking 

 All social media advertising accounts like LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Facebook now offer a tracking code like the Facebook Pixel. By adding this tracking code to your website code, you can set up conversion tracking in your ad account. Depending on the platform you use, you will receive detailed instructions for tracking certain events such as button clicks,  cart additions, etc. 

 Google Ads Conversion Tracking 

  Google Ads Conversion Tracking is best done by setting goals in  Google Analytics. Finally, connect your Google Analytics account to your Google Ads account and import the goals back into Google Ads. It unifies your tracking between Google Analytics and Google Ads, giving you a single source of truth about conversions. 

 Top tip: After about 6 months of advertising you should see a pattern, for example you might have 2 campaigns  with 5 ads in each campaign. You may find that only 2 out of  10 of these ads convert. With this information, you can make an informed decision and eliminate ads that are costing you money, but not for you, and redirect your entire budget to what really works. This can have a dramatic effect on sales.

Conclusion 

 If your website is not working for your business, the main areas to focus on are; digital strategy,  high quality website, high quality traffic and the ability to analyze data and make improvements. With a digital strategy, we have a plan  on how to achieve our goals. On premium websites, we are willing to collect customer contact information. When we drive quality traffic  to our business, we have a much better chance of getting leads and making sales, and when we understand exactly where that  quality traffic is coming from, we can laser-focus on what really works best for your business.

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