by Francois Muscat | Nov 2, 2015 | Online Marketing, Online Reputation Management
The digital marketing arena has changed so much over the years. In the past you could rely on a solid search engine optimisation strategy to show your potential clients your value. Today, people rely on the opinions of people they trust when they make purchase decisions online. The people who own these opinions are called online influencers and can mean a lot to your online strategy. Here are a few things you need to know about online influencers:
They have a huge following
Influencers often have loads of online followers. If they decide to tweet about a bad customer experience they had at their local coffee shop, thousands of people will see it. The amount of people who follow their online interactions means they can boost or burn a brand in an instant with a few social updates or a blog post.
Their opinions are valued
If they recommend a product, restaurant or service, people trust what they have to say. They are often authentic about what they’re interested in and their advice is taken to heart by those who follow them.
They have a niche
Many online influencers are famous in certain circles. Some blog about fitness, others about entrepreneurship or parenting. They’ve created a following based on their expertise and the value they provide to online communities that are interested in what they have to say.
The good ones can’t be ‘bought’
If you can pay an online influencer to say something nice about you, then they’re not worth their salt. The really good ones would be willing to review your product and provide an unbiased opinion to their online communities, however steer clear from online influencers who are prepared to post whatever you want them to say as this type of inauthenticity can be smelled a mile away.
Want to start working with online influencers to get your message across? Then contact WSI OMS today and we will make it happen.
by Marianna Muscat | Oct 27, 2015 | Content Marketing, Online Marketing
Content – such an integral part of social media. Without it, how could we connect with our potential customers, keep the interest going and drive traffic to our websites? Quite simply, you can’t. So what is the secret to creating and posting great content? In social media terms, great content is the content getting to the right person at the right time. You could be writing the most eloquent, witty, informative or valuable post, but if it fails to reach the target audience, it goes largely unnoticed.
So what is the secret to getting the right content? Knowing what to publish, when and where, is where it all begins. Once you have that valuable information, getting the content should be a bit easier.
Big brands often have strategies that can be applied to small business. Using the right platform can reach the right people at the right time. Starbucks recently posted a special offer on their Facebook page, for the next day. Their Facebook following of 34 million is considerably larger than their Twitter following of 3.8 million, so they used the platform that would reach more customers. The update was shared by almost 14 000 people and received 1 553 comments. By using Facebook rather than Twitter, Starbucks focused on the (right) platform where they were sure to get the most exposure, giving incentives to their followers to keep following the brand.
Posting at the right time is a biggie. Almost all research studies show that working hours (8am – 8pm) are the best time to tweet or post on Facebook. If you have followers in different time zones, post the same content at different intervals.
Infographics are popular as they show complex information quickly and clearly and are often easier to understand than pages of text. Good infographics are shared on Twitter and Facebook more often than other content online. They regularly go viral, so are a powerful marketing tool to illustrate your company’s products and services.
Lead generation cards, like the ones from Twitter are a clever approach. These cards make it easy for followers to show interest in your business or brand, without having to fill in forms. Sharing their email address with the business, allows them to expand the tweet, where they will see details of a special offer and call to action (a one-click process).
Some tips for your actual writing:
- Use online writing tools to invigorate your writing style.
- Include ‘Tips’ in your post – the keyword “tips” produces around 30.4 million global monthly searches.
- Use hashtags to help your readers find your content; they make it easier to start a conversation than an email address.
- Use a conversational tone to make your writing more engaging.
- Question your readers, to promote comments – their suggestions could be very helpful.
- Humour is an easy way to get a reaction from your followers.
Get help with your social media content from WSI
If you don’t have time to invest in creating the right content for the right customer at the right time, seek help from outside. Digital marketing specialists, like WSI, can help with content generation and other aspects of social media marketing. Contact them today to find out how their experience in this fast-paced field can benefit your business.
by Francois Muscat | Sep 16, 2015 | Ecommerce, Online Marketing, Website Optimization
Your online sales are greatly influenced by the design you have for your online storefront. The slightest change or shift in the storefront design has the possibility of either improving or harming your conversion rates. The best strategy to increase your sales is through web development techniques that increase your visibility.
For purposes of increasing your conversion rates consider applying these web development techniques:
- Increasing the visibility of the shopping cart
Customers need peace of mind whenever they add items to their cart, knowing whether or not the items they added to the cart were registered. Therefore, it is imperative for you to set aside a section on your website that lists items in the cart at all times. This means you are supposed to:
- Ensure you also provide the necessary check-out information.
- Make sure your customers have an easy time checking out.
- Have a link that takes the customer back to your check-out page.
- Optimising on “add-to-cart” buttons
Site customers as well as visitors will respond differently to action calls. For example, buttons that state “add to cart” or “more details” tend to put off customers, compared to specific buttons such as “buy now,” as they are a direct and specific call to action with the ability to elicit positive responses.
Be careful with the colours selected for your website. Green and blue are deemed as gentle colours that attract people while red and orange put them off.
- Clean the product pages up
The manner in which you organise pages on your website is important as well. You should make sure you do this in a manner that appeals to your website visitors. As such, be certain to:
- Provide product images.
- Include product name.
- Add a description of the product.
- Add the price of the product.
- Clarify navigation paths
Having menus or elements that are hidden on your website can be cause for shopper frustration. Consider having fly-out menus in order to keep your pages clearly visible. Shoppers will find it easier to use your website if, for instance, you provide a “continue shopping” button that makes it easy for them to navigate back.
- Get rid of distractions on the check-out page
Ridding your website of left sidebar navigations is an ideal way to get rid of interferences. This means you should:
- Ignore your urge of continuing to sell through your check-out process.
- Consider having a single page check-out as it records high conversion rates.
Your website should also have a page which allows your customers to complete their billing, credit and shipping information.
Need help with your website development? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Marianna Muscat | Aug 11, 2015 | Content Marketing, Online Marketing
Content marketing can be used quite successfully to launch your online “teaching” career! If you have expertise and want to share them online, it makes great profitable sense. What are you waiting for? For those who are a bit sceptical, below are our top 4 reasons why sharing your expertise online can be profitable:
- When presenting content media to the online world, you are presenting your content and expertise to a group of people who want to learn and want to be there. They have specifically sought out your expertise and have a real interest in the subject matter. What does this mean? This means that your target audience comes to you.
- With online teaching or sharing, you can present your content once and use it over and over. The ROI on content marketing or media is simply unlimited. The same course taught or content presented can be used and profited from many times. The trick is to create an online course that really addresses the needs of your target audience. Thereafter, you need an effective content marketing or online marketing strategy in place that will bring in a continuous flow of eager students. That’s it – set this cycle to repeat and your online course and expertise can be infinitely valuable to you.
- Online teaching can provide you with powerful endorsements. Let’s face it, live workshops and classes are often filled with individuals who don’t want to be there. Online workshops are taken by people who are interested in the subject and want to excel. These are the type of people that you want involved in your course and talking about what you have to offer. The power of sharing online and word of mouth for that matter will certainly boost awareness of your course or expertise.
- Presenting your expertise online provides you with the opportunity to become an authority in your industry. As your name gets out there and more people within your particular industry discover your course or hear of it, you will become seen and known as an expert. This can do wonders for your course and future courses you might want to present.
Boost Online Awareness of Your Course and Expertise with Content Marketing
At WSI we provide our clients with professional content marketing and online marketing services. With our assistance your online course or expertise can be strategically advertised to your target audience for great long term ROI.
To learn more about our content marketing services and how to understand the benefits of online and digital marketing, contact us at WSI today.
by Francois Muscat | Jul 29, 2015 | Online Marketing
Various social media aspects should be included in your website design in order to keep your customers engaged. The typical business model follows a simple pattern which includes finding the customer, engaging the customer, selling products and then keeping the relationship healthy and beneficial to both parties thereafter. How your consumers find your website is important and without relevant and valuable content, they simply never would. Websites are ranked on search engine results according to the content which is included on them. The more relevant and valuable content you have, the better your chances are of getting listed in the best results on Google and other search engine results. Below are some things you should consider including in your website design which will help with engagement:
- Product care and how to information – if your products require special instructions for use and care, make sure this information is made available on your website. Create content the consumer will find helpful and assist them with enjoying the product better.
- Offer apps – if you have a mobile app or have access to one that complements your product or services, offer download links for the app on your website. You can even chat to a professional developer about having your own dedicated app created.
- Upload videos – consumers love to watch quick videos which could help them to understand, use and enjoy their products more. In fact, many consumers prefer to watch videos over reading lengthy content. Make your videos brief, informative and interesting. Don’t forget to include social share buttons and links so that they can share the video to various social media platforms.
Engaging website design services from WSI
At WSI we provide the market with professional and effective website design services. We understand just how to engage with your target audience and will present you with viable online marketing strategies and ideas to consider for your website and business. In addition to website design we also offer content marketing, search marketing, email marketing and various other forms of digital marketing services for you to consider.
To learn more about our website design and online marketing services, contact us at WSI via email or telephone today.
by Francois Muscat | Jul 20, 2015 | Digital Media Marketing, Online Marketing
Remarketing is still a fairly new concept in the world of digital marketing. The best way to describe what it is, is by an example:
If you go to an online store or website to do research about a product you’re interested in, you will see pictures and product descriptions on the page. After you’ve done your research, you might go and check your email, browse the web and go about your daily online routine. Suddenly you see the same product photos pop up in paid advertising space – that’s remarketing.
So, how do companies get this right? Many times, it’s the product of a clever internet marketing campaign which uses Google’s new Dynamic Remarketing (GDR) feature. This feature was launched in July 2013 and has helped many online stores and ecommerce websites take their businesses to the next level.
In order to start using this feature, you will need to link your Google Adwords account to your Google Merchant account. After this, you need to invest in some catchy copywriting so that your headlines and product photos really stand out.
The reason why Google’s Dynamic Remarketing feature works so well is because it targets people in a tactical way. People who have already shown interest in your product and know what you’ve got to offer. You can also use this tool to up-sell and cross-sell products online.
Need help with your internet marketing campaigns? Contact WSI today.
