Digital Marketing

4 Reasons Your Facebook Ads Don’t Convert (and How to Fix Them, Today)

June 18, 2021 by admin

Facebook Ads are one of the more popular advertising options for people who are new to online marketing.

However, despite 92% of marketers claiming to use Facebook Ads, there are still many who try Facebook Ads and fail to generate positive conversion rate results.

Wrong Targeting

One of the main reasons marketers fail with Facebook Ads is because they fail to target their ads properly. Facebook allows you to create a custom audience, but many people don’t realize this.

More than 1.09 billion people use Facebook everyday – it’s pretty hard to say that your ads aren’t working because your target market isn’t hanging out on the site.

The distinct advantage of Facebook Ads is that they provide you with the ability to target your ads so that they’re shown to a very precise audience who will be curious about your offer and click ideally to a specific landing page.

However, the flipside of that is that if your ads are poorly targeted, your ads will be shown across social media to people who don’t care for them at all leading to horrible site conversion.

After all, you could get everything else right. But, if your targeting is off base, nothing else will work. What good is an awesome looking ad, if the ad is shown to people who don’t care for it?

Choosing the Right Bidding Option and Bidding the Right Amount

Another reason Facebook Ads don’t tend to work out for marketers is because they’re not bidding correctly.

If you find that your ads are not generating enough impressions or clicks, the bidding section might be where you need to make some adjustments.

When you’re building your ads, the section where you adjust the bidding settings for your ads can be a little complex for a newbie.

Here, you only really need to focus on a few specific sections.

The first is the, ‘Bid amount.’

If you previously selected the ‘Automatic’ option, but failed to see any results, you may want to now select the ‘Manual’ option.

Upon clicking the Manual option, you’ll then be able to decide how much you’re willing to bid, per click.

Often, you’ll be provided with a suggested bid, both minimum and maximum.

However, if you find that your ad isn’t getting any impressions to your landing page, in spite of you bidding within these numbers, you might want to go a little bit higher.

Of course, this all depends on how much you can afford. So, it helps to work out the lifetime value of a customer, if you want to remain profitable.

If, after bidding higher, you find that your ads are still generating low impressions, then you might need to take a look at your custom audience targeting. It might be too precise.

Create Click-Worthy Ads

If you’ve taken care of the issues we’ve discussed already, but your ads still look like they need fixing, you might then want to take a look at adjusting the way your ads look.

A lot of the time, you can tell that your ad creative is performing poorly if your ad has a low CTR.

The average CTR on Facebook is 0.9%.

However, if you’re running a News Feed ad, you’ll want it to be above 5% and 1% for a Right sidebar ad.

Facebook is a very visual platform and you’ll want to make sure that your ads are good at catching the eyes of your custom audience.

If you do not have a lot of experience in creating Facebook Ads, you might want to study what other advertisers are doing.

Keeping a Swipe File is a good way to keep a record of ads that have impressed you.

You can use a tool, like Evernote, to screenshot any ads that you come across that have interested you or caused you to take action.

Experimentation

Experimentation is an important part of fixing a Facebook Ad campaign that isn’t producing desired website conversion results.

Many of the best paid traffic experts in the world often fail to produce a winning ad on their first go.

A lot of them need to go through a process of testing, in order to find an ad that is going to bring them optimal results.

When it comes to your own campaigns, consider creating multiple variations of the same ad.

Small Business Marketing 101: Using Email, Social, Video and More

June 11, 2021 by admin

Introduction to Small Business Marketing 101

Whether your small business has existed for years, or just recently started up, finding the most effective marketing strategies is critical. That’s because small businesses don’t have the same resources to execute as larger scale firms. In fact, you may be the founder and CEO who has also taken up the mantle of marketer.

Let’s first talk about a framework for bringing the ideal customer to your website. It’s used by tons of businesses, big and small, and it can work for you as well.

What is inbound marketing?

Outbound marketing as “push” marketing and inbound marketing as “pull.” Rather than interrupt customers with disruptive ads or unethical sales tactics, you attract them via valuable content that helps them accomplish their goals.

To further elaborate, it’s about three pieces:

Attract
Engage
Delight

You attract prospects and customers to your website and blog through relevant and helpful content.

Once they arrive, you engage with them using conversational tools like email and chat and by promising continued value.

Finally, you delight them by continuing to act as an empathetic advisor and expert.

The inbound methodology isn’t specific to marketing, by the way. The same process and mindset can be used in sales and services, too.

So, how do you actually do inbound marketing?

Inbound 101: The basics for getting started

There have been many books and courses on inbound marketing, so we won’t be able to comprehensively cover the idea here. Rather, we’ll give the 80/20 so you can start to take action. After you get your wheels on the ground, you can always go back and learn more about the methodology.

So what are the basic steps for getting started?

First, map out your ideal audience, aka your target market. Who do you want to sell to?
Second, map out the channels you can use to attract, engage and delight your customers. Where do they hang out and how do they communicate?
Finally, begin crafting content and messaging that will be used to attract, engage and delight customers. Make sure you have analytics in place, because you’ll need to constantly learn and update your strategy based on the results you get.

Let’s dive into each one of these individually.

Know your personas & target markets

It’s possible you know your target market and have already built your buyer personas, but even if that’s the case, it never hurts doing this work again and learning more about your customers. The more you know about your customer, the better you can craft your messaging and strategy.

In defining a target market, you narrow down your audience to the level that you can choose correct marketing channels and start to define a buyer persona for messaging.

In building a buyer persona, you create a representative model of your prototypical customer. As in machine learning, you need to split the difference between perfect accuracy and perfect utility. In other words, you should gather enough data and information to make a buyer persona largely accurate to the real world, but you shouldn’t gather too much information and make it too complex.

How do you gather data to inform your buyer persona? There are many ways, some easier, some harder, depending on the stage of your company:

Customer interviews (phone or in person)
Digital analytics
Surveys (on-site polls like Qualaroo and customer surveys)
User testing
Live chat transcripts and intelligence via sales and service teams

You’ll want to answer core questions about your ideal buyer, such as:

What are their motivations and fears?
How do they prefer to make purchases?
How much research do they do and what kind of content is useful to them?
How do they interact with brands? What do they prefer the relationship to look like?
Who do they look to when they’re making decisions? Who influences them?
Where do they hang out? How can you reach them?
What type of language do they use?

All of these things will help you a) choose channels and b) craft messaging.

Just don’t create a silly made-up buyer persona with a cute name just to go through the motions. Also, it probably doesn’t matter what your buyer persona’s favorite color of car is unless you’re selling paint or used vehicles. Stick to the stuff that’s important and knowable.

Map out your channels and tactics

When you have a target market and buyer persona, you can look into different channels. There are only so many inbound marketing channels:

Blogging
SEO
Social
Facebook Ads
Branding
Referral
Virality

Some channels won’t work for your business no matter how hard you try. For example, virality probably doesn’t make sense if you sell dish soap.

Similarly, some channels could potentially work but will take so much effort and risk to pull off, that you should probably table them for the time being in favor of higher impact channels. For example, if you’re a LawnStarter (lawn care) or ProTranslating (translation services), social media may not pay off.

How to Write the Best YouTube Descriptions

April 20, 2021 by admin

We speak about client acquisition all of the time. In the end, there is nothing more powerful than SEO. SEO — as a side note — is the most overused, misunderstood concept on the internet. However, there is one thing that is SEO, and that is a video on YouTube.

Done right, YouTube descriptions can boost SEO, subscriptions, view counts, and watch time. They can also help your videos rank on YouTube. They can also help your videos rank in YouTube’s “suggested search” function.

Great YouTube marketing starts with great YouTube descriptions. There are two types of descriptions that every marketer needs to know:

A YouTube channel description is the text on your channel’s “About” page. It helps viewers understand what to expect from your brand.
A YouTube video description is the text below each of your videos. It helps viewers find your content and decide whether to watch it.

20 tips for writing effective YouTube descriptions (Part 1):

Use specific keywords

Choose 1-2 keywords that accurately describe your content to maximize search traffic to your video. Include them in your video’s description and title to increase its chances of ranking in potential viewers’ search results.

The same goes for your channel description. YouTube’s algorithm places a lot of importance on the keywords in your About page. Use them wisely.

Not sure what keywords to use? Tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner and Google Trends can help you get started.

Simply type in the words that best describe what your channel or video is about and Google will suggest the closest related keywords.

Repeat your keywords

Repetition lets YouTube know a particular term is relevant to your video or channel. Use your keyword two to three times for best results. Any more than three, and it may get flagged as keyword stuffing.

Find complementary keywords

12 Cheap & Easy Tips

Include related keywords in your descriptions. This provides viewers with extra information about your content. It also helps you rank for those terms in Google and YouTube searches.

In the example above, the Exploring Alternatives description includes complementary keywords like “zero waste,” “reduce garbage,” and “low waste.” Even better, they all fit in the first sentence!

Tell viewers what to expect

If you misrepresent your videos, viewers will stop watching them partway through. This will damage your search rankings—as well as your reputation.

Avoid clickbait titles and irrelevant keywords. They might help you rank at first, but YouTube’s search algorithm will catch on sooner or later.

Write like a human

Know your audience! Use language that your viewers will understand and relate to. Incorporate keywords in a natural way, not as a list.

Luckily, you don’t have to be a wordsmith to write a great YouTube description. There are lots of writing resources to help you polish your skills.

Come back next week to see the next 10 tips. SEO is not a magic wand. What it is, if implemented properly through time (years) can drive a brand, content, and business to a whole new level.

NPR Music

NPR Music’s video descriptions are full of personality. This one is pure poetry!

Evergreen Content & Why it Matters in 2021 — Yes, Content Matters!

April 9, 2021 by admin

blogging If you’re involved with SEO, content marketing or any kind of web marketing, you’ve probably heard the phrase “evergreen content” and been told that your site needs to have it. So what is evergreen marketing, and why are evergreen articles good for SEO?

Today we’ll be explaining the basics of evergreen articles, how to write an evergreen content piece, and why incorporating evergreen posts into your blog strategy is essential for killer content marketing.

What Is Evergreen Content? A definition

Evergreen content is SEO content that is continually relevant and stays “fresh” for readers.

So Why Is It Called “Evergreen”?

The term “evergreen” sounds familiar even to the non-marketing ear because evergreen trees (usually the pine or fir variety) are often used to decorate homes at Christmas. The evergreen tree is a symbol of perpetual life because they retain their leaves throughout the seasons, rather than shedding. Like the trees, evergreen content is considered sustainable and lasting.

Maybe you are thinking, “Hey, wait a minute. All content online is sustainable; the articles and blog posts don’t ever disappear.” When we talk about a piece of content being “evergreen,” we mean that evergreen content is content that continues to be relevant long past its publication, so traffic grows over time.

What Evergreen Content is Not:

News articles
Statistics or numerical reports that are likely to change and go out of date
Pieces about a specific holiday or season
Articles focused on a current trend or pop culture fad
Latest clothing and fashion trends

Below are some common evergreen formats you might consider in generating lasting content:

Lists
Top Tips
Instructional “How To” Tutorials
Encyclopedia-esque Entries
Product Reviews
Videos

Writing in these formats does not automatically make your piece evergreen, but these structures tend to work well with evergreen writing. Videos are especially effective when you need to illustrate how to do something, like how to frost a cupcake or how to grout a tub. If videos aren’t possible, consider using a series of images (photos or illustrations, diagrams, etc.) to your advantage.

Examples of Evergreen Content

Here are some specific examples of what would be considered evergreen articles:

How to Build a Dog House – Clear, concise tutorials with attractive photos make great evergreen pieces.
10 Ways to Enjoy Bacon – Can you imagine a future where people don’t like bacon? I sure can’t.
Top Tips to Soothe Crying Babies – There’s always a regenerating population of new parents, and those with screaming babies are probably pretty desperate for advice. A quick “best tips” will hold its value for years and new parents can share the list with their panicky peers.

These are pieces that would be considered evergreen content because the topics will continue to be relevant into the foreseeable future.

Examples of Evergreen Sites

These sites are major producers of evergreen content:

about.com
wikipedia.com
answers.com
imdb.com
ehow.com

These sites publish huge quantities of evergreen articles on a wide variety of topics. Wikipedia, for example, ranks on the first page for almost half of all Google searches! However, in an effort to churn out pieces, some of these evergreen sites end up producing low-quality articles. It’s good to visit these sites not only to see good examples of evergreens, but also to investigate how some of these sites are lacking, and what you could write to improve them.

Evergreen SEO: Combining Sustainable Content with Popular Keywords

Evergreen content is a valuable part of a good content marketing strategy for the web, but it becomes even more powerful when combined with SEO techniques. Consider basing your evergreen pieces around keywords you’d like your site to rank on. Even the most lasting evergreen piece isn’t worth much if people aren’t searching for that topic or if it doesn’t relate to your business, so do your keyword research.

5 Ways to Ensure You Build Your Personal Brand Right!

February 11, 2021 by admin

A strong personal brand builds trust with your audience and potential clients, as they have an insight into who you are, what you do and how you can serve them – just from a quick glance at your profile.

Whether it be on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook – if you do business online, here are the 5 ways to boost your personal brand and position yourself for maximum results.

1. Color Palette

One of the simplest yet most overlooked parts of a personal brand is a clear, bold color palette. As mentioned earlier it’s more difficult than ever to stand out, but by using strong colors to highlight your brand, you will become more recognizable and stand out from the bland, vanilla crowd. Incorporate your chosen color in your posts, photo frames, client testimonials and even banners and cover photos. Remember to keep it consistent across all platforms to make it as memorable and recognizable as possible.

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” – Seth Godin

2. Five Pillars

One thing I learned from a webinar of a highly sought-after personal branding coach, was her 5-pillar method. The 5-pillar method is simple – you choose the 5 things that best represent you and your brand, ensuring that everything you post falls into those five categories. These could be just about anything. Mine for example are; Entrepreneurship, Marketing Internet, Social Media and Golf. That way when someone comes across your profile, from a quick glimpse they can see exactly what you do.

3. Tell Stories

Both in written and video content, telling a story is the best way to connect and build trust with your audience. Story is the perfect way to influence, engage and inspire people, and it’s a sure-fire way to get people consuming your content every time you post. Remember, attention spans are becoming shorter by the day, so use a story to hook them in.

4. Unique Content

Once again, I can’t stress the importance of standing out. I know personally, that each time I see a normal video, I almost always scroll past – unless a great caption hooks me in. Using technology to our advantage once again, there are some amazing apps that let you produce quality video content with a canvas, progress border, subtitles and headings which are sure to grab attention. Creating clever graphics and posts using Canva is another sure-fire way to make your content more unique.

“The key is, no matter what story you tell, make your buyer the hero.” – Chris Brogan

5. Overdeliver in Value

I’m a big believer that the more you give, the more you get. It’s no secret that everyone loves free things – and by consistently delivering value to your audience for free, the more likely you are to close on a sale further down the track. No longer is a simple photo post enough to retain your audience, unless you’re a supermodel. Value-packed content is the strongest content in 2021 and is a great way to boost your personal brand.

Personal branding is all about building trust and creating a clear image of who you are, what you do and how you can help people. By implementing these 5 tips into your personal branding strategy, you’ll be building rapport with your audience without having to remind them how trustworthy you are – boosting your credibility and social proof effortlessly. In the end get results!

11 Evergreen Customer Acquisition Strategies for Startups to Acquire New Customers – Part 4

January 5, 2021 by admin

You are now at the conclusion of a precise roadmap. Customer acquisition is the heartbeat of your company. Even non-profits are solely focused on customer/donor acquisition. If you follow this roadmap, daily, weekly, and monthly, you will see an increase. Let’s jump into it:

9. Make Your Site Opt-in Friendly

The average website conversion rate on a website is less than 1% and only 2.35% on a landing page.

That means that on most websites over 99% of traffic isn’t converting, and even on specific landing pages over 97% of traffic isn’t converting.

While you can’t always get someone to hit your conversion goal, you can tempt them with other offers to try and capture the gold that is an email address.

When you capture someone’s email address you’ve been given a second chance to entice them with an offer that will actually achieve a conversion. The way to do this is quite simple.

There’s about 10 dozen software platforms out there that focus on email capture. Everything from eCommerce checkout abandonment to the blog standard SumoMe or OptinMonster.

The point of these platforms is to help you capture 1%, 2% or even 10% of that lost traffic into a second chance.

OptinMonster is a great option to allow you to make use of multiple behavioral driven opt-in forms from exit intent based pop-ups to scroll based slide-ins. If you can manage 3 to 4 opt-in points per page on your blog and 1 to 2 opt-in points on your main website, you’ll have no problem capturing an extra 5% of traffic into emails.

The mistake most people make, even massive brands like Axe Body Spray make this mistake, is that they capture email addresses in some fashion but then never do anything with it. Utilizing those emails to offer up alternative services, affiliate products or making a one time offer on the same product is your ticket to converting more of email leads faster.

It could be as simple as a thanks for subscribing, here’s what was promised, now here’s something you probably didn’t know we even offered.

The most ideal scenario is that you utilize something like the Invisible Selling Machine (Book on Amazon) formula for email on boarding to indoctrinate your email subscribers and then offer them value before you try to sell them.

10. Leverage The Power of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the best professional network to leverage for social B2B lead generation. It’s over 400 million strong and despite the bad rep for old tech and stringent connection rules, there’s some really powerful things you can do to make it a winner.

Step 1 — Join LinkedIn Groups

You have to be a friend to have a friend. Approach LinkedIn groups in the same way you would building a relationship. Provide value and then engage for the connection.

Step 2 — Create A LinkedIn Group

Creating a LinkedIn group gives you a whole community of people you have access to by InMail, email and through content posted. It also instantly places you as an authority in the market your group is specific to.

Neil Patel over a QuickSprout wrote a phenomenal post about how to leverage LinkedIn groups to build an audience. It’s a recommended read.

Step 3 — Direct Prospecting & Networking

People join LinkedIn for two purposes. One is to apply for jobs and the other is to network. LinkedIn was made for networking and it’s what most people on the site want to do. While many try to network to make a direct sell approach, there’s a better way of approaching networking to generate leads and make sales.

Ask for the Sale!

Sound simple enough? However, many people out-“psychology” themselves on their site, thinking that using a complex system of references, suggestions, and nudges will get the job done. Or other entrepreneurs fall victim to the “no sell sale.” That the product or service will sell itself. That if someone has to be sold, they won’t get “it.” These strategies are just flat out wrong.

Ask for the sale. You have done the work with paid advertising, social media, email follow-up, and you have the person on your site. You have built the ultimate site. The download speed is amazing. There is symmetry in colors. The store is set. Merchant account ready. You have done everything possible, exact be direct and asked for people’s business, the sale!

STOP, before you get self-righteous here saying something like “I don’t like to be sold, so I won’t sell others.” Great if that is your stance, you have a website that is a hobby and not a business. A hobby will cost you as a hobby, while a business will pay you like a business!

If you want to be paid, ask. If you don’t I promise you there are 1000s of other sites and people that will. In the end people want to be told or directed what to do. You don’t think Amazon sells? eBay sells? Ever been on Kay Jewelers website? They sell. They are unapologetic and not shy about asking for your business. Nor should you!

Conclusion:

All of the steps above work, but they work best together! They don’t sporadically, they work daily. Each needs to be worked day after day to ensure your success! DO NOT skip steps — each one has importance. Don’t break the circle. If you commit to a 365 day schedule of doing this day in and day out, your customer acquisition process will be solidified for years to come!