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The Marketer’s Guide to Following Digital Marketing News Online

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

The Marketer’s Guide to Following Digital Marketing News Online

We are now living in the age of information overload. No matter where you look, world events, political headlines, and trending hashtags are trying to grab our attention and sweep us away from whatever it is we might have been working on.

For businesses and brands in the information and news delivery space, this is a dream come true. However, for entrepreneurs and marketers that are trying to get work done, it’s just another distraction. But, at the same time, as marketers, we love to keep an eye on industry news, business rumors, and what’s going on in our specific niche industry.

With more than a billion active websites and blogs pushing out new content on the internet daily, it’s easy to get lost and give up before you even started. The same holds true for trying to find the most reliable and accurate news sources and blogs online.

A perfect example of this can be seen in the affiliate marketing space, where bloggers and news sites seem to come and go like weather flows around the world. You never know where that next valuable case study or news story is going to come from, and if it’s one that might affect your business.

This is why it’s so important to stay focused on your niche market and not getting lost in “world news” that just keeps getting rehashed over and over again. For times like these, it’s important to know where to focus your efforts to find the latest digital marketing news and trends making their way across the industry.

With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at some of my favorite sources for information, focused solely on the business markets on online marketing, the affiliate industry, and digital marketing as a whole.

Let’s get started!

1. Stacked Marketer

If you are doing any type of business or advertising in the digital marketing space and looking for the best option to stay up to date on the latest headlines, news, rumors, and gossip spreading throughout the industry, look no further than Stacked Marketer.

This site and newsletter are ideal for many reasons, even beyond the fact that they are compiling all of the best news and gossip in a daily mailing, sent right into your inbox.

However, what makes Stacked Marketer stand out from the crowd and other industry news sites is the way they rewrite the content to not only make it more engaging and interesting but to also save time in the process.

As it says on their site, “Carefully curated digital marketing news, tech, and actionable advice consumed in 5 minutes or less“.

In summary, if you like to get the latest industry news and headlines delivered right into your inbox and don’t want to spend a lot of time reading through fluff content, Stacked Marketer is definitely a great source to subscribe to.

2. Marketing Land

As the industry continues to change and move in different directions, many news sites and marketing blogs have come and gone. However, one that continues to deliver time and time again is Marketing Land.

What makes ML different from many other new sites and a leader in our space is that the content is written by the actual Marketing Land team and staff. This means they aren’t just curating stories that are all over the place and calling it their own. Instead, they are putting in the time, research, and effort where other news outlets aren’t.

Head over to their site and you will quickly find the latest news stories and headlines that are of the utmost importance to online marketers focused on everything from SEO, SEM, analytic data, social media, and much more.

In reference to how Marketing Land can save you time and keep you informed with the latest headlines throughout the day, be sure to join their mailing list and also follow them across all of your preferred social media platforms for their latest article releases.

3. Alltop Ecommerce and SEO

When it comes to absorbing news and information in the world today, everyone has a preference in terms of what method is best. Some people like television or radio, while others like emails, social media, or visiting sites directly.

If you are the type of person that likes to get their news right from the source, then Alltop is probably a great page to set as your browser welcome screen. For marketers, we specifically recommend Alltop Ecommerce and Alltop SEO.

What makes Alltop great is that they not only have their own hand-selected lists of the top active sites within each industry, but they also have the “Most Popular” stories trending at the top of these pages as well.

For anyone who is already an active blog reader in the affiliate marketing or digital advertising space, you will likely recognize many of the names already featured on their site.

4. AffPosts Newspaper

So far, we have covered a few resources and news sites that have covered most of the digital marketing space as a whole, but what if you want to niche down even further? If this is the case, and you are specifically looking for affiliate marketing news and updates, then AffPosts is likely a great outlet for you to consider.

Much like Alltop, in the way they compile sites and some of the most recent posts, AffPosts makes it extremely fast and easy to see what the latest articles and most active affiliate blogs are making headlines in the industry on any given day.

Some well-recognized affiliate marketing blogs featured on AffPosts are John Chow, Charles Ngo, PPC Hero, Blogging Tips, and Ricky Ahuja to name a few.

5. MarketingTech News

To find off the list, we are going to mix things up by moving away from mailing lists, news alerts, and blog syndication. In this final spot, we are highlighting the News section of MarketingTech.

The site is loaded with original content that covers all of the latest news inside and outside of the digital marketing industry. With this insight and authentic coverage, they not only have their own voice and opinion on each topic, but they also know how to create and cater content to their demographic audience.

Other categories for news and content on their site include Advertising, Branding, Content Marketing, and several other facets that focus on the needs and day-to-day operations of entrepreneurs and digital marketers.

What Is Your Preferred Digital Marketing News Outlet?

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are hundreds of news websites and blogs focused just on the digital marketing industry. As we also pointed out, there are many different ways to research and receive updates from each of these platforms as well, whether it be through email, social media, newsletters, or direct reading from the parent site.

We listed some of our favorites. Now it’s your turn! Let us know what top digital marketing news sites and platforms we missed.

source: influencive

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Online Marketing

How Digital Marketing Is Becoming A Game Changer In Lead Generation

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

How Digital Marketing Is Becoming A Game Changer In Lead Generation

An underlying fact every businessman is aware of is continuous lead generation translate into higher sales. A fresh lead calls for action in terms of pitching the services or products to someone who is in need of the same and is all set to pay if their requirement is met.

In most industries, 10% of new leads make a purchase. Clearly, greater the lead generation, the greater will its revenue be. In the current times, businesses are looking to surge the lead counter by using digital marketing.

Digital marketing proves to be an effective way of lead generation for a variety of reasons some of which are described below.

Digital Marketing Is Affordable

A traditional marketing campaign executed on print, TV, and radio is frightfully expensive. The expense of such campaigns exceeds lakhs and in some cases over 1 crore may need to be spent. Despite such high costs, a traditional marketing campaign doesn’t guarantee to deliver the expected results.

This is because such campaigns reach a wide audience, an overwhelming majority of who have little reason to purchase the product or service advertised. Therefore the large expense of traditional marketing campaigns is unjustified because they are grossly inefficient at lead generation from the quality aspect.

Digital marketing can easily be crafted to reach segments of consumers likely to buy what’s marketed. The first step to reach a niche audience is identifying the traits of those likely to buy a product or service. Young single men who’re shown adverts of stuffed toys and premium chocolates before Valentine’s Day are likely to buy them for their girlfriends.

Because digital marketing reaches a narrow audience it is affordable and produces results superior to those of traditional marketing campaigns. Before digital marketing, it was difficult for new brands to attract loyal customers.

The only way to reach a nationwide audience was through TV, newspaper, magazine, and radio. Hence the number of brands in the consciousness of consumers was small. Since the introduction of digital marketing, many new brandshave found tremendous success and there has been an increase in the number of brands stored in the psyche of consumers.

Everyone Is Always Online

It’s no secret that smartphone addiction is commonplace. An average person checks his or her smartphone approximately 70 times a day. Among younger people, spending time online has usurped time spent with friends and family. Many free apps have been downloaded by millions and earn revenue only through digital advertisements. Across urban and rural India people of all ages spend at least an hour using their smartphone. This makes online platforms an ideal way to reach consumers.

Nearly 30 crore Indians own a smartphone and data is abundant and cheap. Smartphones are always connected to the internet and always within the reach of their owners. This makes digital marketing very effective in lead generation because consumers likely to be interested in a brand can be reached daily.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Digital Campaigns is Simple

Money spent on traditional marketing can seem akin to dumping money into a black hole. A company may spend many lakhs of rupees on a traditional marketing campaign, yet the campaign may not only be unsuccessful but also present inaccurate or vague data that doesn’t reveal consumer sentiment about the product or service advertised.

Over the years many companies spent astronomical sums on traditional marketing yet they failed. What’s worse they never understood what they did wrong.

The beauty of digital campaigns lies in their precise metrics that reveal their effectiveness. Real-time tracking of the campaign is a stellar feature of digital marketing. This allows companies to tweak unsuccessful campaigns so they have a better chance of success or repeat successful campaigns.

The ROI of such campaigns can be measured to the last rupee and because digital campaigns are so affordable, multiple campaigns can be run at a fraction of the cost of traditional campaigns.

Digital Campaigns Offer Variety Suited to Needs

The subtle and obvious differences between companies and their requirements mean some marketing strategies are likely to be more successful than others. For instance, some businesses may not need to pay for a robust digital marketing campaign.

This is possible when they use organic strategies that highlight their brand but don’t require them to spend. A well-executed organic strategy will allow a brands message to be shared with audiences seamlessly.

Some companies may find paid campaigns more suitable. A paid campaign will highlight brands advert when users request products or services sold by the brand. The ecosystem of paid digital marketing campaigns is vast and companies may choose those that suit them best.

Experts Understand Conceptualising and Executing Campaigns

A digital marketing campaign doesn’t need a large team to implement or execute it. Because of this, the cost of a digital marketing campaign is low. However, despite the fact that a digital marketing campaign can be executed at low cost using a small team, expertise in conceptualising and managing a digital marketing campaign is required for it to be a success.

Such expertise is provided by a number of competent digital marketing experts who know how to create successful campaigns. Using their services a company can be confident its digital campaign reaches as many as possible and generates ample leads.

Both small and large companies benefit from digital marketing campaigns. Most large companies already use digital marketing extensively not only to create awareness about their products but also to gauge consumer sentiment. Swift feedback from digital advertising makes possible the latter.

Small companies using digital marketing are making inroads into new markets and challenging incumbents. It’s not uncommon for small companies to find success simply as a result of thoughtfully planned and executed digital marketing campaigns.

[“source=inc42”]

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Online Marketing

5 Digital Marketing & E-Commerce Success Stories To Draw Inspiration From

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Msrketing and eCommerce success stories can show innovative ways of succeeding in businesse-commerce success stories can show innovative ways of succeeding in business

Msrketing and eCommerce success stories can show innovative ways of succeeding in businesse-commerce success stories can show innovative ways of succeeding in business

UNSPLASH OPEN SOURCE IMAGES

In today’s highly competitive e-commerce and digital marketing world it is not easy for a company to stand out. Many startups facing great odds of even making it and end up falling or being absorbed by bigger companies along the way. However, some incredible success stories have also arisen that are worth learning from and aspiring to in order to learn how to follow in their footsteps. One thing to take away form these individuals is many of them started out from humble beginnings, but a drive to succeed despite the odds. They relied on unique products, innovative methods of marketing, and finding the right people to surround themselves with in order to keep going.

1. Driving E-commerce Logistics the Smart Way

If you want to build a successful e-commerce brand, particularly your own platform for transactions, you need to find the right logistics behind it. One such company focusing on the logistics part of the business, namely drop shipping, is uDroppy. The company focuses on sourcing, fulfillment and shipping and can alleviate this burden for companies that want to focus on their main tasks of marketing, development of their platforms or product design.

Udroppy was by Luca Borreani and Nicolo Manica. Both are Italian-born entrepreneurs and world traveled. What makes their story interesting is that they actually paid for their master’s degrees (both hold multiple each) with money they generated form marketing campaigns. They continue to be an inspiration for many young entrepreneurs and marketing professionals worldwide. Sometimes all it takes is a good idea or simple concept and with the right people behind it, the idea can turn into something special.

“The concept was really simple at the beginning: creating a B2B platform that connects E-Commerce stores, both using dropshipping and warehouse business models, to suppliers,” according to their profile on Ideamensch.

2. Teaching Marketing Strategies Through Online Coursework

Another success story worth taking a look at and be aspired from is that of Eric Dyck from iStack Training. This is an educational community with courses available, events, podcasts and other advice that can help aspiring online marketers and e-commerce hopefuls gain some useful knowledge in the field.

Eric has a captivating and interesting history as he originally started as an independent affiliate and promoted toolbar downloads on Google Adwords. He specializes in “performance marketing” and focuses on helping entrepreneurs and marketers leverage their technical skillsets associated with digital and online marketing campaigns.

3. Leveraging Online Privacy to Start a Successful Venture

Online privacy is a very hot topic today due to the many controversies that stemmed over the last couple of years from Wikileaks revelations of NSA eavesdropping to Facebook data snooping and many others. People want to be in control over their own data and privacy online. One entrepreneur who has leveraged this need into something worth drawing inspiration from is Alexandru Iulian Florea from online.io.

Online.io is a peer to peer virtual privacy network that leverages p2p residential networking with cryptocurrency. If you check out the site, it is quite captivating with moving images or gifs showing elaborate graphics in minuscule form. However, the focus is clearly on various methods of securing privacy and private communication online.

What makes this entrepreneur and privacy advocate unique is his story of success, which you can read in-depth on Entrepreneur. He started out form humble upbringings with a stark choice in hand: go to college (he was dropped out at this point), leave his mother’s house, get a job in a hotel, or figure out some crazy way to make money online within weeks. He choose the latter and it was affiliate marketing that brought him some fame and fortune and thus paved the way for his latest venture.

4. Utilizing Facebook as an Effective Marketing Platform

Using social media for marketing is nothing new and many marketing professionals have made careers out of it. The social media platform truly morphed over the years to become a great way to reach out for new audiences and customers as well as even sell directly to customers. Facebook after all also offers e-commerce and many ways to generate profits.

One entrepreneur and marketer who we can draw inspiration from in her success of leveraging the Facebook platform is Christina Szekeres ofIMQueen Consulting. She does not hold back on her success with the moniker “FBQueen” and offers various workshops and other consulting services to help new entrepreneurs succeed. She was born in Hungary and currently resides in Southern California. Some of her advice to take away is to attend meetups and network instead of trying to figure everything out yourself; start out with an email submit affiliate if you have a limited budget and have strategic calls with your team weekly.

5. Hiring Those in Need & Often Underemployed Populations to Allow a Brand to Shine

Imagine finding out that a company is leveraging 30 mothers to run a jewelry company. That is exactly what Founder of ShineOne Jewelry, Eric Toczko, has done. ShineOn, being leveraged through Shopify uses a mobile app to function as an affiliate e-commerce platform. It also launches its own jewelry products regularly.

Toczko’s history as an entrepreneur truly speaks of itself when the phrase, “coming form humble beginnings” is ushered. He started out in a basement in Brooklyn while sleeping on a bare mattress at night. The way he entered into jewelry production and e-commerce was that he saw a gap in the market for digital marketers to be able to sell jewelry with zero upfront costs and minimal risk. He also credits his success to his morning routine of exercising, cold showers, tea and meditation.

All of these entrepreneurs offer something unique to the table to take away from and learn in order for you to drive a new business venture successfully forward. Startups and new ventures these days have to be able to compete on a stage with other players that may have had a head start, more VC funding and already have the right marketing in place to drive growth. However, do not be discouraged as these entrepreneurs and marketing pros showed that sometimes it just takes a good idea or strong will to mark your presence and create a successful brand.

[“source=forbes”]

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11 SEO strategy trends that are set to dominate digital marketing

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the backbone of brands when it comes to online presence. Ranking higher on SERP takes effort and time – and gets even more challenging with trends that change without a moment’s notice. Google is anamorphous search engine which is popular (and even notorious) for rolling out changes in its search algorithms pretty often.

The year 2019 brought fresh updates from Google – some radical enough to ensure a swift departure from the usual SEO effortsused by professionals in the past. From the V’s (Video, Voice, and Vernacular) to the emphasis on local queries, Google is bringing a lot of changesas perthe changing internet consumption.

Let’s look at some of these changes and what they mean:

1.      Content is still the dominant factor

To offers users authentic, detailed, and complete information, websites’ content will continue to be Hobson’sChoice for boosting SEO efforts. Digital marketers and SEO stalwarts need to emphasiseon unique content that appeals to readers. Content must be in the realm of context and should not deviate from the main line of industry events. It shouldn’t be a smug illustration devoted to self-appreciation and highlighting limited virtues of business.

Further, content needs to be so detailed that a promising content cluster should appear to readers who look for securing comprehensive informationon given topics and all its aspects.

2.     Mobile apps to complement SEO strategy

Sterling mobile apps offering a range of featuresand giving impetus to business objectives among target customers will call the shots from this year onwards. However, a slight alteration in Google ranking factors will be the element of importance and popularity. Such apps are developed to gather users from social media and through online forums.

A heads-up to the SEO community: stress on building exclusive business apps, finely tuned with business ads. These apps should enable easy lead generation and sales full throttle.

3.     Local queries and Google My Business to amplify results

Google wants us to come of age and start looking forward to local business interests with intent. For a small business or an SMB with limited scope of business, getting registered onGoogle Mapsis essential. Having a business profile with Google My Business adds another level of authenticity and boosts results with local search queries.

4.    Multiple languages to provide information on website

Google has gained credibility as being the ultimate source of information across the world. To promote the idea of globalisation, websites exhibiting information in multiple languages are given preference across geographical quarters.

In other words, the website should be translation-friendly to cater to a global audience. Therefore, to generate a greater number of clicks and address users’ preference, SEO professionalsshould consider tweaking their websites to enable multiple languages.

5.     Searches through video, voice, and vernacular

Since the estimation of users hunting for specific product or services stands at a whopping 320 million across the globe, Google has decided to take a stride in this arena. As a strong hint to our ever-insightful SEO executives, the websites will be located through voice searches against a given set of keywords spanning industries. Websites need to program the lines of code accordingly to decipher and process voice-based queries.

Furthermore, according to a recent study, internet users in vernacular languages have seen immense growth. More than 70 percent Indians prefer surfing local languagecontent.Video has a similar story to tell and is responsible for 75 percent of total mobile traffic in India. More than 95 percent of video consumption online is in vernacular languages.

The entire digital ecosystem is changingand there’s more focus on the 3V’s of digital medium: video, voice,and vernacular.

6.    Online forums and communities with ingenious reviews

Businesses and websites are manipulated for ranking through real-time user reviews. Working on such a principle, explicit algorithms are written where metadata drawsin user reviews targeting a product range or a service. Such an idea is pretty broad; it entails recording opinions in favour or against a particular product on online forums.

Here, as a notion for SEO efforts, we need to heed what people think about us in forums and what perception our company or website enjoys. Adequate steps should be taken to refine it gradually.

7.     Image optimisation is crucial

Google searches are largely seen inundated with images, forcing SEO professionals (especially those working for ecommerce websites) to derive immense fortunes from such a perspective.Further, as Google also taps machine learning to uncover images, we need to post pixel-perfect, real-time product images imbibing relevance regarding their texture.

8.    Revisit the most crucial ranking parameters again and again

In general, backlinks are rightly reckoned to be a prominent effort affecting searches. Since they have a significant impact on searches, they are highly exploited and are one of the most prominent black hat SEO practices. Thus, as an antidote to such a menace, users’ behaviour on any of the navigational links is put under constant scanner.

For engineering the SEO, such an aspect can hardly be overlooked.It is important to crafta content cluster in a given context whereby websites are searched against a given query.

In the same way, links need to be built from an array of websites that dominate a given niche and not the other way around. Further, unwanted traffic should be avoided at all costs. A content strategy should align perfectly with the demands of the target audience.A good content strategy will be one that offers solutions to the customer’s queries and doubt at each stage of the purchase process.

9.    Videos bringing the next shift

While looking for information, one generally develops a solidified and widely integrated knowledge through videos rather than reading volumes of data as textual representation. In other words, Google is all set to manage data by placing a number to every aspect of video interaction. Number of views, likes or dislikes received, video sharing, comments, and so forth willbe calculated.

This tectonic shift in favour of videos should alert SEO executives to empathise with video explanations highlighting any process in a given industry. Furthermore, objects discussed in media content are generally captured through advanced machine learning as deployed by Google for such an underlying reason. For SEO, videos that are simply another version of contentthat should be given priority,followed by a briefsummary of information.

10. Quick results and faster ROIthrough customised searches

User preferences and past actions play a deciding role, as one’s interactions against a given keyword are manipulated. As such, those sailing in the ever-expansive SEO ocean, need to be tactful enough to capture at least (and at best) single interaction with all clients/customers categorised as hot leads in a specific geographical area.

In such an effort, PPC campaigns should be executedwhile giving Facebook ads a boostto enable traction among the crowd to click on the website in any given industry. The underlying benefit is that when the search is for a keyword or any such query, website pages relevant to the keyword or search query will start showing up in SERP organically.

11.   Lay copyrighted and third-party multimedia content to Rest

Google is getting better at all sorts of multi-media context, including music and videos. To ensure a draw of great luck and fortune for our websites, we also need to sail along the tide of originality and should restrict putting up videos and multimedia that are copyrighted or owned by others. For best results, proficient graphic designers should be roped in for carving out and stockpiling images with company name and logos.

In the same way, artists can be contacted on platforms such as SoundCloud for consent to use their work. They usually agree because it cross-promotes them. Finally, upcoming artists and talent should be given a thumbs-up by including their work onto the website. In short, under all circumstances and in all weather, originality needs to be accentuated, and duplicity and dubious play of things should be discouraged as Google’s eyes and sight are improving.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.) 

[“source=yourstory”]

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Online Marketing

Digital Marketing 101: What Small Businesses Need to Know

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Digital Marketing 101: What Small Businesses Need to Know

Small business owners know digital marketing is no longer secondary to traditional print marketing and advertising and is a great way for them to get more bang for their marketing bucks. (In fact, 95% of small businesses plan to increase spending on digital marketing this year.) But to get the best results, it’s important to understand digital marketing and keep up with digital marketing trends.

Digital Marketing 101

What is digital marketing? It’s often thought of as “online marketing,” but it goes far beyond internet marketing. Digital marketing refers to any marketing that uses digital channels to reach prospective customers. This includes mobile phone messaging (both SMS and MMS), email marketing, social media marketing, display advertising, search engine marketing and apps.

10 Basic Digital Marketing Strategies to Use

1. Your business website

No matter how active you are on social media, it can’t replace a business website. Your website is the digital “home” of your business and it’s the one place online where you are completely in control of your message. Your website doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does need to be mobile-friendly. that’s non-negotiable in 2019.

2. Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process of increasing website traffic using the organic (non-paid) search results on search engines. There are many moving parts to SEO, including using the right keywords in your website, your social media presence, references to your website from external sites and much more. The complexity of SEO is one reason only 44% of businesses are currently investing in SEO, according to Clutch. The good news: Being one of that 44% can put you ahead of your competition.

3. Local search engine optimization

Since 2o15, more searches have been conducted on mobile devices than on desktop computers, according to Google. Many of those searches are done while users are “on the go” looking for local businesses, so Google’s search results now favor websites that are optimized for local search by including location information and location-related keywords. In addition to optimizing your website for local search, claim your business location on local search directories such as Google My Business and make sure that your name, address and phone number (NAP) information is listed exactly the same way on all the local search directories. (No using “St.” in one listing and “Street” in another.) If your NAP varies from one listing to another, search engines may not recognize it as the same business, hurting your search results.

4. Email marketing

Nearly seven in 10 businesses use email marketing, making it the third most popular digital marketing method. Almost half (47%) of people across demographics check their email on a mobile device; 81% of those use their smartphones (as opposed to tablets). In addition, the majority (33%) of email opens occur on mobile devices. When you develop your email marketing messages, think “mobile-first.” Keep emails short; include a clear call to action; design in a single-column format; and use plenty of white space so it’s easy to click on buttons or links in the email.

5. Social media marketing

Social media is the number-one marketing channel used by businesses, according to Clutch: 83% of companies use it. There’s good reason for that: Statista reports 77% of Americans use social media. Be sure you’re keeping up to date on new social media channels, as well as where your target customers are spending time (for instance, are they leaving Facebook for Instagram)?

6. Content marketing

This practice refers to creating content (such as blog posts, ebooks, white papers, infographics, videos, etc.) that you share digitally. The goal is to attract users to view your content and take a desired action. For instance, you might write a blog post on How to Winterize Your House and Save Money and include a call-to-action such as “Contact us to get a free estimate on winterizing your home.”

7. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising

Pay-per-click digital ads appear when users do an internet search for the terms you use in the ad. The name comes from the fact that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. The most common place for PPC ads is on Google (using Google AdWords) but ads on Facebook and other social media channels are also considered PPC.

8. Marketing automation

Marketing automation software can automate many repetitive aspects of marketing. For instance, it can send automated responses or start a “drip marketing” campaign when prospects fill out a leads form. It can schedule your social media posts, determine the best time to send email newsletters, and more.

9. Messaging

From SMS and MMS text messages to the use of messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber or WeChat, you can market to customers using mobile messaging. Mobile messaging marketing applications can use location-based data to trigger messages at relevant moments, such as when a customer is near your store or restaurant.

10. Online ratings and reviews

You may not think of online review sites as digital marketing, but they’re a major factor in how prospects form an opinion of your business. Some 86% of consumers (and 95% of those age 18 to 34) read reviews for local businesses; 91% of 18-to-34-year-old consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Optimize your listings on review sites the same way you would on Google My Business: Keep them current and add photos, descriptions, directions and offers. Monitor your reviews regularly and respond to negative reviews quickly (and politely).

10 Digital Marketing Trends to Know

Now that you’ve got a handle on digital marketing, here are 10 digital marketing trends every small business should factor into their plans.

1. Email marketing personalization via marketing automation

Nearly six in 10 marketers say personalization is their most effective email marketing tactic; in fact, emails that have personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened. AI-powered automation tools can help you personalize email messaging by analyzing the data you capture about your email subscribers (such as what they open, click on and buy) and using it to deliver the right message at the right time.

2. Voice search

Voice search currently accounts for one third of all Google searches, and by 2020, is expected to account for one-half. Good general SEO will help you rank high in voice search, according to a recent study. But you can additionally optimize for voice search using keywords and phrases that sound the way people talk (“What bakeries are open right now?”) rather than the way they’d type into a search engine (“bakeries open now”). Creating an FAQ page on your website that answers questions people might ask about your product can also help optimize for voice search.

3. Content marketing overload

With so much content out there, are your prospects really paying attention? To keep driving customers to your website, make this the year you focus on creating less, but better, content. Instead of constantly churning out blog posts stuffed with SEO keywords, try crafting one or two really good, longer pieces of content a month. Content that answers prospects’ or customers’ questions in a way no one else is doing can really stand out.

4. Google My Business is more important than ever

Google search results prioritize Google My Business listings. As a result, many searchers don’t bother paging below these or clicking through to a website. they get all the info they need from GMB. Make sure your Google My Business page makes the cut by regularly adding new photos, posts, offers or videos and keeping your description current. You can now add Posts in Google My Business, too. Think of your GMB result as its own little website and add all the info you can to it.

5. PPC advertising comes of age

The Google search engine results page is getting crowded and fewer people are ignoring the ads at the top. Google’s algorithm is getting great at delivering relevant ads, and even being at the top of organic search results won’t get you the customer’s attention if that customer doesn’t scroll down. If you’re not already doing so, make this the year you incorporate PPC ads into your marketing plan.

6. Omnichannel marketing

Prospects use more than one digital channel to investigate your business. They might do an online search and see your Google My Business listing, click through to your website and read your reviews. That’s why all of your digital marketing efforts need to work together to promote a consistent branding message.

7. Chatbots

You can use conversational AI software (that is, chatbots) to engage with prospects in a variety of ways, from helping them navigate your website or answering common questions to suggesting additional products or even engaging on social media. For instance, you can program Facebook Messenger bots to answer your Facebook messages, saving you time and giving your followers quick responses.

8. Online video

By 2020, video will account for more than 85% of all consumer internet traffic in the U.S. (Already, YouTube is the second most popular website, surpassed only by Google.) Today’s up and coming Gen Z, in particular, has grown up watching YouTube videos and it’s the place they turn to for the answers to everything. Videos that show viewers how to do something, help solve their problems, interview industry experts or provide an insider’s look into your business are all popular ways to attract attention. Creating a YouTube channel is free and exposes your videos to a wider audience. Also look into getting online influencers to review your products. it can make a huge difference to your business.

9. Tell your story

Consumers crave authentic interaction with businesses. They want to know your story. Be transparent about your business, your staff and your values. In the digital world, live-action or short-term video content such as Stories on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube creates a feeling of immediacy and intimacy that can help build a bond with your target market.

10. Social media backlash

Facebook privacy problems such as the Cambridge Analytica data-sharing scandal have driven some users from the platform, and if you’re targeting millennial and younger users, Instagram is the place to be, with the vast majority of its users aged 18 to 34. But Instagram isn’t immune from backlash either, as the platform recently took steps to remove inauthentic likes and fake followers from influencers’ accounts. Remember, honest interaction is more important than numbers.

[“source=smallbiztrends”]

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Online marketing solutions provider, Benddit, raises $250,000 in seed capital

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

GettyImages-858499326NEW DELHI: Sales and marketing solutions platform, Benddit has raised $250,000 in seed capital from industry leaders. Benddit will use this round of funding to accelerate product development, expand its team of experts, on board service providers and bolster its marketing initiatives.

The platform, founded by Vani Gupta, Venkatesh Rangachari, and Vipul Gupta, allows companies and startups to find the best fit solution provider for their specific marketing and sales needs, according to a release. The co-founders have worked across companies including PepsiCo, Airtel, Practo, and Accenture.

Companies of all sizes need outsourced expertise at the right price, which are innovative and flexible, and comes with high service standards. Benddit offers ‘expert intelligence’ enhanced by technology to match client requirements to service providers. Its algorithm matches the requirements of its clients seeking specific solutions in sales and marketing to the specialised service providers on the basis of parameters including complexity, stage, relevance, cost, etc.

The algorithm scans through Benddit’s database of service providers and suggests the best fit names of service providers with ‘scores’ to reflect the degree of the ‘match’ between the two and then facilitates a call between the company and the selected provider, the release elaborated.

“Every business today is looking at agile, creative service providers across a spectrum of services where they are assured of quality and timely service. Our blended model using technology and expert to support and hand hold both the clients and service provider alike ensures that we deliver impactful results,” says Vani Gupta.

[“source=economictimes.indiatimes”]

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8 Digital Marketing Tips To Improve Your Marketing Efforts

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Digital marketing is an effective channel that delivers satisfying results if you use the right strategy to promote your business and generate leads. Several startups, small and medium-sized businesses have a low budget or limited resources for online marketing, but you will need not to spend a lot every time if you have proven tools and techniques to implement.

Thus, if you are one among them, who are working hard to improve their online business, learn here how Internet marketing strategy boosts your marketing efforts.

8 Digital Marketing Tips To Improve Your Marketing Efforts

1.Invest In Website Design

Web design is an important marketing tactic that influences users to access your page. A website is a center of your digital marketing efforts, and if the images are not clean, difficult to navigate, slow to load and less attractive, it will not be able to attract the users. Hence, if you design or redesign your website, it should look visually appealing, and content should be easy to find and accessible on multiple interfaces.

2.Increase Your Website Visibility In Search Engines

You should frequently and consistently publish high-quality web content keeping it compelling and reducing the keyword stuffing. Since your website’s ranking on SERPs is your primary aim to attract the visitors and prospects, you should create relevant content to improve ranking on SERPs. Keep the following things in your mind when creating content:

  • Quality content at the top level of your website pages will help the search engine crawlers to find your best rather than having to search deep in your site.
  • Make sure to assign names and add an alt-tag description to the images in your website.
  • Use descriptive anchor text for hyperlinks that lead visitors to other pages of your site. The microcopy that you utilizes for clickable links should focus on increasing conversion rates.
  • Give unique meta descriptions to each of your web pages and describe why the visitors should reach out to you.

3.Engage With Customers On Social Media

Social media is an integral part of online marketing strategy that gives an opportunity to share & promote your product and services. Identify and participate in various social channels where you can get more customers and prospects. For this, follow the below things:

  • Continuously refine your social strategy because social media trends are shifting and evolving consistently.
  • Consider investing in video advertising.
  • Use social media to gather customers feedback to work on these.

4.Optimize Your Website For Various Devices

Every day millions of Android devices are activated. On average, more than 40 apps are installed. Mobile marketing is becoming the must-have to achieve maximum reach. Be sure to:

  • Find responsive themes to design your website that is mobile ready.
  • Consider for a well-designed mobile app to provide your customers with better user experience.
  • Check how your website appears on various devices including iOS, OSX, Windows and Android.

5.Capture & Measure Business Growth Metrics

You are investing and working hard for your website, blog & email campaigns, bounce rates, conversion rates, etc. To monitor your business ROI and success, you have to place the web analytics tools. If you haven’t incorporated them yet then here are a few metrics for different marketing channels:

  • For Website: Moz Analytics, Google Analytics and Webtrends
  • For Social Media: Facebook Page Insights, Twitter Analytics and Hootsuite
  • For Email Marketing: MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, VerticalResponse

6.Develop Email Marketing

Email marketing is another digital marketing fundamental strategy. Use automated messages to build a relationship with your subscriber. You can also use the email responses and clicks to the segment for your list. For example, when someone clicks on a link, they clearly show an interest, and thus, you can tag the users to market them later.

7.Affiliate & Associate Programs

With the help of an affiliate program, your loyal consumers will share information and grow your market on various commission based platforms. However, an affiliate or associate program is not for every type of online business, but if anyone includes this in marketing efforts can get success faster.

8.Maintain Blogs

Your blog posts are used for several reasons, so you should consistently post for new keywords as well as optimize your search engine strategy. Furthermore, if you find your blog post can deliver vast knowledge, you should offer a suggestion and share bits of information that impress your consumers. Remember, a blog is something that establishes a lasting relationship with your customers.

If you are ready to begin with your marketing strategies, include the tips mentioned above in your marketing efforts. To know more or to get the professionals assistance, reach out us at Impact Interactive.

[“source=yourstory”]

 

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7 Digital Marketing Channels for Apparel Wholesalers

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Apparel wholesalers and manufacturers often neglect digital marketing, focusing instead on trade shows and in-person events. This is a mistake.

A primary marketing vehicle for apparel wholesalers is exhibiting at trade shows. It means booking space, creating and printing marketing materials, funding travel, and entertaining clients — spending big bucks for a limited number of buyers.

Unfortunately, apparel wholesalers don’t typically devote an equal amount of money and effort to online marketing. This is a huge mistake. Exhibiting at a trade show can expose products to a few hundred buyers for a couple of days. Marketing online can expose those products to thousands of potential customers every day, worldwide.

I call this “manufacturers’ mentality” — i.e., just obtain orders and manufacture products. Many manufacturers and wholesalers view online marketing as a gamble. They spend the money and pray for results. And most of the time, the results are unsatisfactory because the manufacturers don’t invest in top talent, consultants, tools, and other resources.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. I recently took a startup apparel manufacturer from zero sales to hundreds of thousands — all with a small budget. It’s a simple strategy with, usually, seven components.

I’ll describe it in this post.

High-converting Website

The owner of fashion wholesaler recently told me that he spent tons of money on pay-per-click ads with insignificant results. The problem was high bounce rates on the home page and fewer than expected customer registrations. The site was unclear as to what kind of business it was and why a retailer would buy from it. New visitors — potential customers — could not understand. I impressed on the owner that he has just a few seconds to convince visitors to stay.

I suggested these steps:

  • Have a dominant and clear message that explains the website.
  • Treat the primary home-page banner as a booth display at a trade show.
  • Have consistent colors and images.
  • Use readable, traditional fonts — not trendy or old fashioned.
  • Pay close attention to photography. It is the primary selling tool when prospects can’t touch a product.

The site should also emphasize compelling content.

  • The “about us” section should explain what the company can do for customers.
  • A “frequently asked questions” section is for selling. It should clearly address common buyer questions.
  • Testimonials are for selling, too. Use them to explain your company’s top benefits.
  • Non-gated pages should have keyword-based text and multimedia.

And the most important aspect of a high-converting website is having the right products that retailers want and need.

Search Engine Optimization

In my experience, most apparel executives know that search engine optimization is critical. They just don’t know how to do it.

To start, search on Google for important keywords, such as “wholesale clothing.” Then analyze the organic results. Why are companies on page 1?

For example, when a client asked why his site is not ranking for “wholesale clothing,” I pointed out that his page 1 competitor had 3.6 million backlinks from 903 referring domains. I explained that he needed to match or at least to get close to those numbers.

Google Ads

If you don’t have an experienced employee, consultant, or agency to run your pay-per-click advertising, use Google AdWords Express. Do not spend heavily on Google Ads (formerly, AdWords) without experience. You can quickly lose money. Start slow, with low budgets. Do not advertise worldwide, at least initially. Target a city or state, test the results, and expand from there.

If you are a fashion wholesaler — clothing, accessories, handbags, cosmetics — in my experience, most customers will come from five states, in this order: Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, and Illinois.

Email Marketing

For apparel wholesalers, at least 40 percent of sales should come from email marketing. Open rates should exceed 25 percent.

Emphasize transactional emails to follow up with buyers who create new accounts. Use the space to address your company’s benefits, promotions, and anything else that can help your company to stand out.

Social Media

Content creation and content promotion are equal parts of social media marketing. Create compelling content — how-to guides, fashion tips — to generate leads. And then promote it.

Which social media channels are best for fashion wholesalers? Here are my choices.

  • YouTube because it is the number two search engine.
  • Pinterest because it is more search engine than a social network.
  • Instagram because it is visual and because most retail businesses have Instagram accounts.
  • Facebook Groups because they are targeted with, typically, engaged members.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing works for wholesalers in much the same say as for retail companies. But, in my experience, influencers for wholesalers are more professional — they cater to businesses — and have smaller followings, which make them more approachable.

Owners of Facebook Groups are often influencers. Working with those owners can be effective since the members are so engaged. Influencers’ YouTube channels can generate targeted traffic. But LinkedIn influencers are less effective.

Online Marketplaces

Fashion wholesalers often ask if they should join an online marketplace. Generally, the answer is always “yes.” Wholesale fashion marketplaces are a tremendous opportunity for growth. Typically, each marketplace has its own buyer niche, at least partially. And wholesale marketplaces typically offer attractive advertising options, including dedicated emails.

However, join a wholesale marketplace only if you are willing to invest time in updating your collection and adding new items. If you upload your collection once and then ignore it, marketplaces would be a waste of money — even for premium, attractive products.

 

 

[“source=practicalecommerce”]

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How Digital Marketing Can Be Beneficial For An SME India?

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

SME India

Digital marketing can be very beneficial for an SME India. It is vital to run the business successfully. With the advent of digitalization, there has been a recent shift from the traditional path of buying to a conventional method. Thus, it is not only a smart idea but also the need of the hour to turn your SME India into a digitally empowered one which will only succeed in the coming time.

So, invest in digital marketing and see your business grow. However, first let’s take a look at four prime reasons why digital marketing would definitely be very beneficial for your business.

Customer’s Online Presence

SME India

ALSO READ: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO DIGITAL MARKETING FOR YOUR BUSINESS

With easy access to the internet and almost every person having a phone, about 97% of the customers search online for the products they need. Simply put the customers are digital savvy. So, with SME India having an online presence, the customers can access your business from any location and at any time.

The internet has an interactive nature that provides the businessman with an opportunity to obtain the needs and requirements of the target customers. This helps in creating better products and services and optimizing them according to customer requirements. So, a social media platform will help you create a strong customer base and establish a good relationship with them. A good and easy to access website attracts digitally savvy customers and also ensures high rate conversion.

Customer Expectation

SME India

ALSO READ: THESE 4 CUSTOMERS RETENTION STRATEGIES WILL HELP YOU BEAT COMPETITORS

In order to keep the business running, it is important to engage customers online with different strategies. With the presence of other competitors in the market, the customers tend to change their mind. They expect to have a more accessible and interactive connect. So, developing an interactive medium is imperative to meet your customer’s expectation.

This will provide extensive engagement and attract potential customers as well who prefer to shop online.

Seasonal Trends

SME India

ALSO READ: HOW ONLINE REVIEWS CAN AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS?

With the use of various online marketing tools, missing out on any seasonal business is absolutely inevitable. Different research shows that an effective digital marketing strategy used by an SME India tempts buyers to shop online. You can lure them with different strategies and send discounts and offers via emails and social media.

With the help of digital marketing, you don’t waste any time, interact with your customers fast, and progress in a way that you make your customers interested in what they want to buy.

Customers are Mobile

SME India
ALSO READ: LOCAL SEO TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Smartphones these days play an active part in changing the customers’ viewpoint – what they want to buy or what not. Customers can search for solutions to their problems in one go and in a convenient way from anywhere. Some research claims that mobile digital media time is higher than the desktop time with the former being 51% and the latter being 42%.

So, it can be concluded that digital marketing is the need of the hour for an SME India. They can optimize their website for mobile viewing to get better results – it will help in greater sales. Also, you can register the business with digital business directories and rank high in Google and another search engine.

It can be said that digital marketing is essential for a business to survive and thrive in today’s world of cutthroat competition. Internet will expand in the time to come and it certainly is capable of attracting an audience and luring it will different offers. So, investing in digital marketing can be a vital step for your business.

[“source=blog.ziploan”]

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Internet Marketing Company, fishbat, Shares 5 Ways to Help Grow Your Beauty Brand Through Effective Social Media Strategies

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Image result for Internet Marketing Company, fishbat, Shares 5 Ways to Help Grow Your Beauty Brand Through Effective Social Media StrategiesPATCHOGUE, N.Y. /PRNewswire/ — As part of their ongoing effort to teach companies how to self-promote, internet marketing company, fishbat, shares 5 ways to help grow your beauty brand through effective social media strategies.

Think the beauty industry is too saturated for your brand to make an impact on social media? Think again. Your beauty brand can grow its following and increase awareness by leveraging proven social marketing strategies.

In a crowded industry, it’s essential that your beauty brand produces compelling content to drive awareness and generate likes, follows and shares. This may sound like a daunting task, but do not be intimidated – the visual-heavy beauty industry was made for social media sharing.

Read on for 5 ways to grow your beauty brand through effective social media marketing.

Show Them How It’s Done
Tutorial videos and how-to’s should be a staple of your beauty brand’s social media content and for good reason. Not only do they show your beauty brand’s products in action, but they also deliver the added value of educating your viewers on how to use your brand’s products.

Conciseness is key when it comes to creating tutorial videos for social media. Rather than share a twenty minute video demonstrating a full face of makeup, consider creating several shorter videos showcasing specific products. “How to Create a Cat Eye,” “How to Make Your Lips Look Fuller,” and “Contouring 101,” are great examples of the kind of short-form tutorial videos that your beauty brand should be creating. Be sure to make your video titles descriptive by including your brand and product names.

Don’t limit your brand to tutorial videos exclusively. How-to infographics showcasing your beauty brand’s products are also a useful way to extend your brand’s messaging and increase awareness.

Utilize User-Generated Content
Utilizing user-generated content is an effective way to grow your beauty brand. Create a unique hashtag for your brand and encourage your followers to use it to showcase themselves in photos and videos using your products. Not only can this content be repurposed to fit your brand’s social media channels, user-generated content also organically advertises proof that your products are effective. If you have the time, add a personalized comment on each user’s tagged photo your followers will appreciate your brand interacting with them!

Give It Away
Social media contests and product giveaways are a unique way to reward your beauty brand’s existing followers and generate new ones. Promote contests that require entrants to perform several tasks to win such as following your brand, tagging a certain number of friends in the comments of the contest post, and liking the contest post itself. Frequently hosting contests and giveaways will introduce your beauty brand to a steady stream of new social media users, thereby creating organic engagement. Be sure to post complete terms and conditions to your beauty brand’s website.

Be Influential
Partnering with social media influencers is an effective way to promote your beauty brand. Much like user-generated content, influencer campaigns show off your products in an appealing, organic way. Finding influencers that align with your beauty brand doesn’t have to break your budget. Very often the influencers with smaller followings, frequently-called “nano” or “micro” influencers, deliver higher engagement rates than those with millions of followers, since their audience is targeted.

Don’t Overlook Memes
Breaking up your promotional content with clever, relatable and inspirational memes is a great way to foster community within your following and create a personal connection with your users. Memes are an opportunity for you to share your beauty brand’s unique voice and give your followers a break from being marketed to.

About fishbat
Digital Marketing Agency fishbat is a full-service online marketing firm that takes a holistic business approach to their clients’ digital marketing programs. The fishbat team understands the importance of business principles just as well as the nuances of the latest digital technologies. fishbat offers every digital marketing service available from digital marketing research and planning to brand development to website and asset creation through social media management and search engine optimization programs – all custom calibrated for both B2B and B2C businesses.

 

[“source=prnewswire”]

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