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    Category: Marketing Strategies

    How to allocate your digital marketing budget

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    While there is no universal strategy for small business budget allocation, successful e-commerce companies will invest in a mix of both paid and organic initiatives. With a wide abundance of marketing channels available in various sectors of online advertising, it’s important to know where your money can be wisely spent to yield a higher return on investment (ROI) and which activities will strategically reach your target audience. In this blog, we will walk you through some steps that you should take when appropriating your marketing budget and offer tips on how to better budget yourself in the future. 

    Making the most of your digital marketing budget

    Whether this is the first digital marketing budget you’ve ever built or you’re looking to give your process a little refresher.

    Here are some steps that can help you to determine where the money should go:

    • Use a budget tracker: All businesses need to track their expenses and analyze where cuts can be made to further the profit. Likewise, your first step to allocating a budget for digital marketing for a small business is to prepare data into a report that shows proposed spend, actual spend, and the results of your spend for future planning.
    • Review goals: Your organization’s top priorities and initiatives are things to consider when budgeting for the next quarter. However, when reviewing these goals, you also need to factor in new product launches, deals, promotions, and event signups.  
    • Select the right sales channels: What works for one business or industry may not work for another, which is why outreach, demographics, behaviours, and intent are elements to consider when choosing the right sales channels. This will not only help you to avoid wasting money but also build up your buyer persona. 
    • Paid search: Online ad campaigns like Google Ads may use up much of your budget because of the cost-per-click but if you secure the right visitors to your website, the investment is well worth it.  
    • Paid social: Popular choices include Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and LinkedIn ads, which show up for potential customers on their social feeds. Depending on the dollar amount you spend, your chances of acquiring new customers can become heightened. 
    • Content marketing: Content is king and since it can typically be put online for little to no charge, the only cost associated with the content is the time that it takes to write. If you can do that yourself, great! But if you’re one of the many who need to rely on freelance writers to produce awesome business content, be sure to budget what you can afford and post as much as you can. 

    If you allocate your budget based on data, you’re setting yourself up to be successful. Since Trek Marketing works with digital marketing for small business, we have all the services and expertise you need for allocating your budget. 

    What other strategies do you consider when depending on your business budget? Drop a comment below to share.

    How to write social media content that engages with your target audience

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    There is a misconception that creating content is easy, and while that may be true for crafting a single post, generating continuous posts is a challenge for any brand. If your business is on the hunt for tips to create compelling social media engagement posts, you’ve come to the right place. As part of our many digital marketing services, we analyze the ongoing trends with various social media platforms to look for new ways to interact with customers and prioritize strategic methods of connecting with partnering brands. Are you ready to learn how to better engage with your target audience? 

    Use fewer words and more visuals

    As people who endlessly scroll through social media ourselves, we know how exhausting it can be to be hit with a wall of text. Not only do consumers lose interest but this may even extend further and discourage them from finding your content in the future. Our best suggestion to avoid this roadblock is by delivering a healthy dose of visual content s well. Videos are a fantastic and quick way to deliver your on-brand messages through social media engagement posts, plus they offer a way to get creative and speak with your audience.

    Stock photos are good but not great

    If video isn’t something you can commit to, start with some personalized photos and watch comments and likes rise. While stock images can be effective for social posting, the don’t perform quite as well as authentic images, and as a result, they’re bad for search engine optimization (SEO).

    Do you need help creating custom, unique social media images? Here are some tips we’ve crafted for readers like you: 

    Repurpose your site’s evergreen content

    Evergreen content is search-optimized content that is continually relevant. Since this content is already sustainable, it’s a great resource for repurposing. Take your best pieces and transform them into infographics, charts, graphs, and social media images. Not only is it great for showcasing but you have a high chance of it being shared on assorted social channels.

    Host some competitions 

    Whether you want to host seasonal sales or promotions based on increased following, social media competitions are a surefire way to grow your audience and gain tons of engagement. 

    Those who aren’t interested in re-inventing the wheel can try one of the following to get things moving:

    • Like, comment, and share campaigns: This allows you to gain as much attention as possible in the given time frame.
    • Tag a friend: This allows you to extend your reach to new audiences.
    • User-generated content: User create posts according to the parameters that you set and tag your business—allowing you to get awesome content that can be used promotionally later on.

    With creativity and effort, you can create engaging content that will drive traffic to your website and increase brand awareness.

    Which tip are you most keen on trying to increase the following for your social media engagement posts? Drop a comment below to let us know.

    3 ways to get the best return on investment for your company

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    Before you can work to improve your business return on investment you must first define what “return” means for you. This could include higher sales, increased revenue, bigger profits, reduced overhead or production costs, higher employee retention, better customer satisfaction, increased brand preference, or fewer government regulations. Once you select your “return” goals, you can work towards achieving them. However, for the purpose of this blog, we will discuss three ways to get the best return on investment for companies overall. 

    Increase revenue

    One way to increase your return on investment is by generating more sales. While the easiest way to achieve this could be to just raise your prices, this is not always the most beneficial. We recommend always looking at ways to improve your sales without affecting your current business practices. For example, you could increase your spending budget on advertising or host a sale. While this will cost money, the return could elate your profits, making an improved return on investment!

    Reduce costs

    Another way to improve your return on investment is to reduce your expenses. You won’t need to raise prices or increase your sales if you can reduce costs. Overhead and production costs vary between industries but there are ways for business owners cut these costs and get their best return on investment. For example, focus on reducing non-product costs like rent or having a work phone. If possible, you could focus on an online shop rather than a brick-and-mortar and have a responsive email instead of a work phone. On the other hand, you could focus on reducing production costs as well. Shop around and see if you can lower your cost of materials and labor. It may not be possible but it’s worth it. 

    Reevaluate your expectations

    Every investment doesn’t need to provide an immediate dollar benefit. In fact, many forms of digital marketing, such as search engine optimization or pay-per-click advertising, can take time to increase your sales. However, this shouldn’t stop you from considering these services. These types of marketing campaigns are not only valuable over time but they allow you to track insights like new customers, increased traffic, and increased awareness. Maybe it’s time that you re-evaluated your expectations. 

    Which ways do you plan to adjust to achieve the best return on investment? Drop a comment below to let us know.

    The customer buying journey explained

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    With the accessibility of the internet and vast amounts of information available, the modern shopper is now more informed than ever. Because of this transition, sales conversations are in the hands of the buyer. With no pushy salesperson to push the features of a particular product like it used to be, instead, online businesses must adapt to continue to target their audience on their path to purchase. This is known as the customer buying journey. 

    What’s the customer buying journey?

    The customer buying journey is everything that happens on their path to purchase. Since people don’t usually just wake up and decide to make purchases on a whim (this can happen!) the process in which they become aware of a product and/or service, consider and evaluate that product and/or service, and decide to purchase that product and/or service is known as the customer buying journey. Understanding the experience of the customer buying journey can help business owners to influence their digital marketing decisions and allocate their budget to a service that best reaches their consumer audience.

    What are the stages of the customer buying journey?

    There are three steps in the customer buying journey:

    1. Awareness: The buyer because aware of a problem or something that they need
    2. Consideration: The buyer defines their problem or their needs and considers options that might solve it/them
    3. Decision: The buyer evaluates and devices on the right provider to administer a solution—this includes elements like price, delivery time, reviews, etc.

    The awareness stage applied:

    The buyer is experiencing a problem with pain in their back and their goal would be to alleviate it. They may then decide to use online resources to understand and frame the problem. For example, “Why is my back hurting?”

    The consideration stage applied:

    The buyer has defined that their back pain is a problem and they are committed to researching and understanding all of the available approaches to solving their problem. For example, “How do you treat back pain when you sit at work?”

    The decision stage applied: 

    The buyer has decided on their solution strategy, method, or approach. Their goal now is to compile a list of available online vendors, and ultimately, make a final purchase decision. For example, “Is better chair support needed? Should I get a sit-stand desk? 

    How to tailor your sales process to better meet the customer buying journey

    With everything mentioned above, it remains important for sellers to know that buyers don’t wish to be pursued and simply want to rely on your knowledge when the time feels right. We recommend utilizing services like social media marketing and search engine optimization as a way to get noticed, display your knowledge, and await sales.

    Did you have any further questions about the customer buying journey? If so, drop them below for a prompt response.

    2 Halloween-inspired marketing ideas to boost your online sales

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    Since Halloween continues to be a popular annual tradition, your digital marketing efforts should mirror the same tricks and treats. Similar to the spending habits that are exhibited during the holiday season, customers enjoy shopping throughout the spooky season, even if it isn’t for terrifying props and knick-knacks. Even if your e-commerce business doesn’t sell products or services that are specific to the season, we recommend utilizing Halloween digital marketing ideas to get into the spirit and embellish your brand’s creativity. Here are some suggestions.

    Advertise a bone-chilling sale

    You don’t need to be selling costumes or candy to host a Halloween sale. In fact, all you need to do is organize a discount or special promo around October 31st and ensure that your advertising efforts are Halloween-inspired. That way your business gets a bit of the action. Be sure to change up your verbiage to align with the holiday as well. It’s not easy to stand out from the competition, but seasonal offers are a great way to try!

    Ex. “This Halloween Our Prices Are Being Slashed By 15%”

    It’s not easy to stand out from the competition, but seasonal offers are a great way to try! Be sure to offer some grim and dramatic explanations of your products and/or services as well.

    Give your website, emails, and social media posts a spooky look

    It’s important that you take every effort to boost your sales and conversions at given opportunities, which is why it’s time to gear up and make your Halloween digital marketing ideas come to life. 

    For starters, overhaul the design of your site’s homepage to include colors and images that embellish Halloween festivities. Even if you aren’t hosting a sale or some sort of promotion, decorating your website according to the season offers great incentives for business owners, as customers who love the look and feel of the website tend to purchase twice as much as they need due to satisfaction.

    Be sure to mirror these efforts in your e-newsletters and social media posts. Not only will this offer consistency across all of your business platforms but these services offer a huge outreach to your target audience, which will be happy you chose to do something spooky to celebrate the season. Since today’s customers prefer personalization, utilize your company’s email by luring clicks through creep-tastic antics. We also recommend decorating your social profiles to create strong messaging for Halloween and sprucing them up with visuals, GIFs, and videos. 

    *Note: The web development company that we work with offers an exciting design, development, and marketing asset package that includes a custom homepage design, newsletter image, and Facebook promo so that you can advertise your Halloween sale across all of your desired platforms. Learn more here.

    Which digital marketing effort will you be focusing your attention on this Halloween? Drop a comment below to share with our readers. 

    4 tips for making the most out of your digital ad spending

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    Since digital marketing spans a variety of channels—websites, streaming content, and more—it’s important to direct digital ad spending towards an assortment of media formats, including text, image, audio, and video. This allows businesses to achieve their goals across the marketing funnel, which include brand awareness, customer engagement, and driving repeat sales. This surge in popularity means that you should be working with a professional and skilled digital marketing agency that will ensure that your ad spending remains focused on the areas where your business will get noticed. Here are four tips for getting the most out of your digital ad spending. 

    Keep the focus on your target audience

    The internet is a competitive space that’s dominated by both marketers and consumers. However, before you can identify your reach to achieve greater engagement, you must first identify and target the right audience. 

    While a service such as email marketing can be a great driver of customer retention and acquisition for businesses, your brand’s audience might keep the focus on social media as well. This means that aside from emailing your list, you should also be targeting them on their respective social sites if you hope to exceed your performance goals.

    Be persistent 

    If you think of advertising as telling a story, then your digital ad spending is the surefire way to increase interest and reach your potential customers. As a big component of successful digital advertising, it’s important to keep your message consistent and be persistent with what you deliver.

    Ensure that your content is easy for readers to understand

    While “simplicity” is often determined by your demographic, on-the-go content is easiest for all to consume, as it puts the responsibility in the hands of the customer. This prime opportunity is only achievable when the content is easy for readers (or listeners) to understand, enabling brands to connect more intimately with their audience, and allowing the audience to choose when and where they connect with said brand.

    Don’t be afraid to ditch what isn’t working

    There’s nothing wrong with trying something new. Equally so, there’s nothing wrong with ditching a strategy after a reasonable amount of time if it proves to be ineffective. We don’t want you wasting your digital ad spending on efforts that don’t offer a return on investment (ROI). 

    On the other hand, please keep in mind that efforts such as search engine optimization (SEO) can take several months to fully develop. So, be sure not to ditch your efforts too early.

    We hope these tips provide you with invaluable success in your advertising!

    What do you do to properly allot your digital ad spending? Drop a comment below to share.

    8 ways to level up your Instagram bio

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    The bio section of your Instagram page is comparable to a cover letter. With limited character space to introduce yourself and your business, it’s important to utilize this space to convey your value. But what details should be included? Instead of writing what comes to mind, why not be strategic and level up by using the following Instagram bio ideas to ensure that you make a lasting impression?

    What’s an Instagram bio?

    An Instagram bio is the text section that sits directly beneath your profile picture. Users use this space to describe the contents of their page, business or personal.

    The following information is often included:

    • Their display name (business or personal)
    • Pronounce (she/her, he/him, they/them)
    • Page category
    • 150-character description
    • One external link
    • Contact information

    As the first touch for your new and returning visitors, your Instagram bio is the area where users communicate who they are and what they offer.

    What makes a good Instagram bio?

    A good Instagram bio has the power to attract new followers or encourage them to “tap” away. With only 150 characters to set the stage, you must keep this area short, sweet, and informative. That said, this space also offers an opportunity to take action by attracting users to click through to your website or your personalized and branded hashtag. 

    8 Instagram bio ideas

    It’s time to learn what it takes to create a killer Instagram bio! Listed below are eight tactics that will help to make your business (or you) stand out from the crowd:

    • Share your story: Think of your bio as a 150-character sales pitch. This space needs to be used to speak to your target audience and detail your business story or personal journey.
    • Include targeted keywords in the name field: Did you know that the name field in your Instagram is separate from your username and can be used as a valuable SEO tactic? When users search on Instagram, you can improve your visibility by utilizing this section to appear higher on the app.
    • Use a link: Instagram allows one external link, so be strategic when using it. This could link users back to your website or a specific landing page.
    • Add an actionable button: Action drives engagement. This is your opportunity to offer a promo or resource that may be of interest to your customers.
    • Share your contact information: While DMs are a great way to contact someone, email and phone number can often be quicker methods. Be sure to include this on your Instagram bio.
    • Choose high-quality, relevant profile pictures: When it comes to social branding, your profile picture is what authenticates you. This is a great spot to add a company logo or a good shot of you doing what you do.
    • Tag related accounts and add your branded hashtag: Hashtags are the powerhouse of Instagram, so if you can come up with something unique to attribute to your business or brand, your Instagram bio is the place to put it. 
    • Utilize Instagram stories’ highlights: Since highlights appear directly below your Instagram bio, they’re almost an extension of it. Show off your personality and spotlight your community and create something catchy. 

    Trek Marketing’s social media marketing service includes Instagram. Are you ready to get started?

    Do you have more Instagram bio ideas? Drop a comment below to share with our readers. 

    instagram bio writing idea

    3 of the best PPC ad networks

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    In terms of access to pay-per-click ad networks, the choices have boomed in recent years, with an opportunity to choose between traditional search engine results pages, native advertising on popular websites, and a wide variety of social platforms. Since PPC ad networks are expansive, it’s important to consider all avenues before allocating your business’s marketing budget. Listed below is a selection of the best PPC ad networks to use to strengthen your digital marketing strategy.

    Google Ads 

    As one of the biggest players in the game, Google ads possess a huge market reach which includes the following PPC ads:

    • Search engine results pages (SERPS)
    • Display Network (ads and videos on partner websites)
    • YouTube advertising
    • Google Play app store advertising
    • Gmail in-app advertising
    • Google Shops advertising

    If you’re after one of the above ad placements, you will need to bid for it. Listed below are examples of some Google PPC bid options:

    • CPC (automated and manual cost per individual click)
    • Enhanced CPC
    • CPM (cost per mille)
    • Target ROAS (targeted return on ad spend)
    • Target CPA (targeted cost per acquisition) 
    • Maximize conversions
    • Maximize clicks
    • Target Outranking share
    • Target Impression Share

    Since the cost of Google ads can vary massively, you should first need to calculate your budget before considering this investment.

    Microsoft/Bing Ads

    Next to Google is Microsoft Advertising, also known as Bing Ads. Offering business owners a cheaper price tag than Google, Microsoft Ads are also associated with a wide assortment of formats, including:

    • Xbox
    • Windows App store
    • MSN
    • Outlook Email
    • Websites for display and native advertising managed by various sales partners

    Although not quite as comprehensive as competitor Google, Microsoft Ads also require bidding:

    • Enhanced and Manual CPC
    • CPM
    • MaxClicks
    • MaxConversions
    • Target ROAS
    • Target CPA 

    With the lower volume and less competition, your bids are bound to be cheaper, which offers a greater opportunity to stand out on the Bing Ad network.

    Facebook Ads

    With the ability to add some targeting potential, Facebook Ads is one of the best PPC ad networks on the market, especially with Instagram as an extension—offering marketers and business owners alike the potential to reach those with specific interests, demographics, education, age, and location data. 

    Facebook Ads can appear on:

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Facebook Messenger
    • The Facebook Audience Network (apps and websites on the partnership network)

    Even cheaper than Bing, Facebook Ads pricing is based on cost per thousand impressions (CPM) or cost per click with the option to target CPA (cost per action) and Target ROAS. Moreover, since Facebook Ads aren’t activated by searching, businesses have an opportunity to get in front of their audience much easier.

    All of the best PPC ad networks can be managed by the PPC team at Trek Marketing. Comment below to get started!

    What did you find most interesting about this digital marketing service? Drop a comment below to get connected.

    5 advantages to Amazon selling

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    When it comes to online shopping, it’s no secret that many consumers order off of Amazon. With its convenient delivery methods and free shipping options, it’s a great way to introduce small e-commerce businesses to shoppers worldwide. This very attractive sales channel is an opportunity for vendors everywhere, however, it’s important to see if the advantages of Amazon selling are worth the cost for you. 

    Is Amazon selling right for your business?

    Amazon has brilliantly established itself as the world’s largest online retailer and while this company has a lineup of basic products under its name, most of what it sells is from other retailers. 

    That said, what are the pros of Amazon selling that draw in so many vendors?

    • More sales 
    • Gaining new customers
    • Possibility for international expansion
    • Low marketing costs
    • No stock

    More sales 

    Millions of active customers visit Amazon each month in search of products making it the number one place to shop online.

    By listing your products on Amazon, it’s far easier to gain credibility and trust with the consumer. That’s because of the great policies and customer service set in place. Rather than buying from a company a customer has never heard of, they purchase from that company with Amazon as the middleman. This ensures Amazon’s promise and excellence. 

    Gaining new customers

    As mentioned above, it’s likely that Amazon will help e-commerce businesses increase their sales and with that, build up their customer base. Since most users who utilize Amazon focus on finding the perfect product rather than who sells it, it works as an advantage for businesses who want to gain a wider audience. Plus, once they make their first purchase, they can be retargeted for other products by your company in the future. 

    International expansion

    As a globally trusted selling and buying platform, it makes it easy to branch into different markets. Shipping to over 100 countries worldwide, Amazon selling allows businesses to bridge new markets. 

    Low marketing costs

    Since Amazon already attracts millions of customers to its website daily, you don’t need to spend as much money to access them. Depending on your niche and how crowded the market is you can make significant marketing efforts will little effort or spending. After all, who does want to piggyback on Amazon’s success?

    No stock

    With 175 fulfillment centres around the globe, you can ship your products in bulk to Amazon and they will store your inventory, package it, and ship it when customers order. This allows business owners to not get bogged down with shipping so they can spend more time sorting through other important elements of managing business operations. 

    While Amazon selling is a great way to advertise your products, there are other ways you can utilize the platform to target new customers. Our digital marketing team knows the ins and outs of Amazon selling and would be happy to help you achieve your online sales goals on a budget. 

    Are there any advantages to Amazon selling that we missed? Drop a comment below to share with our readers.

    Reach vs. impressions: What’s the difference?

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    Are you working towards building brand awareness? Have you done what seems like everything possible to grow and influence your audience using a wide variety of digital marketing services and tools? If these explanations resonate with you, it’s critical for you to better understand the difference between reach vs. impressions. Since each metric requires a different strategic approach, accurately measuring these metrics will help you to find areas to increase your efforts without wasting time and money. 

    Reach vs. impressions: What’s the difference? 

    In terms of digital marketing, “reach” refers to the total number of people who see your content, whereas, “impressions” refers to the number of times your content is displayed, no matter if it was clicked or not. This is a metric primarily that’s used in social media marketing and pay-per-click advertising.

    Since every social media follower can’t see all of the posts that you publish organically, if your goal is to increase engagement on a particular platform to ensure content is delivered to your target audience, reach and impressions are great analytics to examine.

    Let’s dig a bit deeper

    There are many similarities between reach and impressions, however, there are some underlying differences as well. Let’s use an example to further your understanding. If your company has 1000 followers on Instagram and you publish a post, if every one of your followers sees that post, you have a reach of 1000 users—along with 1000 impressions. However, if you update your post and all of your followers, once again, see your post, your reach doesn’t change, but you now have 2000 impressions. This is partly why you may notice that your impressions can be higher than your follower count.

    Learning more about engagement

    Building brand awareness is about getting your message to the right people. This can be done by improving your reach and impressions. To ensure that you get the most out of each social platform and ad campaign, you will want to analyze the metrics offered by each network. While it would take many pages to break down the process for each social media platform, for this blog, we will focus on Facebook.

    On Facebook, reach falls into three different categories:

    • Organic: The number of unique people who see your content in their news feed.
    • Paid: The number of unique people who see your paid content (ex. Facebook Ad).
    • Viral: The number of unique people who see your post or page mentioned in a story published by a friend. These stories include actions such as liking, sharing, or commenting.

    Similar to reach, Facebook impressions are also split into the same three different categories:

    • Organic: The number of times your content was displayed on someone’s news feed.
    • Paid: The number of times your paid content was displayed.
    • Viral: The number of times content associated with your page was displayed in a story published by a friend.

    A great understanding of building brand awareness must be before engagement, reach, and impressions can drive your target audience to take action. If you’re ready to get your social media marketing and pay-per-click marketing on track, please contact Trek Marketing’s Sales Team to get started.

    What did you find most interesting about the above blog? Drop a comment below to share with our readers.