Are you looking for ways to raise your bottom line with digital marketing? If so, this blog was tailor-written just for you! In this article, we’ll take a few moments to discuss content marketing and how marketers are using it to take their brands to the next level.
As a small business, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways to do so is by producing high-quality content that delivers value to your audience. After all, marketing is impossible without great content. Therefore, coming up with engaging content should be at the core of your business strategy.
But what makes good content, and how can it help your business grow? Let’s take a few moments to explore this topic in greater depth. But first, let’s make sure everybody understands the definition of content marketing and why it’s critical for businesses of every size.
What Is Content Marketing? 🤔
Content marketing is a branch of marketing used to plan, develop, and share highly-valuable content to a targeted audience. In a nutshell, it’s a way to raise awareness around your brand, increase credibility, and engage your audience.
Below, we’ll discuss the different types of content marketing and review a few common examples. But for now, you need to understand that it’s a digital distribution method that aims to boost profitable customer behavior.
SEO guru and entrepreneur Neil Patel takes this definition one step further. He explains, “content marketing is a long-term strategy that focuses on building a strong relationship with your target audience by giving them high-quality content that is very relevant to them on a consistent basis.”
Unlike traditional one-and-done marketing tactics, he’s trying to say that content marketing shows your customers you care. By distributing valuable content regularly, you gain more attention. In other words, your customers become more loyal and stick around for longer. But the advantages don’t stop there.
How Does Content Marketing Help Businesses?
When executed correctly, there are many advantages. For one, businesses use a content marketing strategy to increase sales, get new customers and educate their audience.
According to a Hubspot blog, “content marketing is important because it answers your audience’s questions and helps you build trust, develop relationships, improve conversions, and generate leads.” At any rate, producing consistent, high-quality content significantly impacts the customer’s decisions process.
5 Content Marketing Examples to Raise Your Bottom Line
These days, there are hundreds of digital formats to explore. Aside from the four main types (videos, blogs, images, and infographics), new methods are constantly emerging. For those looking for more examples, here are five more popular strategies.
1. Podcasts
Unsurprisingly, podcasts are one of the most popular forms of content marketing to date. With more than 50% of the US population tuning in this year, podcasts can generate massive traffic.
2. Case studies
The case study format provides a way to share information from a study or research. Case studies are a powerful way to convince your audience that a product or service is worth purchasing. They make fantastic additions to any website and provide digestible information about complex topics.
3. Ebooks
Without a doubt, ebooks can bring in some serious profit. Think of it as a book in digital form. You can write about any topic under the sun related to your business. In addition, ebooks are an effective way to create lead-generating content.
4. Webinars
Web seminars or webinars are online events hosted by a business or organization. In most cases, the purpose is to educate their audience via videos, workshops, presentations, courses, and everything in between.
5. Vlogs
Vlog stands for ‘video blog’ (or log). Essentially, it’s the same as a blog but in video format. The sky is the limit when it comes to vlog content. There’s also no shortage of social media platforms to help it go viral.
Still, looking for ways to expand your digital storytelling? We like your marketing spirit! Please read through our recently published blog about content marketing strategy in 2022. We cover more than 15 different formats with plenty of examples.
Elevare is a content marketing agency focused on helping small businesses elevate their bottom line. We are a team of strategists specializing in website development, design, branding, search engine optimization, and social media management.
We look at every component of your business and come up with a customized plan catered to the trajectory of your business. After all, digital marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, meaning every project is unique. Contact us today and let us help you tell stories that the world will love.
In all fairness, coming up with engaging content for every day of the week is a daunting task. If you don’t already have a well-defined content marketing strategy, you may feel overwhelmed.
The good news is the internet is host to a wide range of highly-effective formats for content marketing. And we’re here to tell you about fifteen of the best methods for 2022 and beyond.
Consider These 15 Content Marketing Strategies
First, you’ll need to open yourself to exploration because many content marketing examples on this list are reasonably new. Above all, it’s important to remember that quality content is always king. It’s also a good idea to conduct thorough research and take your time to produce the best content in your niche. But where to start?
Let us take a moment to explain how you can take your digital storytelling to the next level with these content marketing tips and up-to-date strategies.
1. Videos
Without a doubt, publishing consistent high-quality video content will increase your traffic. According to HubSpot, 62% of marketers consider video a top metric. Since 2020, 95% of consumers have engaged with video content. What’s more, online videos account for 82% of all consumer traffic. Without video content, it’s safe to say you’re missing out on billions of potential views and a lot of visibility.
2. Podcasts
This year, 58% of the US population has listened to a podcast. And 103 million people admitted they regularly engage, according to BuzzSprout. Regardless of your experience, podcasts are on the rise around the globe. Some even refer to podcasting as radio 2.0. If you’re new to podcast creation, check out Podbean, Anchor, and Libsyn.
3. Live streams
Live streaming platforms like Twitch, Vimeo, and Tik Tok Live are becoming increasingly popular, especially with the younger demographic. It’s fair to say they’re no longer a novelty meaning you can easily tap into a new audience pool with the right strategy and platform. Think IRL streams and raw, unfiltered audio and video content for any topic imaginable.
4. Audio blog posts
Not all people enjoy reading. As a result, there needs to be a content style for every type of audience. Enter audio blog posts. Essentially, audio blog posts are what it sounds like — audio clips featuring content from your blog. You can even automate the process using text-to-speak tools like BlogAudio and BlogCast.
5. Case studies
Case studies are in-depth research that proves a product or service is worthwhile. For customers in the consideration stage, case studies are powerfully convincing. In addition, case studies make excellent additions to your websites, helping boost sales. Want to see some examples? Here is a list of 28 case studies worth reading.
6. Infographics
If you’re looking for visual content that serves a wide variety of purposes, consider using marketing infographics. They come in handy when explaining complicated processes using simple graphics that everybody can grasp. Not to mention, you can slap them anywhere, making your website look impressive and informative.
7. Influencer marketing
These days, it’s never a bad idea to align yourself with a prominent social media influencer for content projects and endorsements. Influencer marketing is big business, and it’s one of the best ways to boost social media traffic and brand awareness. Not to mention, more resources are popping up every day to help connect businesses with relevant influencers.
8. Webinar classes
Web seminars (webinars) are the perfect tool to educate people on any given topic. Webinars come in many forms. Most notably, video presentations, events, workshops, lectures, and training classes. Choose a topic, find a speaker, plan an event, and watch your traffic soar!
9. Landing pages
In the world of digital marketing, landing pages are standalone web pages. Content marketing agencies build them for visitors to “land” after clicking on emails, ads, or other digital sources. In a nutshell, the purpose of landing pages is to convert, and it’s common practice to collect user info in exchange for a product or service. Landing pages are also relatively quick and simple to develop.
10. Email marketing campaigns
Email marketing is a widespread tactic that uses email to share information about offers, promotions, or any other type of desired content. You can take the time to write custom emails or simply set up an automated system to reach a massive amount of people in one go. There are a lot of reliable tools to help convert sales, so don’t be shy. Mailchimp is the industry favorite.
11. White papers
Whitepapers are authoritative documents that provide information on any given topic. They are usually written by the company and published on their website. The purpose of a whitepaper is to educate and promote services and products.
12. Virtual conferences
By the day, virtual summits are emerging from Twitter and many other social media platforms. Aside from discussions, virtual events meet various needs, including workshops, exhibits, presentations, courses, informal meetups, and AMA’s, to name a few. This content marketing tactic can pay off when planned and executed correctly.
13. PPC campaigns
PPC stands for pay-per-click. It’s a form of digital advertising that drives traffic to websites using search engines like Google. Basically, you pay a small publishing fee when a user clicks on your ad. Google launched its platform to assist users with PPC campaigns. It’s called Google Adwords.
14. SEO
You can apply SEO or search engine optimization to your website content to rank higher with search engines. The goal is to develop content that ranks well for a specific keyword. Although it’s a highly complicated process, your job is to create a large amount of high-quality content that adheres to Google’s standards. When SEO is correctly applied, your web traffic can soar.
If you’re looking for an SEO guru to help with your content marketing strategy, reach out to Elevare Agency for more information.
15. Polls
Finally, social media polls are a fantastic way to engage with your audience regularly. And they’re a potent marketing tactic as well. You can find slews of them on Twitter and LinkedIn every day. The best part about this method is its simplicity. Creating a poll is as simple as coming up with a solid question and making a post. If you want to see some examples, pop over to Pinterest for 81 samples.
Other content marketing formats to explore:
Countdowns
Sponsored content
Product reviews
Ebooks
Testimonials
Vlogs
Are You Looking for a Content Marketing Company?
In short, Elevare is on a mission to streamline your storytelling by building masterful processes and content marketing strategies that engage your audience like never before.
We’ll collaborate on a roadmap focused on your unique needs right from the start. Our comprehensive plan of action will drive your success in the future marketplace.
Reach Out to Elevare for Content Marketing Strategies and Services
We’d love to speak more about elevating your brand with effective content marketing services, including high-quality videos, website content, and killer social media marketing that fans love.
If you’re looking to align with one of the best content marketing agencies in the game, don’t hesitate to reach out! Finally, if you liked this article, be sure to check out our blog for more insights on content marketing strategy. Otherwise, feel free to contact us or follow Elevare on social media!
Although remote work opportunities were growing well before covid, it’s safe to say that we’re living through one of the most significant workplace transformations in recent history. When the pandemic first hit, people left their jobs in record numbers, and offices closed their doors (some for good), forcing many employees to work from home for the first time.
Fast forward roughly two years later, and people’s opinions about office work have changed. While many workspaces have finally re-opened, companies and individuals realize many benefits of working from home.
Understanding The Trend: Working From Home (WFH) In 2022
Below, we’ll quickly explain what is wfh and why workers continue to embrace work-from-home jobs despite the status of the pandemic. After that, we’ll discuss the five primary benefits of the work from home movement, WFH jobs, and what it means for the future of business.
At present, the job market is highly volatile, and recent struggles have helped many people wake up to the fact that life is short. With this realization comes a reprioritization of work, family, and health, with the home at the core for many.
While this is undoubtedly positive, the fact of the matter is that many businesses are struggling to find a way to function without a brick-and-mortar location. As we move further into 2022, it’s safe to say that working from home is undoubtedly here to stay (and for a good reason).
Embrace The Future of Work From Home Jobs
We want to make the point that it’s time to get PUMPED UP about WFH jobs, not discouraged. It means more freedom and flexibility for bosses and employees in the long run. In addition, you’ll have more time for family, health, and happiness — and quite honestly, better quality work.
Either way, here are five reasons why your employees won’t come back to the office, and neither should you.
1. The new norm is real. Embrace it.
If any good came from Covid19, it’s the realization that life is short, and we need to make the most of it. With great struggle comes great reward, and despite everything, we’ve learned that a life spent in an office is no life at all.
In the workplace context, it’s safe to say there’s a new normal. Meaning our daily lives simply aren’t the same. The key is to embrace the idea that things operate differently. In a world where viruses and diseases are rampant, work from home jobs are the best solution.
2. Insufficient covid protocols
Poor Covid protocols are one of the most common reasons today’s workforce prefers not to work on location. Since every individual has different opinions on public health, it’s next to impossible to implement a covid protocol that everybody is happy to follow.
As a result, more people prefer to work safely from home because it’s the only way to control the environment. Honestly, the added stress of masks, vaccinations, quarantines, and awkward social encounters doesn’t help.
3. Family first, no matter what
If you have kids, you already know the frustration involved with taking care of a family and commuting to work every day. Unless you work across the street from your workplace, going to a brick-and-mortar location cuts away precious time with family five days a week.
The truth is, employees, get the same amount of work done from home and save a lot of time and effort driving back and forth. It’s much easier to take care of your family from home and less stressful in most cases. Workers need to be happy, and office work isn’t helping anybody.
4. Health is wealth
The data is in: sitting is the new smoking, meaning your office vibe is more like a smoky bar in reality. So, unless you have a layout that offers more than sitting space, forget it. One of the most cited reasons for not returning to the workplace is health.
These days, employees need space to move around during the day. Activities like stretching, naps, yoga, and exercise are part of the daily routine. The problem is you can’t do them in most offices. Overall, good health is your best weapon against covid and disease. And your average office is not taking enough precautions to keep everybody safe. As a result, remote work is becoming a way of life.
5. Automation of manual tasks is growing
Even if Covid never happened, automation is progressing at such a rate that we’d all be working at computers from home soon anyways. With that said, automation and technological advancements play a huge factor in the growth of the WFH sector.
Essentially, anybody with a computer and Wi-Fi connection has an ‘office’ to work from, meaning this trend is permanently changing the workplace. What’s more, it’s a movement that saves everybody (businesses included) time, money, and lots of manual output.
Work From Home Tips
Set a WFH schedule and stick to it (just like the office)
Stretch or move into a new position every two hours
Make sure you have reliable wifi and a solid computer
Try to leave home at least a few times per week
Are You Looking For Next Level Content Services?
We’re a full-service marketing agency with many years of experience helping clients reach their target audience, exceed business goals, boost traffic, and increase revenue. We’ve developed world-class content in a wide range of industries, including retail brands, eCommerce, non-profits, contractors, and more.
We are driven by data and use it to empower our clients with customized marketing strategies that align with their business goals and missions. We can assist you in every step of the content process to help you tell stories that take your brand to the next level.
What We Do Best:
Brand Identity and Design
Web Design and Development
Content Management
Search Engine Optimization
Website Speed Optimization
Social Media Management & more
Reach Out To Elevare for WFH Opportunities
If you’re looking for a company that offers work-from-home positions, please drop us your resume so we can speak more! We’re a growing business and we’re always on the lookout for talented professionals that can help us take our business to the next level.
Elevare is a premium digital agency serving businesses worldwide with high-quality website design, branding, SEO, social media management, and more!
What comes to mind when you think of those words? Probably not Nissan.
The 86 year old Japanese automobile manufacturer isn’t often associated with elegant innovation, but their new rebranding aims to change this narrative.
For the first time in over two decades, Nissan unveiled a new logo along with the 2022 Nissan Ariya, an all-electric crossover SUV.
The one-minute commercial shows a series of abstract, animated shots depicting a variety of mediums illuminating the new logo. With fire, ice, flowers, and water flourishing to bring the symbol to life – quite the rebirth!
Although the logo didn’t go through a huge change, the subtle alterations give the Nissan brand a refined, modern look keeping with the times.
Along with an overdue update, Nissan rebranded as a part of the plan to illuminate their logo. All upcoming electric models will have the logo illuminated with around 20 LED lights. The new, flat logo is easier to crystallize and provides a clear outline for the light.
The highlighted front logo will add a new element to Nissan vehicles moving forward, giving the brand its own identifying niche.
So, why now?
It’s been 20 years since Nissan changed its design, which begs the question, why now?
On their website, the company claimed they began the redesign process back in 2017, hoping to create something “thin, light, and flexible”.
BMW went through a similar process, also releasing slight logo changes in the past year. Adapting to the digital age, BMW switched out their original 3D logo for a flatter, 2D version for digital compatibility.
Similarly, Volkswagen released its rebranding in late 2019 with a similar logo adaption. Just like Nissan, Volkswagen used the release of its first electric vehicle to promote a new, more modern logo.
While the logo looks almost identical to the original, the traditional design takes a clear 2D form more adaptable to digital platforms.
Volkswagen also plans to illuminate its logo on its future cars through LED lights. Which again, will add a sleek, modern look to the new wave of electric vehicles.
So, to answer the question at hand, we must look at the current era. With most content consumption taking place online, companies need a logo that accommodates all digital platforms – something a 3D design can not do.
When it comes to watermarks, social media profile pictures, and bumper emblems, 3D graphics feel chunky and heavy. Flat, lightweight 2D visuals feel seamless and sharp, and make graphic design projects easier.
Importance of Logo Design
When starting a business, developing a logo may not be high on your priority list.
Although establishing clientele and forming a team may be more important to your success in the short term, do not overlook the power of a strong logo.
In the digital era, consumers have limited attention. When viewing content, users want a quick reward or they will click away – unless your eye-catching symbols grab their attention.
Even though a logo may only consist of a few colors, words, and a small picture; this design communicates a message to your clients within a glance.
A logo puts forward your first impression. It’s your one chance to pull a potential customer in and showcase why your services should be of value to them.
Consistent imagery throughout your business establishes your brand’s personality and lets the customer know who you are as a company.
For example, a consumer may sift through hundreds of t-shirts on a shopping trip. But once they find one with the prominent Nike swoosh, they’re sold.
Something as little as a tiny white swish will convince a consumer to make a purchase, as they trust and prefer the brand they know so well.
According to Pam Moore, it takes 5 to 7 impressions before a consumer will remember your brand. This illustrates how just important a strong logo is.
This number may seem high when you rely on limited advertisements and publicity. However, if you publish a consistent logo across multiple platforms, five impressions is not a lot.
Logo Design with Elevare
When you work with us here at Elevare, our expert team of graphic designers will work with you to create the perfect logo and design scheme for your business.
We know how to capture minimalism, clarity, and your business’s message in a design. We will also tweak as appropriate to fit all social media platforms.
Our team will also guide you through the publishing process. We can help you apply your logo to business cards, billboards, social media, and flyers, and more.
We’ll also take care of trademark filings and keep records of the colors and specs used on file so we can make alterations in the future.
We know how important it is to create a trusted brand and have a strong brand identity online. We have worked with a number of clients to help create and strengthen their branding with great success.
Contact us below for a FREE consultation so we can get started on your logo design and branding that will help establish you as a trusted authority in your field.
Almost $70.7 billion in revenue- all in jeopardy. Why? The Facebook ad boycott.
The social media platform has faced longstanding criticism for not filtering enough hate speech. Now frustrated users have finally put their foot down.
Consumers were recently pushed over the edge after President Trump tweeted violent remarks toward looters during the Black Lives Matter protests. To which Facebook ignored.
As the movement arose in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the NAACP and other civil rights organizations refused to advertise on Facebook throughout July.
This “Hit Pause on Hate” movement was created in the hope that a massive blow to Facebook’s ad revenue would force headquarters to increase hate speech censorship.
Will Facebook’s Revenue Decrease?
Verizon, Coca-Cola, Ford, Ben & Jerry’s, Target, Patagonia, Adidas, and over 500 other companies have joined the movement. All halting their Facebook advertisements for July.
Although 98 percent of Facebook’s $70.7 billion revenue comes from advertisements. Wall Street firms estimate they’ll only see a 5% decrease in revenue from the Facebook ad boycott.
According to Citi Analysts, a one month boycott would only knock Facebook’s stock by $1. However, if companies never resume advertisements, Facebook’s stock would see a $17 decrease.
With over 500 companies protesting, $17 seems like a pretty minimal hit. Even though the majority of Facebook’s revenue comes from ads, the platform has millions of diverse advertisers.
Meaning many, many more paying clients would have to halt advertisements to truly make a dent.
However, while the #HitPauseOnHate movement has not drastically affected Facebook financially, it still sent a message.
Plan for Change
In response to the movement, Facebook claimed they will release a year-long audit of its civil rights practices. Along with reviewing its actions regarding hate speech and election propaganda.
The platform’s top executives also held a Zoom meeting with multiple civil rights organizations that took place on the 7th of July.
Facebook executives Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg met with the NAACP among others in hopes to end the boycott. As well as finding ways to improve their repercussions for hate speech.
The activists brought about 10 demands to the table. Which included hiring an executive with a civil rights background and revising community regulations.
While Facebook agreed to hire a civil rights activist, they did not reach a conclusion a majority of the other demands.
After attending the meeting, head of civil rights group Color of Change, Rashad Robinson said, “They showed up to the meeting expecting an A for attendance. Attending alone is not enough.”
Zuckerberg has long defended Facebook’s guidelines by emphasizing the American right to freedom of speech. Claiming it is not Facebook’s place to restrict certain messages.
Facebook has released apologetic messages calling for change. Although Zuckerberg’s attitude calls his motives into question.
Opening the Advertisement Door
With so many businesses revoking Facebook advertisements, video streaming service TikTok has sprung on this new market. They’ve been persuading these companies to advertise on their platform.
Not only is TikTok taking advantage of Facebook’s boycott, but the platform was also already soaring as the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation.
With over 2.3 billion worldwide downloads, 19% of installations were downloaded from March 1 to July 8 during the heaviest time for stay-at-home orders.
As so many users found themselves stuck inside, the newer app caught the attention of many. 489 million to be exact. The pandemic created more global respect for the platform, as they truly became one of Facebook competitors.
To assist small businesses during this unprecedented time, TikTok put $100 million toward smaller businesses that need guidance and free advertisement to stay afloat.
Influencers Become Unexpected Victims
Although the protests began to hurt Facebook’s revenue and get their attention. Influencer content has taken a big hit with sponsored posts missing this month.
Coming out of a global pandemic, influencers were put in a tough spot. They rely heavily on brand partnerships and businesses’ marketing budgets.
As many businesses tightened their budgets to survive COVID-19, marketing was placed on the backburner. Which resulted in a decrease in influencer sponsorships.
Just as the pandemic has finally begun to slow down, the Facebook boycott hurt influencer marketing even more as a large portion of social media advertising was now unavailable.
Many other industries and companies are struggling much more than influencers. It’s still hard to ignore how Facebook’s actions have hit them though.
While the protests make less than a 5% dent in Facebook’s revenue as a result of the Facebook ad boycott. Many small influencers are struggling to pay the bills as brand sponsorships plummet.
More and more brands keep pledging to halt Facebook advertisements for July and possibly longer. The platform’s executives still have a long way to go before community guidelines are up to the standards of equality.
If you’ve already read up on some business marketing, you may have heard the phrase “target audience.”
Targeting a specific section of your audience and targeting your marketing to a specific demographic will yield a much higher ROI and more successful results.
But how do you even begin to know who your target audience is so that you can, well, target them?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you. We can work together to help you define and attract your ideal group of people that your product/service can benefit from.
Define, Define, and Define
We need to know who your future clients are. We need to define who is going to be interested in your product and likely to purchase it.
Saying “everyone” is not gonna help you. Even if you have the most useful product in the world, you need to focus your attention on a certain audience.
You need to dig deep on this one and truly understand the appeal of your product or service. You need to have a clear definition so you can aim your language and marketing towards specific people and not create boring, general market noise.
You’ll need to be able to name the demographics of your audience. This means knowing how old they are, where they live, their gender, income level, education level, family status, and their line of work.
Start off with a larger group. Let’s say your product is really useful for young professionals. Maybe you’re creating an efficient organizer or have professional communication classes. We would still need to get a little more detailed on who exactly your clients are.
Think about demographics and specific interests. Do you think your clients have young families or are flying solo? Do they like to go out or stay in for entertainment? What are their values? What is their personality like?
Take a few moments and write everything you imagine your future client is and has. Don’t be afraid to get detailed about it.
Having a clear idea of where they spend their time, what they eat, how much spending money they have and what they like to watch will help you come up with detailed plans on how to actually reach your potential clients.
Writing up a fake person and giving them all of these details may help you to better visualize your target audience.
What Exactly Makes Your Product Useful?
Analyze your product or service. Don’t just look at it and say it’s useful. Explore the details and bigger ideas behind it.
If you have a great fitness app, write a list of how each exercise or diet plan benefits your clients. Maybe the diet plans are fast and easy for someone with a busy lifestyle. Perhaps the exercises are easy to adjust if you have injuries.
The benefits of the product can tell you who exactly you should be targeting.
Know the Clients You Have
If you already have a customer base, make note of everything that’s unique about them.
Look for shared interests and aspects of your customers. Your new potential customers are going to fit the mold of your existing audience.
Create a list and star why you think they buy from you. You can even ask what they like the most about your product or service.
Reviews from clients are especially useful when trying to focus in on and know who is buying your product or service. Keep complaint/review cards on-site and have a clear way for people to offer opinions on your website and social media.
Knowing the clients you already have is a great starting point for figuring out who you should be talking to.
The better you can identify and understand your existing audience, the better you can grow your audience.
Go Where You Can Reach Them
Defining your target audience involves understanding where they are, and having detailed demographics information to work with.
If you know where your clients go and what they do for entertainment, it can help you make the first contact with your target audience.
For example, if your target audience is retired men from age 65-75 in your hometown, you may decide to wind back on your Instagram feed and use a more appropriate social network or even local paper ads.
Another idea is to find out where your target audience eats in your hometown and put ads up near there instead of where there is younger traffic. This will also affect your language in your marketing as well.
In this example, you’d want to use clear, friendly, and direct language without using many phrases that a younger demographic recently created.
There will always be someone in your client base that does not fall into every category, that’s okay. The idea is to reach out and connect with any many people in this audience as you can.
Be Their Reflection
Once you have a better understanding of your target audience, you will know where you can find them and how to market to them. One way to really connect with your target audience is to create a brand that reflects them.
At this point, you’ve already studied how they are and where they go. Now you need to send out consistent messaging that they can connect to on a personal level. You can’t just send out one blast of ads that connect with them, you need to keep it up.
Your brand needs to constantly look and relate to the people you are working to serve. If your service helps creative go-getters, develop a website that represents and invites them. Have your social media be a safe place for them to express their interests.
Use bright colors and relevant language to keep all of your content separate from everyone else. When you use traditional media and print ads, keep the same voice. By doing this you not only continue to relate to your audience, but you also build a community.
Building a strong community should be the end goal of defining and finding your target audience.
It can seem like a lot of work to get started, but it is the only way to truly get your name out there and bring in new customers that will one day become loyal. Don’t lose your energy once you find your niche, constant, honest branding will help you define, find, and keep your target audience.
Ready to Find Your Target Audience?
At Elevare our job is to help you successfully get those loyal customers. If you’d like to know how we can help you and your business, please take a moment to fill out the form below for a free consultation.
Okay, so you want to try having a contest for your business. Not only that, but you also want this contest to result in giving your business more reach and profit.
It’s a proven strategy and a profitable business model when done right. A well-run contest can increase your audience, and thereby your potential customers, by 34% on average (according toHubspot).
Thanks to the internet and smart information technology we now have several platforms to launch contests. Not just one platform, we have many within the world wide web.
From blogs to Instagram, it’s easier than ever to get the word out about your contest. Our specialty here at Elevare is creating online marketing plans to get you more clients and sales.
Contests run online is a great way to build your online presence and get your product in someone else’s hands. People are more likely to buy from your product if they can see, real-time, how good your products are.
Your winner will also hopefully become a spokesperson for your business. From their perspective, winning a contest will make them feel special.
If your business can give these feelings to someone, they are more likely to remember you and talk about your business to others.
The “I won a contest once” conversation is one you want to get in on in a positive way. Don’t be afraid to give away a truly good and useful product, it will pay you back if you do it right.
Timing Matters
A healthy contest typically runs between 25-60 days. Try to stay within this timeframe so that you can gain enough traction to fill your audience potential. If you make the contest too long, people will lose interest.
You can start a contest whenever you want or need to. If your business needs more leads, more mentions, or if you want some instant sales, it’s a good time to start a contest.
Contests are a solid way to increase your audience, sales, and get more engagement from the audience you already have.
Who Is Your Target?
Who is your audience and what will interest them most in a contest?
It’s crucial to ask yourself this question before you start to plan your contest. Your business is looking for results, not just a fun way to pass the time. To see results, you need to create a contest that speaks to the people you are actually trying to reach.
Set A Goal
Another key question to ask yourself is “what is your goal?” You need to clearly describe the purpose of your contest.
There are a few reasons why most businesses start a contest, these are to:
Create excitement around a new product or service
Get Email subscriptions
Have instant sales
Increase engagement with your audience
Get a bigger audience
You then need to think of contest awards. Cash prizes and prize money are great and always incentive participants. But giving away a product or service with your company name attached to it is always a better option.
Know Your Budget
Before you can start your campaign, you have to set your budget. You will have to invest to make this contest work, but you need to know exactly how much works for you right now.
Decide now how much you want to spend on the prize, and don’t forget to include packaging and marketing for your campaign. That means evaluating how much money you want to put into social media ads, PPC ads, and any content that you may need to pay for.
What Kind of Contest?
Now for the fun part. It is time to decide what kind of contest you want to have. This entails finding out what kind of prize you want to give as well as the format of the contest.
If you just want a lot of people to enter, you should try sweepstakes. Vote contests are engaging and also easy for a lot of people to enter too, so it’s worth comparing these options.
Photo and video contests provide a lot of user-generated content and marketing. They do require more work to be a part of though, which often results in fewer participants.
Essay contests are more involved as well but can help to bring more awareness to a certain aspect of your field or philanthropic projects such as working with high schools and colleges.
Set clear guidelines for your contest as well as the start and end date. Know how frequently you will run contests and how people can enter (through Email, etc).
You will need to set up a specific landing page for your contest as well, through Facebook or website, as a way to host your contest and keep things simple.
Promotion
Your marketing strategy is what will make or break your contest. You need shareable images and well-timed content to get the word out about your contest.
Use PPC ads and write blogs about the content. Make sure that wherever you put contest-related content, you also have an easy way for people to enter the contest.
You should also put a banner on your site that leads to your hosting page for the contest. Send out Emails, posts, and print ads.
Don’t hesitate to promote this contest in any way you can. Make it fun and personal, but get the word out! For a collaborative and more personal approach, contact influencers your target audience can relate to so that they can also promote your contest.
Announcing and Thanking
Once your contest has come to an end, it’s time to announce your grand prize winner. Remember that this is a fun time and you should keep the excitement going for everyone involved.
First of all, let the winner know that they have won your contest. Put some personalized effort into your packaging of the product with confetti or something else that is fun and lighthearted to make it memorable for them.
Share your winners with the world on social media and on your Email newsletter. This is your opportunity to share the customer-generated video, photo, or essay with your audience.
If you didn’t require any submissions for the contest, still share a fun graphic to congratulate the winner and let everyone know what happened. Make sure to thank everyone for playing along and invite them for the next one.
Ready to Host Your Own Business Contest?
Want to create and start a business contest of your own? Need help creating and executing another business idea?
Schedule a free consultation with us now using the form below so that we can help you create your own contest and with other areas of your digital marketing efforts.
The words “email newsletter” can spark a certain bad feeling in your stomach. Many of us scroll past marketing emails from companies and end up just throwing them into the virtual trash bin.
The negative feelings you have towards an email newsletter tells you something important about email marketing. It’s telling you to do email marketing right, and not annoy everyone who has an inbox.
You can get up to $40 back on every dollar spent on email marketing. That tells us that it is worth our time to figure out how to do email marketing properly. If you feel overwhelmed, that’s normal. All you need is a push in the right direction to start creating content that will actually connect with your customers.
The Niche
The first step is to acknowledge your niche and who it is you are talking to. This is the first step to most marketing, and email marketing is just the same in that aspect.
Do not try to reach everyone you possibly can. Narrowing down your audience, and understanding the tone that they would prefer, is a great way to keep your emails from going in the trash bin.
That being said, don’t be afraid to write an email that isn’t going to appeal to every single person. Know your voice and the content you should be putting out in the world and own it.
If you have a variety of people you are trying to reach out to, make sure to make multiple lists and different content for each subgroup. It may be worth your time to have different members of your team write for separate groups as each team member may be an expert in a specific area that relates to a specific list.
People can tell when you are writing just to have something to send out and, in the end, push your product. Take time to make quality content if you want it to be successful and engaging. If you don’t like writing, this is where hiring a writer can be helpful. The goal is to have your content be personal and relevant to a specific crowd.
The Process
Once you have a better idea of what you should be writing about and who you are writing to, it’s time to create an email newsletter. Set up a day where you are committed to having an email sent out every week, no excuses. People prefer consistency so that those who enjoy your specific newsletter know when to look for it.
Whether you are sharing recipes, local news, or great reads, you want your audience to be able to anticipate and get excited for a specific day that your content regularly comes out. You of course can give additional emails during the week for any special news, but give yourself a strict schedule for your newsletter.
The writing process will vary depending on your content and how quickly you can write and edit. Try giving yourself a solid week to get your first email newsletter together. A tip; spend your first day writing down ideas for your newsletter.
Once you feel that you have all your ideas down, make lists. List which ideas could work for this week and which ones could work for specific holiday seasons or events coming up.
The next part of the process may sound like school, but it will help you get the best result. First, write an outline. After that move to your 1st draft, 2nd draft, 3rd draft, and then final edit. Why so many drafts? As Justice Louis Brandeis said, “There is no great writing, only great rewriting.”
Though some have found great success in writing long, and well-developed newsletters, it is good to shoot for around 200 words. You’re not writing a blog post in your mails, most people will be opening them on their mobile devices, and most are easily distracted.
Promote On A Variety Of Platforms
Now that you have finished your first email newsletter, it is time to promote it. While you should have employed some marketing tactics beforehand to get people’s emails, now is a good time to find more readers.
Promote a photo of a part of the newsletter or an interesting quote on your social media that will grab people’s attention and lead them to a form where they can sign up for a newsletter to see the rest.
To build your email list in the first place, you can tease your first newsletter and provide special deals in return for an email address. Take time to figure out which list your addresses should be in. If someone bought a product related to a specific topic, put them in that newsletter list.
You can also pitch your newsletter to publications that are interested in your specific field. Approach these businesses with proper business etiquette and offer a sample of your work. Don’t be afraid to put your work out there. The worst these publications can do is say “no”. If they say “yes”, you have just expanded your business reach!
Layout And Structure
Don’t forget to make your email design aesthetically pleasing. You can achieve this by carefully curating your layout and structure, and using premade email templates could save you some time.
Always remember to be consistent with your branding. Try not to change the visual appearance of your newsletter designs too much from week to week or you could lose brand recognition.
The layout is the overall look and feel of your email. This means choosing a specific color scheme, font, image style that represents your company in each newsletter. Make sure your layout makes sense with the content you are creating and still works with your overall business brand.
The structure is how your newsletter is organized. You will need to decide where images typically go, where you put articles summaries, etc. You want to make sure you have enough spacing in your newsletter to keep it easy to look at.
Once you have a layout or multiple layouts you’re happy with, save them as email newsletter templates. This will save you time in the future and help keep your email branding consistent.
Writing a compelling subject line is an art of its own. Don’t everything it, but as the same time, you need to be very deliberate with your subject lines as they can greatly affect your open rates.
There are 5 elements every newsletter should have in some fashion: a greeting, headline, content, call to action, and closing.
Ready To Write Weekly Email Newsletters?
If you would like to invest in email marketing and learn more about creating effective email campaigns, but need experts to make the process easier and more beneficial to your business, our team at Elevare Agency can help you get started.
Fill out a form below for a FREE consultation from our team.
Believe it or not, there’s a lot to be learned from some of the funniest brands on Twitter.
Whether you liked or disliked your high school’s class clown, there’s one thing you can’t deny – they made you laugh.
The same applies to social media. While it’s created both positives and negatives in society, it has most certainly made many of us laugh in the few decades it’s been around.
Social media platforms – especially Twitter – have been utilized by large brands to establish their reputation, and create hilarious viral hits to attract more customers.
Here’s a look at 11 of the funniest companies on Twitter, and the comedic tweets that got them there.
1. MoonPie
During the August 2017 eclipse, many brands adjusted their ad campaigns to fit the unique event.
Hostess Snacks was no different, tweeting an augmented photo of their Golden CupCake product covering the sun to form an eclipse.
As one of their biggest competitors, MoonPie took the opportunity to make their own personal statement regarding the eclipse, and with just two words garnered a tidal wave of laughter and popularity with this tweet;
Keeping aware of upcoming applicable holidays or events can assist your marketing team in creating the most relevant advertisements possible.
However, MoonPie’s 482K likes depict firsthand that you do not need a large-scale campaign to make a statement. Just a little well-timed humor.
2. Wendy’s
If you know Wendy’s, you’ll know they proudly serve fresh beef on their hamburgers. Something many of their fast-food competitors are not as well known for.
In May of 2018, McDonald’s announced that after years of serving frozen hamburger meat, they would be making the switch to fresh beef.
The timing of this announcement came just after the release of Avengers: Infinity War, which triggered the creation of the “disintegration” or “I don’t feel so good” meme.
Users would recreate a scene from the movie by applying a particle dispersion effect on part of a person or character, with the featured text “I don’t feel so good”.
This wildly popular meme acted as inspiration for Wendy’s social media team, as they applied the image to the termination of the Big Mac’s frozen beef:
Wendy’s social media also stays relevant and well-liked by responding to a majority of their Twitter replies, usually highlighting their dry sense of humor.
Although you’ve probably never heard of The Museum of English Rural Life before, the MERL’s Twitter account has over 150K followers.
Why? Simply because they’re funny.
This small rural museum grew most of their social media following after a few tweets went viral. They post hilarious commentary on both English history and native animals.
For example, their most recent bit included a Twitter thread of pigs that got increasingly longer as you scroll down:
I guess it proves that if you’re funny enough, even historical English farm life can become trendy.
4. Charmin
The autumn season is usually marked by the falling of leaves or changes in weather. However, many teenage girls recognize the season’s start when Starbucks begins serving their Pumpkin Spice Latte.
The popularity of this seasonal beverage sparked many other companies to personalize their own Pumpkin Spice products, including Cheerios, Kind Bars, Jell-o, and Hostess Snacks.
Charmin also poked fun at Hostess Snacks to increase the publicity of both brands. Even though a toilet paper/dessert collaboration is definitely not in their future, facilitating playful, positive relationships with other top brands can increase a company’s reputation and relatability.
5. Taco Bell
The worldwide Mexican fast-food chain has a long history of interacting with users via social media. They’ve amassed more than 1.9 million Twitter followers and made more than 793.7K tweets to-date.
Back in 2012, a small Mean Girls fan page shared a quote from the movie mentioning the restaurant. Taco Bell surprisingly responded, finishing the beloved quote and gaining hundreds of retweets with this gem:
Karen: You wanna do something fun? You wanna go to @TacoBell? Regina: I can’t go to @TacoBell, I’m on an all carb diet! #MeanGirls
— Mean Girls Quotes (@MeanGirlsQuotes) July 12, 2012
Not only do the Taco Bell social media team joke with users, but also with popular brands as demonstrated with this Tweet firing back at Old Spice.
6. Innocent Drinks
Although Innocent Drinks may not be widely known, this healthy juice company often posts comedic one-liners sure to make you laugh.
Many of the company’s tweets do not involve juice at all. Instead, they use their social media to focus on relatable topics with the hopes users will like and share their comments.
For example, since stay-at-home orders began, they have tweeted a daily reminder of what day it is for their many followers stuck at home in the same routine.
DAILY REMINDER OF WHAT DAY IT IS TODAY
It’s a Sunday. Unless you’re lucky and have tomorrow off, in which case it’s Saturday: Reloaded.
They’re also not afraid to tackle more niche, random things in life. They once simply posted the word “beavers” to Facebook.
This weird, spontaneous post may have confused some users, but ended up becoming a running joke among the company’s social media followers and acted as a surprisingly successful marketing strategy.
7. Old Spice
Popular men’s toiletry brand Old Spice has a lot of fun with their social media posts. Often sharing absurd yet hysterical thoughts with their audience.
Their social media analytics aren’t off the charts every week, but their consistent humor has accumulated over 193K followers and has a positive impact on their reputation.
To facilitate successful social media profiles, it’s not about every post going viral. Instead, it’s about creating a relatable, unique personality that represents your brand.
8. NASA’s Curiosity
A lunar-rover with an attitude, NASA’s Mars rover has its own social media accounts where it posts witty, first-person updates on its space adventures.
Followed by 4 million users – Lady Gaga among them – this little robot has quite a sense of humor.
DiGiorno is one of the top pizza delivery companies in America, but by far the weirdest on social media sometimes.
Their followers often see hilarious pizza-related memes in their feeds. Among their followers are popular social media influencers Zane Hijazi and Heath Hussar, who often retweet their content.
You can see examples of their quirky humor in tweets here:
The pizza company also connects with its fans and customers through interactive tweets, inviting users to share and comment.
Inviting others to share their thoughts not only increases analytics but also creates a supportive community.
Even if it’s just an emoji or simple statement, DiGiorno will often respond and interact with comments. This increases brand reputation and, most importantly, makes their followers laugh.
You’ve probably never heard of Moosejaw Mountaineering, but this outdoor retailer consistently posts hilarious jokes and stories on all their social media platforms.
Even their Twitter bio reads “Customer service issues please reach out to our live chat team on our website, they don’t trust me with that power”.
Most of their posts have absolutely nothing to do with mountaineering. Instead, they read more like random texts from your best friend.
Like these two:
My dog is wagging his tail in his sleep. I repeat – My dog is wagging his tail in his sleep.
“I don’t miss sports at all” I say as I watch two condensation droplets slowly creep down my bathroom mirror, rooting with all my heart for left droplet and somehow despising right droplet with every fiber of my being.
The majority of their tweets don’t get over 10 retweets. But virality aside, any potential customer is immediately drawn into their hilarious, outrageous attitude. Even if you’re not interested in camping or anything related to the outdoors, I highly recommend following Moosejaw Mountaineering for their comedic genius.
For the past decade, Netflix has redefined the way we consume entertainment. It feels like almost everyone on the planet either has an account, or they’re mooching one from their parents.
This is reflected in their huge Twitter following. At the time of writing this, Netflix has more than 8.2 million followers.
Netflix’s social media is a bit more professional than some of its comedic competitors. Many of their self-made memes they post involve their own shows and movies.
Like this tweet that created a storm around their popular series Annie with an E:
Integrating their own content into meme-able content is a great marketing tactic to garner retweets and shares. It also encourages new viewers to check out a series for the first time.
Netflix also retweets other user’s posts made about one of their shows almost every day. This acts as an inspiration for users to post more about Netflix shows and movies with the hope that the company’s account will retweet or like it.
Can I Use Humor to Increase My Social Media Reach?
If you want to follow suit with these examples of some of the funniest brands on Twitter we’ve shared, we can make that happen.
There are many ways you can use social media to grow your brand online. If you need help formulating a social media plan to compete with larger brands in your industry, we can help.
Just fill out the form below and a member of our team will be in touch.
What are the best roofing websites in 2019? Admittedly, when you think of really amazing websites and cohesive branding, roofing companies aren’t usually front and center. However, there are a few diamonds in the rough that have (thankfully) emerged from the 2000’s era web design.
Below is a list of some of the best roofing company websites in 2019 we came across. We include and our explanation of why each site knocked it out of the park.
How We Chose the Best Roofing Websites in 2019
As a team of web developers, we decided to include only websites designed from scratch. To the best of our knowledge, every site below is custom-made either from a WordPress theme or other content management system. Either way, each site showcases knowledge of branding and UX/UI design best practices.
We also evaluated each of the best roofing websites in 2019 for quality responsive time, visuals, navigation, branding, layout, font use, and information. In no particular order, here are the top nine web designs for roofing companies.
Gold Star Contracting
As soon as you land on Gold Star Contracting – you immediately understand their three core values. With the substantial hero image background, you get the feeling of professionalism and authenticity. This tactic further supports the values of the company.
The “Our Specialties” section is particularly visually appealing. It allows site visitors to see clearly and quickly the variety of services Gold Star offers.
The company’s banding is expertly displayed through the use of colors and layouts. Load time, as well as the hover on effects, is a testament to the developers from a technical standpoint.
Grass Roofing is an excellent example of a clean, yet effective website design. The contact, hours, and estimates are above the fold. This allows visitors to connect with the information vital to them quickly.
The one-page design makes good use of branding colors to highlight essential value propositions and call to actions. Social proof is abundant with the addition of linking in Google reviews. This helps the brand build trust and show authenticity to prospective customers.
Video is one of the most effective ways to connect with potential customers and set yourself apart from the pack. Aspen Mark Roofing makes excellent use of video to draw in site visitors, while at the same time, showing off their hard work.
This design features a call to action as well as types of services provided above the fold. This makes it easy for customers to connect and hire the roofing contractor company.
Social proof is a vital component to relay trustworthiness with a potential customer. Aspen makes excellent use of video testimonials. This inclusion of social media further increases authority and authenticity for the company.
Premier Roofing is another best roofing website in 2019, focusing on simple, clean design while still showcasing their expertise and authority. There is no better way to express a company’s authority than to start the conversation with high-quality awards and ratings. And they do so by highlighting their award-winning service and an A+ rating with the BBB.
The site is clean and simple. This makes it easy for site visitors to learn more, request a quote, see their accreditation, and read customer reviews. Overall, the site’s clear layout and well-thought-out pages make the experience smooth and straightforward for potential customers.
Evergreen Roofing is an expertly branded site with interesting visuals. It is easy to see how they stand out from other roofers in the area. The website uses unique and expertly implemented section dividers. This makes searching through the site an exciting and pleasant experience.
The site focuses heavily on images and uses text only when necessary. This is an effective strategy as users are three times more likely to remember an image than they are the accompanying text.
Also, their branding is filtered throughout the site to offer a very cohesive and memorable experience. Navigating the site is a breeze with the addition of the menu in the footer.
Roofing Solutions visitors are immediately drawn in by the site’s large-format video. This video showcases a variety of projects and services offered. The site also makes good use of parallax images and videos throughout, offering a visually appealing and modern journey through the website.
The site is clean and concise, with consistent use of branding throughout. In addition to being easy to navigate, they offer a live chat option that helps capture potential leads quickly and easily.
The “Request a Quote” tab is throughout the site. This allows Roofing Solutions to strike while the iron is hot and capture more leads.
Elliot Roofs is another site that makes great use of video – especially drone images- which is a perfect fit for a roofing company.
They also highlight a video offering their storm tips for the coming season. This helps the company showcase expertise in the roofing business and build trustworthiness with prospective customers.
One way they differentiate themselves from their competitors is their endearing story of Ellie, the company’s Australian Shepherd pup. With adorable and professional photos and videos, they tap into the emotional heartstrings of users.
Experts say consumers buy based first on emotion then rationalize after the fact. Elliot Roofs have done an expert job at capitalizing on consumer buying habits.
It’s easy to see how clean graphics, easy navigation, and attention to brand image played a part in the overall design. Overall, the reason these roofing companies stood out is largely due to the lack of web design competition in the respective industry. A small effort can pay huge returns when it comes to investing time and effort into a great, well-designed website.
* Feel like we missed an amazing roofing website? Send your submission over to hello@elevareagency.com.
Want your website to look like one of these?
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