web design

Tight on Budget? Here’s How to Use A Quick Social Media Marketing Strategy with No Budget

Posted on by Mario

Social media managers rarely boast about large budgets. Most can be found enviously gazing at the IT team that has been lavished with the latest tech tools, no expense spared. Your budget may not be reflective of the size of the business or organization. It may be reflective of the business or organization’s view toward social media marketing. As a person who provides social media services for businesses, I can tell that there are two main problems when it comes to social media marketing; first, the target, second, the budget. Finding targets can somehow be linked to the budget you have because using money, you can use social media ads to reach as many people as possible (depending on how much you are paying the social media platforms and what kind of target you want to reach) and those people are usually the ones who really need your business. However, if you own a small business that is still growing gradually, you can’t help but think about your budget, right? Sure, you might need that later when you have the budget, but for now, you can work on your social media marketing strategy without some budget first. Let’s call this “planned testing,” and let the results become your benchmark for your next more-budgeted strategy in the next following months. How? Keep reading this article to find out!

Make use of free design tools

80% of marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing. And there’s a good reason for that. When people read information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information. If a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65%. Visual graphics are essential for social media. In fact, I would say they are the most important thing you must do to be successful at social media. While large brands out there have in-house graphic designers and their own special social media team, what if you don’t? Well, then, you can make use of free design tools. All you need to have is your own mobile phone camera and a little bit of basic Photoshop skill, you can create a unique design of your own. There are also graphic design tools offered for free by some websites. Although there is not much you can get from free design tools, at least for a start you can learn more about it and practice until you perfect it.

Being transparent about who you are

The biggest problem in social media marketing is how difficult it is sometimes to trust a business owner or an online shop on social media in this day and age because many of them were involved in fraud or other shady things out there. For that reason, it is okay to represent your brand and let people know that you are the owner of your business. It doesn’t mean you are boastful – you are showing them that you are not a scammer. You can put your personal Instagram or Facebook information on your bio. For example, if you own an online shop on Instagram, you can start putting your personal Instagram account on your bio. This way, the people who need your products or services will know that you are a real person. Of course, for that reason, your personal account should also be more convincing as well.

Use proper hashtags in every social media content post

From Instagram to Twitter, hashtags have truly brought a revolution in social media marketing. A hashtag is basically a word or phrase that comes after a hash mark or a pound sign (#) and is used on social media platforms to group messages related to the same topic (i.e., #smallbiz is a hashtag used to identify a post that has information related to small businesses). In order for your content marketing efforts to be fruitful, you will need to find a way to get your content in front of the right people. This is where hashtags come in. Hashtags are very important for small businesses on social media because they provide a way to give your content added visibility. That being said, you need to make sure that the hashtags you are using are relevant to your business and have acceptable amount of traffic as well as reasonable numbers of followers of the said hashtags. Therefore, you can start gaining more relevant targets and the right people who will buy your products or services.

And with that, we wrap up your social media strategy guide for 2020 and beyond…on a tight budget or no budget at all, since the points I have mentioned above are absolutely free! Hopefully this guide served as some much-needed inspiration for figuring out how to create a social media marketing strategy.

A Path Led to Success: Undeniable Reasons Why Your Website is Not Generating Leads

Posted on by Mario

As a part of Melbourne web development team, I get asked a lot about why a website is not generating leads or that a website doesn’t work the way we want it to. I am not a web developer but I am a part of their team, so I asked one of my friends from the team about this. He gave me a very detailed explanation but I have summed it up into several parts in this article. His explanation may be detailed, but it is actually very simple to understand. Need to understand why your website is not generating leads? Keep reading this article to find out!

So you’ve built a cool website with all the bells and whistles, you work hard to build traffic and get people to look at your offers but all they do is bounce off and buy from your competitor? Don’t worry; you will know the reasons and factors once you finish reading this article.

You have probably created confusing call-to-actions

When we investigate pages with low conversion rates, our first port of call is analyzing calls to action (CTA). One common thing we have found when analyzing those pages is that there are too many CTAs on a single landing page. The general rule for making great website with high conversion rate is that there is only one CTA necessary per page. If you want a visitor to make a purchase, your CTA is “buy now.” Therefore, stick to the single CTA rule and you’ll see that the landing page starts generating leads.

Your CTAs are too weak or vague

One of the popular reasons your website is not generating leads is that you use weak or vague CTAs. How many times have you seen an important B2B landing page where the lead capture form has an uninspiring grey action button reading “Submit”? Not only does this word has a subconsciously negative connotation, it is also very passive and unexciting. Like, submit what? What can your visitors gain from submitting something that is not clear? It should be simple but clear like this; the button should be active and tell the visitor exactly what he needs to do. If it’s a purchase, it should read “buy now”. If it’s an ebook, it should read “download your free copy” and so on.

Your website has poor design and content

Content and web design have a big role in generating more leads. Why? Put yourself in your visitors’ shoes; if you are visiting a website that has confusing content that is not even answering your questions as to why you should buy their products (Well, that’s the main reason why we are visiting a business website; to find the information about their products and their business), would you even consider buying their products? No, right? On the other hand, if you are visiting a website and you can’t even read the content because of poor or difficult designs, would you even continue trying so hard to read what is inside the website? Would you even continue browsing the page if you cannot click on the right button because of unclear navigation? No, right? That’s why the website fails and you don’t want that to happen to your website as well.

Also, one of the most important parts to remember when building a website is to focus on and prioritize responsiveness on mobile devices. In this day and age, people use mobile devices more often to browse a website than their personal computer because it is easier that way and it can be done on the go. The competition in most niches are so strong; and a visitor who hasn’t been happy with his user experience on a mobile device will not make the effort of revisiting the site on a desktop device. Instead, they will check a competitor’s website. Therefore, keep in mind that in order for your website to generate more leads, you need to pay attention to every details of your website including its functionality and responsiveness when accessed through mobile devices. When you have this mindset, your business is on the right path.

The Answer to Everything: Does A Home-Based Business Really Need A Website?

Posted on by Mario

Have you ever thought about starting a home-based business where you can be flexible with time and schedules? Yes, unless you are meeting with clients, I think you don’t even need to take a bath to start your day with your work. Unlike me who provides Melbourne SEO services where I have to meet clients and go to office, you are very flexible working at home. With the simplicity of having a home-based business, you might think you don’t need a website, right? But that’s where you are wrong. Why? Keep reading this article to find out!

You may be building a home-based business, but the fact still remains; a home-based business is also a business. While basic business principles remain relatively constant, a lot has changed over the last few years. It’s no longer enough just to hang a shingle outside your storefront and expect new customers to start rolling in. In this day and age where almost everything is digital, doing business from the comfort of your own living room is not a problem anymore. Why? That’s because nowadays, people can do almost everything online. Whatever your business is about, home-based or not, a website is crucial to your success because it reaches more people online.

The internet has changed the way we shop, the way we sell, and the way that potential customers may find (or never find) your business. It is estimated that a staggering 201.7 million Americans shopped online in 2019. That number will continue to grow as technology improves and consumers become more comfortable with online shopping. Also, a website often holds crucial points in building the first impression. In fact, a home-based business really needs a website to create that first impression. Why? Since your business is a home-based business, people don’t see your offline store or office. Where do they see your first impression if not from your website, then?

Aside from making a first impression, having a website can help you build credibility, widen your potential customer base, and create a forum over which you have complete control to present and showcase your best work. Furthermore, using a website, it is a great way to build relationships with your customers and keep them informed of current promotional information or company changes. Aside from that, a website is always “open” so they can check out your business anytime, even at a time that is convenient for them. Simply put, you can’t afford not to have a website especially if you are a home-based business without an offline office or store!

If the thought of computers makes your stomach churn, don’t worry. You don’t need to be a programmer or spend thousands of dollars to create a website. You can get help from professional companies who can build a website for you. However, if you hire a web developer to build your website, make sure you are involved in every project so you can watch the progress and get a website that sells. Need a web developer to build your business but don’t know how to find them? Feel free to contact us now and let our team help you.