Why Should Businesses Combine Seo And Ppc For Maximum Impact

Why Should Businesses Combine SEO and PPC for Maximum Impact?

One mistake that many business owners need to correct is approaching search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) as separate digital marketing strategies.

The truth is, even with their distinct methods, both of these strategies enhance online visibility and increase audience growth. While SEO focuses on organic search results, PPC involves paid advertisements. 

Developing a comprehensive strategy for combining SEO and PPC can give you a competitive advantage. This blog post will combine these two powerhouse marketing strategies to maximise your business’s impact.

Understanding SEO and PPC

Two Pillars of Digital Marketing

SEO and PPC are the twin pillars of digital marketing that business owners need to know about. These are two strategies to generate leads, increase brand growth, and drive revenue. 

SEO stands for search engine optimisation. It is a strategy for increasing website visibility and content in SERPs, or search engine results pages. It consists of activities that will enhance the user experience and make it a search engine-friendly platform.

To understand SEO better, visit your search engine and type a keyword or phrase. Once you click “enter,” all websites related to your query are shown. These are called organic search results, unpaid listings that a search engine puts in order of relevance to your search query.

That is where SEO comes into play. It ensures your site will be as high as possible in these organic search results using your chosen keywords.

PPC, on the other hand, is known as pay-per-click advertisements. You usually see these ads at the top of a search results page. It aims to improve the website’s visibility and that of partner sites by putting these ads at the top of search engine results pages. 

PPC is usually done through bidding and keyword targeting. For example, if you want an advertisement every time someone searches for “chocolate,” you can bid 5 cents per click. The key to winning this bid is to have the most relevant advertisement and bid the most money. After getting the bid, you will be charged each time someone clicks on your advertisement, hence the term “pay-per-click.”

The Independent Benefits of SEO and PPC

Both SEO and PPC bring you different benefits that align for the same purpose in the end. As two different approaches, SEO and PPC can give you advantages independently.

SEO Benefits

Having the right SEO strategy will allow you to enjoy numerous benefits, like the following:

Organic Search Traffic

The main objective of SEO is to enhance traffic to your site. Ranking on a search engine’s first page is crucial and would bring customers to the table.

It also increases brand awareness and showcases that you’re a trustworthy site that can drive revenue in the long run.

Ahead of Competition

Identifying and understanding your competitors’ SEO strategies will allow you to outrank them on web pages. 

Investing in SEO will also help you rise in the SERPs and make your business the top choice for your target audience.

Better Long-term ROI

SEO is the only choice for the best ROI. It is relatively affordable compared to other marketing strategies.

It also generates leads and boosts conversions, making its return on investment (ROI) considerable.

PPC Benefits

PPC is another strategy that brings many advantages to the business. Some of these benefits are:

Gives Budget Control

A PPC strategy allows business owners to control their budget and the keywords they want to target. 

It is also a strategy that you can start and stop at any time. This way, business owners have discretion over how much and how they spend their money.

Better Targeting

PPC can allow you to reach your target audience at the right time. It has numerous demographic, location, and time specifications that you can use to address your advertisements well. 

PPC allows you to direct your ads, which will minimise costs and narrow your focus to those you want action from. 

Time-Based Projects

Speed is one of the primary highlights of PPC.

Business owners can get results from their endeavours quickly and rapidly issue information to the public. 

PPC ads appear instantly on search engines, so you can ensure your audience can see them immediately.

The Power of SEO and PPC Combined

Dominating Page One Results

While SEO and PPC can substantially benefit your business independently, combining these marketing strategies can produce more successful results. Unlock the power of these two powerhouses and obtain the benefits of having a synchronised marketing approach.

Dominating the SERP

Using both strategies and SEM campaigns will allow you to appear in both organic and paid results, increasing your business’s online presence. SEO and PPC will link paid ads to your website’s landing page.

It doubles your exposure and your chances of increasing traffic.

Sharing Keyword Data

SEO and PPC running alongside each other allow businesses to target the same keywords with different approaches. 

Running PPC ads can help you determine the keywords for your website to appear in organic results. At the same time, SEO can reduce reliance on PPC by driving organic traffic.

Brand Awareness

Your target audience should know your brand. Using organic and paid results together will lead to a higher click-through rate, your ads ranking higher, and more people seeing them.

Quality Score

Quality score is vital in Google Ads; it measures how well your advertisements are doing in the competition. It affects your position in search rankings and your keywords’ cost per click.

Get Ahead of the Competition

Search engine results pages are becoming more competitive daily as businesses become digital. Using both strategies efficiently can give you an edge over the competition, allowing you to dominate the first page of SERPs and increase your visibility exponentially.

These two approaches complement each other, with PPC giving you short-term results and SEO offering long-term ones. Having an understanding of both is the true secret to dominating the competition.

Keeping Up with Google’s Evolution

Google is the world’s top search engine and continues to dominate. It’s recorded to have the highest global market share of around 85.53 per cent, making it an obvious choice to focus on in regards to SERP ranking and online visibility because, the thing is, if you’re one of the top-ranking sites in Google, you have higher chances of gaining traction.

Since 1997, Google has focused on providing a better user experience. Its search algorithm constantly evolves and accounts for factors such as page quality, number of links, and relevance to a user’s search query. 

Some notable updates that Google had were the introduction of mobile-first indexing, voice search, and featured snippets. Its most recent update was its March core update, significantly impacting search rankings. This update aims to improve the general quality and relevance of search results. Due to this, some sites experienced drops or gains depending on how well their content aligned with the new algorithm.

Keep up with these updates by letting PPC and SEO work together. As such, PPC campaigns can test new strategies and quickly adapt to algorithm updates. Insights gained from these campaigns can be integrated into SEO, allowing businesses to optimise their websites for the latest search trends and user behaviour.

Other than that, it’s also important not to get pressured into adapting and making instant changes to your website. Take one step at a time, keep updated on the news, and have a recovery strategy in case Google updates negatively affect your website.

Why Relying on One Strategy is Not Enough

In today’s competitive digital landscape, having only one strategy is never enough. SEO and PPC have their advantages but also come with many challenges. 

While SEO provides organic visibility, seeing significant results will take a long time. PPC can also be costly to focus on in the long run, as more traffic may be required to build.

Combining these two strategies allows business owners to enjoy the benefits of both. Creating a digital marketing strategy where SEO and PPC complement each other is the most appropriate way.

PPC can provide immediate visibility and traffic, while SEO can build a strong foundation for success. Together, they can generate consistent results, enhance your brand, and adapt to changing market dynamics.

With careful planning and a strong understanding, you can make the most of these two strategies and experience the best of both worlds. 

The Shift to Mobile

Adapting SEO and PPC Strategies for Mobile Devices

By adapting to the latest trends and updates in our digital landscape, business owners should know how to cater to mobile users using their SEO and PPC strategies.

Mobile users often see ads first on search engine results pages and may need help distinguishing between paid ads and organic search results. Due to this, there should be special considerations when integrating SEO and PPC for mobile marketing.

For SEO, businesses can focus on making their websites mobile-friendly. It can enhance visibility, improve user engagement, and increase organic search rankings. Businesses can also take advantage of mobile-specific ad formats and targeting options for PPC. Creating mobile-responsive advertisements with persuasive text can quickly capture the attention of mobile users.

Leveraging PPC campaigns with compelling calls-to-action (CTA) is also ideal for the strategy. You can also align SEO to provide relevant and concise information that can give immediate answers and solutions for users.

Moreover, as every business is different, having an in-depth study and making a unique strategy is the best way to adapt to mobile devices and other trends in the future. Understanding which keywords, ad copy, and landing pages perform best can refine your content and align your brand with the needs and preferences of mobile users.

Integrating SEO and PPC into digital marketing strategies brings many benefits, making it crucial for businesses to maximise their digital marketing impact. 

So if you want to dominate search engine results, adapt to Google’s evolving algorithm, cater to mobile users, and drive growth, then start creating a marketing approach that combines the power of SEO and PPC now.

© FOME Agency

Multi Channel Marketing A Balanced Approach To Success

Harnessing the Power of Multi-Channel Marketing: A Balanced Approach to Success

Welcome to the fascinating world of multi-channel marketing – a concept we at FOME have seen revolutionise how businesses engage with their customers. In our dynamic digital landscape, multi-channel marketing has become a cornerstone of successful business strategies, and for good reason.

Multi-channel marketing, in its essence, refers to the practice of interacting with customers through various channels – both online and offline. From your website to direct email, social media platforms, physical stores, and everything in between, the objective is to reach out to your customers wherever they may be.

However, it’s crucial to acknowledge a golden rule – don’t put all your eggs in one basket. And by this, we mean businesses should diversify their marketing channels instead of relying solely on one. Here’s why.

Meeting Customers Where They Are

Different customers have different preferences. Some frequently check their emails, while others prefer browsing social media. Multi-channel marketing allows you to meet customers where they are most comfortable, fostering a more personalised and meaningful interaction.

But let’s not lose sight of an important caveat here. Whilst embracing multi-channel marketing is essential, businesses should be mindful of not overwhelming themselves by attempting to be active on every possible channel.

The art of multi-channel marketing isn’t about omnipresence but strategic presence. So, start slow, one channel at a time. Familiarise yourself with each platform’s dynamics, acclimate to its unique demands, and consider expanding to another once you’ve established a solid footing.

Building Resilience in the Face of Uncertainty

Placing all your bets on a single platform in an increasingly volatile business environment can be perilous. Platforms evolve, algorithms change, and customer preferences shift.

Diversifying your marketing channels ensures that your business remains resilient despite these changes, much like a well-diversified investment portfolio safeguards against market volatility.

Strategic Channel Selection

Deciding which channel to start with necessitates understanding your customer base – their preferences, habits, and behaviours. Conduct detailed market research and demographic analysis to uncover where your customers are most active and receptive.

In a world dominated by digital noise, a targeted approach will ensure that your marketing efforts are preserved in the ether and deliver meaningful engagement and robust ROI.

Enhancing the Customer Journey

Multi-channel marketing is not just about reaching your customers; it’s also about enhancing their journey with your brand. By providing consistent, personalised experiences across multiple touchpoints, you increase the chances of conversion, build stronger customer relationships, and foster brand loyalty.

Remember, the goal isn’t merely about being visible on multiple channels; it’s about creating a seamless and integrated customer experience across all these channels.

In conclusion, multi-channel marketing can be a powerful catalyst for business growth but demands a strategic, thoughtful, and balanced approach. Businesses should carefully evaluate their capabilities and customer preferences before jumping onto multiple platforms.

As a forward-thinking, London-based digital marketing agency, we at FOME have had the privilege of helping many businesses navigate this ever-evolving digital landscape. Our passionate, creative, and highly intelligent team of experts focuses on designing campaigns that translate into real growth for our clients.

A strategic, balanced approach to multi-channel marketing, rather than a rushed, scatter-gun approach, is the path to sustainable success in the digital era. Remember, the digital world is vast and varied – make the most of it, but make it count.

© FOME

Why Ai Can't Replace Humans In Digital Marketing

Why AI Can’t Replace Humans in Digital Marketing

In today’s digital age, businesses constantly seek new ways to improve their marketing strategies. One such method is artificial intelligence (AI), which refers to computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. 

AI is used in various aspects of digital marketing, such as analyzing data, personalizing content, and automating tasks like ad targeting and email campaigns.

However, while AI has many benefits, it can only partially replace the human touch in digital marketing. 

This article will explore how AI is used in digital marketing and why it cannot replace human expertise and creativity in developing practical and personalized marketing campaigns. 

Our thesis states that despite its many benefits, AI cannot fully replicate humans’ creativity and intuition, essential for developing innovative marketing strategies. 

Join us as we delve into AI and digital marketing and why the human touch is still crucial in today’s digital landscape.

AI’s Capabilities in Digital Marketing

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become vital for businesses looking to improve their digital marketing strategies. One of the critical strengths of AI is automation, which can take care of various tasks such as ad targeting, email campaigns, and social media scheduling. This allows marketers to focus on other aspects of their campaigns and frees up their time.

AI is also great at data analysis. With the ability to quickly analyze large amounts of data, AI can provide valuable insights into customer behaviour and preferences. This enables marketers to create personalized content and targeted campaigns that resonate with customers and drive conversions.

Finally, AI’s capabilities in personalization are exceptional. By analyzing customers’ data, AI can create personalized recommendations, product suggestions, and targeted ads tailored to each customer. This results in a more engaging and practical customer experience, leading to higher conversion rates and customer loyalty.

Limitations of AI in Digital Marketing

AI has undoubtedly transformed the digital marketing industry with remarkable capabilities like automation, data analysis, and personalization. However, AI still has its limitations, and one of the biggest is its inability to understand human emotions, make creative decisions, and interpret context.

As humans, we understand the complexities of human emotions and experiences, which machines can’t easily quantify and analyze. This limitation can be particularly challenging for digital marketers who must create engaging, personalized content that resonates with their target audience.

Another digital marketing limitation is AI’s inability to make creative decisions. AI can analyze data and provide insights but still needs a human marketer’s intuition and creative flair. AI needs to develop unique and innovative ideas that capture the essence of a brand and its values.

Digital marketers need to be aware of the limitations of AI and use it as part of a larger strategy that also incorporates human creativity and decision-making. By combining the strengths of AI with human insights and intuition, businesses can create more effective and impactful marketing campaigns.

Limitations Of Ai In Digital Marketing

Human Skills in Digital Marketing

Humans bring valuable skills and expertise to digital marketing that AI cannot replicate. Creativity allows humans to develop unique and engaging content that resonates with audiences. Empathy helps marketers understand customers’ needs and desires and create campaigns that genuinely connect with them. 

Combining these lets you employ strategic thinking, enabling marketers to plan and execute campaigns aligning with business goals and driving tangible results. 

While AI can assist with data analysis and automation, it cannot replace the human touch in digital marketing. 

The most successful marketing campaigns will leverage AI and human expertise to create a holistic and practical approach.

The Future of AI and Humans in Digital Marketing

The future of AI and humans in digital marketing is exciting and uncertain. On the one hand, AI has already shown its potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing campaigns, allowing marketers to gain valuable insights into consumer behaviour and preferences. On the other hand, there are concerns about the impact of AI on employment, privacy, and ethical issues such as bias and discrimination.

Despite these concerns, there is reason to be optimistic about the future of AI and humans in digital marketing. As AI becomes more advanced, it has the potential to free up marketers from mundane tasks and allow them to focus on more creative and strategic activities. At the same time, humans will still play an essential role in developing and implementing marketing strategies and interpreting and acting upon the insights generated by AI.

In summary, the future of AI and humans in digital marketing will likely be a symbiotic relationship where humans and machines work together to create more effective and personalized consumer marketing experiences. 

However, it will be necessary for companies to address ethical concerns and ensure that AI is used responsibly. In a way, that benefits both consumers and society.

© FOME

Digital Marketing Trends

The Top Ten Digital Marketing Trends of 2023

As we speed into 2023, the whole world continues to accelerate into a hyper-digitalized world where your business is only as strong as your digital marketing capabilities.

As an industry, digital marketing is no different from any other – it has trends, flavours of the months, and changes that revolutionise the whole landscape. As we ramp up into 2023, FOME have put together the biggest digital marketing trends of 2023 and how you can incorporate them into your business’s marketing efforts. 

If you are not scaling your business toward digital marketing and an online presence, you could be at risk of being left behind. A study by Emarketer found that last year, $4.9 trillion was the estimated value of the e-commerce market, while the retail share of purchases is currently 21% online and only going up.

We have put together the top ten digital marketing trends below, allowing you to get ahead this year:

TikTok Will Break The Market

Tiktok MarketingJust as we have seen Facebook and Instagram dominate digital marketing through social media, TikTok will be the next big addition this coming year.

It was no surprise that since 2021, TikTok had generated $4.6 billion in revenue, an increase of almost 150 percent each year. There are a reported 1.8 billion users per month and that is only going to grow. Data this year is showing that almost 20% of all online users over the age of 18+ can be reached through TikTok ads.

As a digital marketing tool, we expect to see a wider approach taken when it comes to influencer marketing through TikTok – Instagram and others will still do well. Companies with aggressive marketing strategies will find influencers that align with their product or service and create marketing campaigns. 

On top of this, both SMEs and the multinational corporation will begin targeted ad campaigns on TikTok, which will hit new demographics that have traditionally been tough to break into. 

The Year of User-Generated Content to Boost Sales

In the age of personalised marketing, it is safe to say consumers are more attentive and suspicious than ever. Getting around this leaves businesses clamouring to find ways of being authentic and engaging while keeping the audience focused on the “main thing”, the ultimate goal of selling a product or service. 

In digital marketing, the aim is to persuade potential customers who are online to buy your offering. You can write all the amazing copy on your website and have graphics and creative assets with bells and whistles, but this will only get you so far in 2023. 

Nielsen found that 92% of customers are actively seeking reviews, case studies, or recommendations before they make a purchase, showing that businesses will need to look in this direction.

This year will see businesses that utilise user-generated content flourish. User-generated content is content made by the people using the product or service and can be found in various mediums, like:

  • A live stream, like Twitch, where the streamer opens or uses your product and shows how good it is.
  • Review and advocacy platforms, like Google or YELP. 
  • Video content made by customers raves about the product and service, which is used as a testimonial on the website. 
  • Social media posts and videos of people enjoying your product. (Here’s a smart tip! If you have a customer that is a social media influencer, work a deal where they post your product on their channel.)

Getting user-generated content relies on a business being proactive about getting reviews. Whether this is prompts for reviews, promotions, and competitions around posting positive videos on social media or just simple hashtags, you can get people generating around your product in no time.

Video Content Through Social Media

This is something we have covered before when we talked about the impact of short video content in social media marketing.

This digital marketing strategy has gone under the radar over the past couple of years but has quite literally given businesses a global platform, taking regional SMEs and giving them international customers. 

It can be anything from creating engaging and trending content that is related to an industry or field you specialise in or creating short educational videos that provide value to the social media audience. The human attention span is growing shorter and shorter, fitting perfectly with social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

There are going to be 48 billion digital video views by the end of 2023, providing an amazing increase of 700 million people for businesses to market to.

Smart businesses have leapt on this, putting in time for their video content strategy and keeping them short and snappy. It’s something that can not only scale your brand and follower count but even level up the quantity of business you do.

AI Will Boost Content Marketing

You, like the rest of the marketing world, may have heard of a quirky little AI tool called ChatGPT. This has amazed people with the seemingly limitless marketing capabilities it can do.

Whether it is conducting SEO research, giving you blog ideas, or even building out a content calendar for you, it can be a content manager’s dream assistant. 

Content Marketing

People outside of marketing, mainly business owners, can be guilty of falling under the trap of thinking it can replace content writers and editors – do not make this fatal mistake. Studies have been conducted and found that Google can spot AI-generated content, and is punishing sites that are using this on their blogs. 

So instead of trying to use a tool like ChatGPT to write your content, instead you can use it for research, planning, brainstorming, and speeding up the content creation process to enhance velocity and SEO functions.

Say Goodbye To The Cookie Jar

Something that slid under the radar in search news was that Google is withdrawing third-party cookies. This is going to be a meteor to the digital marketing world this year, causing tsunamis and impacts that will be reverberating throughout the year.

If you do not know, a third-party cookie is something that websites use to monitor what a visitor does. They are particularly useful in pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns because it allows a business to run an efficient online ad campaign for their target audience. 

Marketing will now have to deviate towards more intimate and one-to-one marketing strategies to build their brand. GDPR and other regulations around data will be at the forefront, and a final big consequence is that Google is pivoting from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4. 

This shift is happening on July 1 this year, a date you should circle on your calendar. 

Influencer Marketing Will Continue To Grow

Something that is slowly being adopted by all scales of businesses is influencer marketing – to the point where 1 in 4 marketers now use it.

It can expect to grow in 2023 by almost one quarter as more marketing departments will dip their toes in influencer marketing. It can be anything from getting someone with a big following in your niche to use your product, to having a mammoth-sized influencer use your product to broaden your audience horizons.

Influencer Marketing

Just in the United States alone, the influencer marketing industry was valued at a whopping $16.4 billion.

The reason we have this on our list for 2023 is that influencer marketing is going to go from something exclusive to ones with large followings to influencers who have micro-sized followings. 

Even if an influencer has 2,000-10,000 followers, if they are specialised in a niche and have great engagement rates, they can open up more leads for a business and grow a brand.

Brands are Going to Slide in Your DMs

Big corporations opting for social media channels for customer support have been popular for the last couple of years but are going to see brands opt for marketing and sales through this method.

We are living in a world where the biggest consumers are Generation Z and Millenials, a group that wants hyper-personalised marketing while they go through their customer journey. As sites like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook boost their e-commerce platform, you can expect to soon engage in buying something through DMs instead of order forms and online consultations.

When it comes to using customer service on social media, studies have found that 1 in 5 Gen Zers have gone to a business’s social media page to contact them, instead of going in-store, calling up, or using emails. 

Email Marketing for SMEs

Email marketing is a digital marketing method that often goes under the radar, boasting one of the best ROI figures as well as allowing higher customer retention and more lead generation.

People often associate email marketing with big corporations and multi-national businesses that are trying to sell you something, but it can be used for so much more. 

By trying to provide value through your email marketing strategy, a small business can boost its email lists and find that through holistic content it will get more leads.

The most important aspect of this is not just boosted leads or increased brand leverage, it is also that the leads your business gets are even more qualified.

Once you have used email marketing to build credibility and give value back to old and new customers, you can use your email marketing for product launches and upsells, boosting more revenue for your business.

Utilisation of Digital Marketing Agencies and Freelancers Will Grow

Lots of SMEs, as well as big corporations, will feel the brunt of not having a strong digital presence. The world is rapidly shifting online, and the markets will get even more competitive in the impending economic downturn.

By simply being at the top of Google, you will allow your SME to battle against your competitors and win crucial business – therefore, we expect the use of digital marketing experts to boom this year.

Digital Marketing Agency

Whether it is bringing on a top-tier digital marketing agency (hello!) to give a total package of web development, SEO, and content strategy, or bringing on a small freelancer to help out your SEO ranking, businesses are going to take this road in 2023.

Websites That Do Not Use Chatbots Will Fall Behind

If you pay attention, some of the best web experiences you have will be on websites that have a chatbot, especially when it comes to e-commerce. It is being reported that Chatbots will help account for $112 billion in retail sales by the end of the year alone!

Chatbots can help small businesses by being a 24/7 outlet on a website and helping customers in a way that a salesperson could! We think that 2023 will be the year when Chatbots will get integrated into social media, messaging, and other marketing channels that allow them to get involved in lead generation.

As well as being 24/7 and accurate with information, Chatbots will utilise data learning and translation to be more global and interactive in 2023.

Stay Ahead of the Digital Marketing Trends

Keeping ahead of digital marketing trends allows your business to remain steady in whichever competitive market you are in. Using data, analysing your campaigns, and tracking website conversions and customer engagement will give you the perfect insights to keep striving for better. 

Doing all this will put you ahead of customer needs, allowing you to get more conversions and generate a larger amount of qualified leads. Stay ahead of the trends, win more business and grow your company through a strong digital marketing game!

Want to boost your digital marketing efforts today? Visit our contact page, reach out and we will look at how we can work together! 

© FOME

Marketing During A Recession How To Survive And Thrive

Marketing During a Recession – How to Survive and Thrive

We have had a tough couple of years, and all facts and figures point to a recession.

What is a recession?

A recession is a temporary period of declining economic performance, usually characterised by a fall in Gross Domestic Product in two successive quarters.

Recessions manifest through changes in consumer spending that ultimately force businesses to make tough financial cuts to maintain their bottom line.

Most businesses cut their marketing and advertising budget during tough economic times, but this is a grave mistake.

For example, during the 1990-1991 recession, Mcdonald’s cut their marketing spend significantly. Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, on the other hand, took advantage of McDonald’s reduced presence and put more effort into retaining their respective markets. At the end of that period, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell saw an increase in sales by 61% and 40%, respectively, while McDonald’s sales plummeted by 28%.

Amazon’s sales also increased by 28% during the 2008-2009 recession. This goes to show that your business can still grow during the recession if you use the right marketing tactics. In this article, we’ll share tips and tricks to market your business during the upcoming recession.

How to market your business during a recession

Stay consistent with SEO

It is easier to move up to page one of search engine result pages during the recession. When companies relax their marketing efforts, take advantage of the minimal competition to improve your organic search rankings. Create quality content that earns backlinks to help build your brand’s trust and credibility, use keywords, add title tags and headlines, and use relevant keywords.

Take advantage of PPC advertising

The recession can be an excellent opportunity to stand out and increase your brand visibility. With fewer companies advertising on platforms such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads, take advantage of the cheaper rates and better advertising space to promote your brand. Also, reduced competition means more eyes on your brand, so use clever marketing tactics to capture the attention of customers while you still can.

Increase branded content

Content goes hand in hand with SEO and other marketing efforts, so content marketing will be an integral part of your digital marketing strategy during the recession. Branded content sets you apart from the crowd and provides an opportunity to establish your brand as an authority figure in the industry. Use different forms of content, including blogs, articles, videos, social media posts, etc., to communicate your unique value proposition and remain relatable to your target audience.

Prioritise reviews and other forms of social proof

During a recession, customers are very keen about their purchases. If they have any doubt about the quality of your product or service, they will abandon their cart and check elsewhere. Use reviews, testimonials, and other forms of social proof to increase conversions. Reviews are especially important because <a href=”https://www.inc.com/craig-bloem/84-percent-of-people-trust-online-reviews-as-much-.html”>93% of customers</a> trust them as much as personal recommendations from friends and family.

Be consistent on social media

Engaging your target audience on social media allows you to build trust and further establish your brand identity. It also helps increase brand awareness, especially today, with the help of viral videos. Ensure that you post consistently because social media content becomes obsolete very quickly.

Leverage your email list

While customer acquisition is crucial during a recession, do not ignore your existing customers. Connect with your most loyal customers through an email newsletter to keep your brand and products in their minds.

Offer promotions and deals

During a time when everyone is trying to save money, promotions such as buy one get one free, gifts, giveaways, free shipping, etc., can go a long way in attracting customers and increasing sales.

Marketing during a recession can be challenging, but don’t stop doing it. Optimise your budget, be smart about your priorities, and, if possible, get professional help. This will ensure your very finite resources give you a good return on investment. Contact us today, and let us help you plan the best digital marketing strategy for business moving forward.

Here Is Why You Should Outsource Marketing To A Digital Agency

Here is Why You Should Outsource Marketing to a Digital Agency

Mainstream acceptance of digital marketing has steadily increased in the past decades. It is no longer a question of whether or not you need to invest in digital marketing. In fact, marketers are very much aware of what they stand to lose by foregoing digital marketing. But with that clarity comes an important question – should I outsource marketing to an agency?

The marketing department is the powerhouse of every business. Therefore, most businesses have someone on their team who looks after this. But all marketing departments are not made equal. Digital marketing is highly analytical and time-consuming. It encompasses a myriad of skills that requires professionals to effectively satisfy. Hence, you will need to hire professionals to either assist or completely oversee your digital marketing effort. Here is why you need a digital marketing agency.

They bring the right expertise and experience

A marketing team requires people with a range of skills to function properly. It is not just someone to post on your social media page or someone with some ideas on how to run Facebook Ads. A functional marketing team involves a content manager, web designer, programmers, SEO expert, and lots more. When you outsource marketing to a digital agency, rest assured they are bringing all the required skills to the table. Besides having a pro for each skill, they also bring unmatched experience with them. They have been in the game long enough, therefore, they know exactly what you need without spending time and money and trial and error.

They use up-to-date technologies and practices

What tools and software does your team use? Are you familiar with the latest trends in digital marketing? Or are you stuck with what worked 5 years ago? Truth is, digital marketing is hard because of the constant flux in algorithms and guidelines. What worked last year may not work as perfectly today. We understand you do not have the time or resources to keep up with these changes, that’s why we recommend working with an independent digital agency. Their primary goal is digital marketing, therefore, they spend every resource gathering and following best practices.

They reduce marketing spend

Have you thought about the cost of setting up a competent marketing team? Since marketing is quite extensive, you will need to hire lots of experts to oversee a specific area of your marketing campaigns. That several hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on just salary. That’s not all. After hiring the employees, it is your responsibility to provide them with the software and tools they need for each task. This will definitely cost you some money too. Add benefits, paid sick leave, and bonuses to that list and watch it grow even higher. Outsourcing, on the other hand, gives you access to these experts without paying a fortune. They focus on each project you need and are off your hands once they complete the task.

You get more time to run your business

Running a business involves so much more than having a top-notch digital marketing team. As a business owner or manager, you are responsible for a ton of important things necessary to keep your business afloat. Business owners who outsource marketing enjoy free time to focus on other essential areas of their business. With marketing out of their hands, they can now focus on the bigger fish to fry.

They provide quick and easy result

Let’s face it. Digital marketing is difficult and demanding. You have to put in consistent effort and resources for several months before seeing any result. This is why most people get discouraged from the beginning. But that is not the case with professional digital agencies. This is literally their job. Therefore, they have spent years gathering expertise and experience to help them expedite the process. An expert will get better results quicker and be much more effective. That’s because they already know where to look and what to do.

They are consistent

Another advantage of outsourcing your marketing needs is consistency. Digital marketing requires 100% consistency. A little break can set you back for a very long time. That is why professional digital agencies offer their best at all times. Unlike an in-house team that is prone to sick leave and other reasons for absence, a digital marketing company houses many experts, ensuring there is always someone to work on your project at all times. No excuses. No burnout. No leaves. No poor results. You enjoy consistent success for as long as they are on board.

They bring fresh insights

One important reason to outsource marketing is the new insights that experts bring with them. Chances are your in-house marketing team isn’t as equipped and vast as a team of experts in a digital marketing agency. By working with other experts, your team can learn a thing or two about efficiency, strategy, and industry trends.

Your business grows rapidly

Putting all these benefits together, you can see why businesses which embrace outsourcing are way more competent and successful compared to their competitors. As the powerhouse of the company, if your marketing is done consistently, and effectively, it will definitely yield incredible results which in turn leads to the rapid growth of your business.

No matter what perspective you look from, you can see what businesses which outsource marketing stand to gain. From easy access to experts to following best practices, fresh insights, and quick results, rest assured that this is the smart move for anyone who wants fast and rapid growth.

For professional assistance, don’t hesitate to contact FOME. We are here to help!

What Is Digital Marketing

What is Digital Marketing?

For those of us immersed in the digital world, digital marketing is like a second skin. We know full well how powerful it is, and we know just how to leverage its potential to produce results. Results which are far greater than anything achievable by conventional marketing means.

If you’ve never dealt with digital marketing before, however, this can feel like a huge step into the great unknown. You’ll be bombarded by terms that you’ve never heard of before, you’ll read articles about “click-through rates”, “funnels”, “lists”, “keywords” and so on. But don’t let that scare you.

Understanding digital marketing is crucial in the online world of today and you should look at it as just the next logical step on your road to success.

The traditional (or conventional if you will) marketing strategies of yesterday were very successful because there was nothing else competing for the people’s attention. If you were to sit down and watch a TV program or series, you’d have little choice but to endure the ads that were broadcasted during the breaks. They were effective because they reached the consumer directly… In reality, that’s precisely what digital marketing does, except in a, well, digital, way.

Where you once had TV advertisements, you now have YouTube and stream ads. Instead of leaflets in the mail, we’ve got digital newsletters. And instead of billboards by the roadside, there now are Google Ads on search results and websites.

But beyond the very basics, how does digital marketing actually work? After all, that’s what you came here to find out – that’s why you’re reading this – isn’t it? Keep reading until the end, and you’re guaranteed to walk away with a firm grasp on a multitude of tried and tested digital marketing strategies, proven to raise sales and boost profits!

Defining Digital Marketing

The textbook definition of digital marketing goes as follows:

“Digital marketing is the act of marketing products or services by leveraging digital technologies on the Internet.” This includes the use of tactics like search marketing, email marketing, remarketing, display advertising and more.

But, as we have already mentioned above, conceptually, digital marketing isn’t all that different from its predecessors. It’s still all about being at the right place at the right time. And, with the help of the wonderful invention that is the Internet, we can perform that task even easier.

Today, almost everyone is online. We’re hanging out with our friends and family on social media, we get our news from websites and blogs, and we shop online for most of our needs. That is precisely what gives digital marketing its power – the ability to target your potential customers when they’re looking for what you’ve got to sell in real time!

Digital Marketing … how does it work?

Digital marketing aims to create touch points with your prospective clients. This is achieved by facilitating interactions through a variety of channels – be it social media platforms, e-mails, videos or discussion forums, you always want to be sparking conversations. Given enough time, this will establish a certain feeling of familiarity and trust in your prospective clients, and once they’re ready to buy, they’re going to look for you.

But that’s oversimplifying it.

There’s much more to digital marketing than merely “being out there”. You want to be inciting urgency, albeit subtly. You want to continually push your potential clients towards their purchase, bit by bit. And that’s exactly where the immense potential comes into play.. If you push too hard or too fast, you’re just going to turn people away. You’re going to appear as an annoying hustler, trying to prey on them. You want to be compelling and alluring, yet thoughtful and considerate.

Good marketing is also about being more than a mere digital “peddler”. And that’s exactly where the digital marketing of today shines! Leveraging the appropriate techniques allows you to transform your online persona into a trusted friend for your potential customers. You’re putting them in a position where you’re the one making recommendations, and they’re eagerly listening (and hopefully – buying).

But how would you do that in practice?

Let’s say that you’re looking for a new blender. If you consider yourself a smart shopper, you’d naturally give yourself a bit of time to research your options before you decide on the brand and model.

So, you’d naturally hop on the internet and start searching.

You’d start by having a look at the “best brands” and what they cost. After you get an idea of what your options are, you’d start looking for reviews, ask your friends and relatives for advice, start comparing features, and so on. That’s scenario A.

Scenario B starts off with an email.

Let’s assume that you were signed up for a newsletter, say from a natural living and wellness blog. One day, they decide to write about smoothies and smoothie recipes. So you click on their links, give the article a read and decide that you do, in fact, need a new blender.

Coincidently, this same article also points you to a couple of blenders that are excellent for the job!

And, even though you’re definitely interested, you aren’t quite ready to pull out your wallet just yet.

You still want to do a bit of research before you make a purchase.

And, just like in Scenario A, you open a new tab, load up Google and start searching, comparing prices, reading reviews, and weighing up your options.

Only once you feel like you’ve gathered enough intel, you’ll feel like spending your money, and usually, you’ll give it to the brand which gave you the best information.

How to succeed in Digital Marketing

So how do you succeed in digital marketing? Let’s recap:

  • You want to build a relationship
  • You want to give out the right information at the right time
  • You want to nudge your prospects in the right direction
  • And finally – you want to send the right message

And how do you achieve all of that? You need the right strategy! Here are a couple of tactics that, when properly combined, are guaranteed to help you win at digital marketing:

  • Content marketing – creating the right content with the right message
  • Advertising – being in front of your clients at the right time (which is almost all of the time!)
  • Social media – establishing your authority, conversing with your potential clients and building relationships
  • Email – giving your prospects a nudge in the right direction
  • Search marketing – magically appearing in front of your prospective client’s eyes just when they need you
  • Website analytics – analysing your progress
  • Conversion rate optimisation – improving your website and advertisements by using analytics

All of these tactics are valid, and all of them will help you out on your journey. But here’s the thing – you absolutely do need all of them! Sure, implementing one or two of them in your marketing efforts will give your business a significant boost, but if you truly want to succeed, you will need to work on each of them at the same time!

And Does it Work? You bet it does!

In comparison with its conventional counterpart, digital marketing is much faster, easier to keep track of and cheaper! It also allows you to get up close and personal with your prospects which is an immense bonus over what we had in the past! Digital marketing offers you an incredible number of channels to communicate your message, along with the ability to reach anyone, no matter where they live!

But wait … there’s more!

Today, marketing is also much faster than it ever was in the past! No more do you need to sit there and wait for the printers to churn out thousands of leaflets. All that you’ve got to do is write out a simple text document, and your email campaign is good to go on the same day! Not only that, but you’ll be able to tell how well you did mere minutes after clicking the “send” button! This allows you to make changes on the fly, saving you time, effort and resources in the process!

Digital marketing is also more effective than conventional marketing ever was! We’re now able to achieve levels of transparency that we never dreamed of before, which allow us to engage with customers on a much deeper and more personal level. No more are we just cold and distant corporate entities – we’re real people, just like they are! We can build real relationships, build authority, develop trust and ultimately – improve our engagements – far easier. The buyers of today are true and loyal fans of their favourite products. They’re our friends.

To put it bluntly, the conventional marketing of the past was selfish. It was a one-way conversation, an endless drone of “buy our stuff”, with the customer never having a say in the matter. Customers were forced to conform to whatever the business decided was convenient.

But no more!

Digital marketing gives our clients a voice, an opportunity to speak up and tell us whether they like what we’re doing and advise us on how we can improve. Not only is that incredibly appealing to the client, but it is also immensely useful for us as businesses. It lets us know exactly what we need to do and empowers us to do it right.

Do your customers prefer Twitter? Or maybe, Facebook is more down their ally. Heck, why not Tumblr? The Internet gives you all the flexibility that you’ve always wanted and more! You’re given the opportunity to build a thriving community exactly where your customers are, transforming the buyer’s journey into an exciting, one-of-a-lifetime adventure.

Final thoughts

The Internet has brought marketing to the next level. It allows us to not only achieve much better results by investing far less effort and resources but also leaves our customers much more satisfied with the final results. What’s not to like?

What are your thoughts? Is digital marketing part of your marketing strategy?

Brands Emojis Marketing

Why all brands should use emojis in their marketing?

Emojis are taking over. Indeed, they have been for some time. It was back in 2015 that the Oxford English Dictionary named an emoji (the crying laughing one) its Word of the Year, and you can now buy emoji merchandise in pretty much every shop you walk into, there’s been The Emoji Movie, and even respected organisations like the BBC regularly use emojis in their communications.

And according to research published to coincide with World Emoji Day – yes, that’s a real event, marked across the globe on July 17th – carried out by Leanplum, brands can reap significant benefits in terms of engagement with their marketing content through emoji use.

How using emojis can increase engagement

Leanplum’s report, entitled ‘Unlocking Engagement and Growth with Emojis’, involved the analysis of some 300 million brand emails and push notifications sent between June 1st 2017 and the same date this year.

The study authors found that emoji use rose sharply over the 12-month period, as a growing number of brands experimented with adding these visuals into their marketing content. Both the number of emojis used per message and the proportion of communications featuring emojis doubled over the course of the year.

Meanwhile, Leanplum found that email communications featuring emojis were 66 per cent more likely to be opened than those without emojis, indicating that these symbols have the potential power to increase marketing email engagement by as much as two-thirds.

In addition, push notifications featuring emojis were 254 per cent more likely to be opened, and apps that used them in their communications received 26 per cent fewer uninstalls on average.

Joyce Solano, senior vice-president of global marketing at Leanplum, explained: “Emojis convey emotion and personality from brands, which help marketers deliver in-the-moment engagement and build long-lasting user retention.”

How to use emojis in your marketing

There are many different ways to incorporate emojis into your brand’s marketing communications. For example:

  • Create social content that encourages your audience to use the emoji-like reaction buttons on Facebook to better understand their needs and whether your content is working.
  • Make your brand’s social media posts more visual – a proven way to increase engagement – by including relevant emojis. This will help to show a little of your brand’s personality too.
  • Include emojis in email subject lines to make them stand out in customers’ inboxes and increase the engagement rate.
  • Create a custom emoji for your brand, or work with designers to generate an emoji each time a particular hashtag is used. One example of this comes from The Great British Bake Off, which used this tactic during last year’s series to generate a white tent emoji in tweets each time its hashtag was used.
  • Nurture engagement around your social content by asking followers to reply to posts using an emoji response, which will show that you value engagement with your audience and that you’re approachable too.

How have you tried incorporating emojis into your marketing so far? Do you have any top tips to share with others? Let us know in the comment section below!

Source: Mobile Marketing Magazine, PR Newswire, Smart Insights 

Collaborating With Instagram Influencers What Your Brand Needs Toknow

Collaborating with Instagram influencers: What your brand needs to know

Social media influencers have power like nothing else on the internet. Just last week, reality TV star and celebrity influencer Kylie Jenner tweeted to her 24.7 million Twitter followers that she no longer used Snapchat. Such is the star’s influence that Snapchat’s share values tumbled by £1 billion within a mere matter of hours, demonstrating the sheer power of today’s influencers.

Of course, in this example, influencer power led to a negative outcome, but when brands position their relationships with them carefully, the results can be hugely beneficial.

Instagram in particular is a popular platform for collaborations between brands and influencers, although it must now be made completely clear when a user’s content is sponsored or if they have received an item for free to promote.

But what kind of reach can Instagram influencer collaborations have, and how can brands identify who would be a good influencer for them to work with?

The power of Instagram collaborations

Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of the best-performing posts on Instagram are influencer posts that feature products from brands, according to research carried out by L2.

Influencers are likely to have thousands of followers to promote your brand’s products or services to, with likes and comments from their audience expanding the reach of these posts even further.

That’s basically how Instagram influencing works – a source who is trusted or respected in a particular area, whether it’s in recruitment or fashion and beauty, will put products in front of their followers that they are likely to spread the word about themselves; it’s essentially the 21st century version of word-of-mouth advertising.

Brands can interact with influencers via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn too, but a Zine survey found that 80 per cent of influencers believe Instagram to be the best platform for collaborative posts with brands. This put Instagram significantly ahead of the next most popular medium, blogging, which earnt 16 per cent of the vote.

But Instagram is a big place – some 500 million people around the world use it every single day – so how can your brand identify suitable influencers to work with?

How to identify influencers

Using influencer posts as part of your marketing strategy can only be successful if you are working with the right people. If there are big names in your sector or speakers you’ve spotted at industry events who you know have a large following, approaching them to discuss working together could be a good place to start.

Take note of how many Instagram followers each potential influencer has. You need them to have as many relevant followers as possible to ensure your content is seen far and wide across the social platform, but you also need to make sure your products will fit with the kind of content they usually post.

Check out the hashtags users are including in their posts too. By searching for a particular hashtag on Instagram, you can see which people are using it, sharing it and talking about it, which is another good way to spot prospective influencers.

When approaching a user you’d like to work with, make sure you’re clear about what you expect from them and what they’ll get in return; for example, how much you will pay them in return for a certain number of posts that feature a hashtag of your choice.

Source: Think Creative Collective, Sprout Social, BBC

Boost your marketing efforts with Instagram

Boost your marketing efforts with Instagram

In recent years, Instagram has developed into a hugely successful social media platform. Since launching in October 2010, it now boasts 400 million active users across 25 countries every month, and sees a staggering 80 million images uploaded each day.

What does this mean for brands though?

Well, with such a large user base, brands would be foolish not to tap into this in order to boost their own marketing efforts.

Have you heard the phrase “a picture tells 1,000 words”? In this day and age, this quote truly is relevant. With the other main social platforms being led by written content, the fact that Instagram focuses on pictures makes it stand out from the crowd.

How can you use this to your advantage?

You need to find a way to encourage people to interact with your Instagram. You posting things as a brand is obviously beneficial, and over time and with a targeted content strategy you’ll pick up followers. However, the real success will come when you have your target audience engaging with you.

Many brands find that this can be achieved through competitions and incentives. Everyone is taking pictures wherever they go, whether it’s a luxury holiday or the avocados and eggs they’ve had for brunch – it’s time for you to jump on this. The pictures already exist, so your aim should be to encourage people to share them with you.

As we’ve just said, one strategy could be to host a competition or offer an incentive. Ask followers and users to share their best images involving your brand, and choose winners from this. The prizes you give might not even cost you much, so this is a very low-cost marketing campaign.

However, this type of campaign can only be truly successful if you already have followers. If you need to grow brand awareness, then you need to look at a strategy that incorporates the use of hashtags much more heavily.

All hashtags are searchable on Google and social platforms, so by ensuring that they’re relevant and engaging, you have the opportunity to reach a much wider audience. You can also look at regramming images by users that are both relevant to your brand and include hashtags. This tactic will then increase awareness of your brand not only with those users, but with their followers as well.

The key is to ensure that you have a clear strategy for Instagram that ties in with your full content marketing strategy and is focused on your target audience.

Know who it is you’re looking to communicate with and what you want to achieve from that. From there, you can develop campaigns that will help to build awareness of your brand, increase engagement online and really help you to grow your followers. You can then tie this into your social strategies on other platforms to create a uniform approach to ensure that you’re able to reach your marketing goals.

© Fast Online Marketing Experts