Posts in category: 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.

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

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.

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!

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?

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