Tips to Successfully Brand Your Business

Branding is a must. In a world as connected as ours, word spreads fast and consumers expect a lot. According to a study by Salesforce, 62% of customers claim to have stopped buying from a company whose values didn’t align with theirs. Here are a few tips to help get an edge on the competition and be a brand our community is proud to support. Emphasize sustainability, diversity and inclusion Recent trends have shown that consumers are better informed and more passionate about a brand’s social responsibilities than ever before, and sustainability, diversity and inclusion are top of mind. The Global Consumer Confidence Survey conducted by The Conference Board and Nielsen found that 81% of consumers expect companies to have a positive impact on the environment. In addition, 55% of shoppers claimed that they would switch brands if a retailer does not take responsibility for its own negative inclusion and diversity incidents. Being transparent about where you stand on these values can greatly impact your brand’s image. Improve the digital experience We all spend time online (maybe even a little too much). We need to make an excellent first impression in the digital space, the same way we want to in person. Be sure to invest in a responsive website. After all, it’s your digital storefront. Remember, it only takes about 50 milliseconds for visitors to form an opinion about your website and determine whether they like it or not, and whether they’ll stay or leave. Produce content that is useful and informative. Also, make sure the user experience for prospective buyers is optimal on your webpages. For example, you can create a personalized experience and put yourself in their shoes to assess how simple it is to locate solutions on your website and find answers to their questions. You can also optimize using an FAQ page, a chat bot, and keeping customer service emails and phone numbers visible throughout the website. Build your presence Now that you have a top-notch digital experience and your brand is advocating for positive change, it’s important to make sure people know what awesome work you offer. With the overflow of information pushed in front of consumers, you have to carve out a spot; an excellent way to do this is with an omnichannel approach. Using three or more marketing channels can increase your purchase rate by 287% compared to companies using a single channel. Utilizing an omnichannel approach will help you to broaden your reach, gain more visibility, and become a brand that is recognizable, respected, and effective in its mission. If your business hasn’t already, it’s time for you to leverage these important avenues. As brands, we also have the responsibility to take advantage of our position and be an advocate for good. It’s not always easy, but we’re with you. Reach out to Pop Squid MKG and we can work together as brands that effect positive social change in our communities.

How Do I Create a Successful Email Marketing Campaign?

Create a Successful Email Campaign in Five Steps While online marketing has become a multifaceted affair with numerous channels, email marketing is still one of the most impactful ways businesses attract customers. In a survey conducted in 2016, roughly 80% of professionals stated that email marketing drives customer acquisition and retention, which is more than either social media or organic search. This statistic is supported from the customer side too, with 60% of consumers saying they’ve made purchases as a result of receiving a marketing email. What does it take to make your email campaign successful? These five elements will give you a good start. 1. Figure Out Your Audience First, you need to know your audience. Specifically, get data about: Who they are What their interests are What their shopping activity looks like How long they’ve been subscribed When they’re likely to be online Where they are in the buying funnel With this information, you can segment your email list based on preferences, interests, shopping patterns, and so on. This is vital to personalizing your emails, increasing clicks, and directing prospects through the funnel. In fact, a segmented email is 50% more likely to get a click than an impersonalized one, so make sure your emails are personalized. 2. Create a Content Calendar Once you know your audience and have your calls to action (CTA) in order, it’s time to figure out logistics like scheduling and content. Your CTA is an invitation to take action, whether that’s contacting your company, visiting your blog, making a purchase, et cetera, and it’s arguably the most important part of any email. You don’t want to drown your audience in emails, and the emails you do send should provide real value. Putting together an email content calendar can help you pin down the frequency and content of your emails, which helps you to provide consistent value without overwhelming your subscribers. 3. Create Engaging Subject Lines About 35% of email users open emails based solely on the subject line, and an email with the recipient’s name in the subject line is more likely to be opened. Your subject lines should be quick, personalized, and neatly balanced between creative and professional. You should also be aware not to use terms or punctuation marks that may get you pinged and, as a result, limit your email’s deliverability. 4. Use Visuals and Content Wisely After the subject line, you need content. Visual content should be your first priority, but don’t neglect your written material either. The ideal length for an email is 75 to 100 words since that’ll get you the highest response rate (over 50%). When determining what content to include in each email, keep in mind that most readers will simply skim through it to get an idea of what you’re offering. The end goal is to direct them to do something, so don’t waste a ton of space directing readers to your CTA. 5. Optimize for All Devices With your audience, CTA, cadence, subject headings, and content hashed out, the final item on your checklist is to make sure your email is optimized for all devices. About 60% of all email opens come from mobile users, so it’s vital that your emails are compatible with smartphones and tablets. Creating an effective email campaign comes down to knowing your audience, grabbing their attention, and using your content effectively. If you’re ready to start creating an effective email workflow, contact Pop Squid MKG and we can help you to accomplish just that.

How to Craft the Perfect Call to Action (CTA)

Creating a concise, effective, and memorable call to action can be daunting.  Once a potential lead visits your landing page, chances are they are going to see your CTA (call to action). Over 90% of visitors who read your headlines will also read your CTA. A lot is riding on that little line, so we want it to be perfect. Here are a few things you can do to craft a perfect call to action every time. Write with intention Writing the best CTA is all about balance. It needs to be clear. Too wordy and it might be overwhelming. Too short and it can become confusing. When you’re writing, keep a couple of things in mind. Use action-oriented language that inspires the customer to take the next step. Convey a sense of urgency to the consumer by writing a direct, easy-to-understand CTA. For example, while “Click here” is overused and, “click here to try a 30 day free trial of our product” is a mouthful, “Get 30 days free” prompts action and sells the benefit in one fell swoop. Make it stand out Convenience is the name of the game. One of the worst things a brand can do is lose a potential client because your landing page had too much clutter surrounding your CTA. Make your CTA the main focus of your landing page.  Whether you’re adding one to a landing page, or a blog article, a great rule of thumb for a landing page is to keep your logo and your clickable CTA front and center. That’s all you need. Keep things clean and simple to help draw the buyer’s attention to your CTA. Consistency is key Not everyone is ready to buy right away, so we need to keep our CTA front and center. In fact, a study revealed that 77% of B2B buyers said their latest purchase was complex or difficult. Let’s make it as straightforward for your potential buyers as possible. With a consistent message and look, we can create as much brand recognition as possible. The best way to do that is using the same or similar CTA on all platforms. That means email, social media, and any other form of content marketing all include your CTA. A call to action that increases your conversion rate isn’t always easy to come up with, but it’s a necessary step to your brand’s success. If you need help crafting the perfect CTA, reach out to Pop Squid MKG and we can work together to find the right CTA for you.

business blogging, content marketing

5 Credible Ways Blogs Can Lead to Sales

Blogs are an important component of marketing strategy, given that businesses that blog get twice as much email traffic as to those that don’t. This traffic is important as it can lead to conversions, and ultimately sales, whenever your site visitors read your blogs and heed to the calls to action you include. Below are 5 ways in which blogs lead to sales. Control your online presence If you post regularly and consistently align your blogs with your audience’s most common pain points and search terms, you will influence the way people view your business. This also makes it easy for people to find your content, which can increase traffic to your site. Attract prospects Blogs allow you to write content that addresses prospects’ interests, while also providing you with an opportunity to weave in your products or services. This, in the long run, leads to more traffic, and ultimately, sales. Establish your authority in the space When you publish valuable information, prospective clients and contemporaries will start to see you as a trustworthy source. The more often you do this, the more credible you become. Make the most out of CTA’s Blogs present an opportunity for you to intuitively guide your audience to the next step, the call-to-action or CTA—whether that’s to book a consultation or purchase a product. In your blog section, you can add a CTA on the sidebar or as a pop-up. Hyper-specify your CTA to reflect each blog’s theme and include it in your intro, middle section, or at the end. Boost your website’s SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical to the visibility and success of your website as it helps you to rank higher on Google’s search results page. This makes it easy for people to find you. Regular publishing of blog posts improves your SEO and can lead to more sales in the end. Key Takeaway Ensure you write quality blogs consistently so that your audience always has something to look forward to. More blogs mean fresh content (that search engines love) and more traffic, which will ultimately lead to sales. Pop Squid MKG offers a range of services, including strategic marketing and content creation. Contact us today to learn more about our services.  

marketing strategy for your business

Why You Should Hire a Marketing Agency

It’s time to up your marketing game. Here’s the hard part though; should you hire in-house specialists, or do you bring in a specialized marketing agency? We know this is no easy decision, so here are a few things to consider: Cost At the end of the day, the numbers need to add up. Simply put, hiring a marketing agency is more cost-effective than hiring, training and managing your own full-time team. Further, a marketing agency can help you scale your team on a project basis so you can spend money only when it’s necessary. This translates to years of experience and expertise you’ll have at your disposal. Not only can an agency potentially provide you with an additional team of up to 25 experts, but it can save you money too. The average full-time marketing employee makes almost $75,000 a year. On the other hand, while every company is different, most US agencies will charge less than $5,000 per month. Having that extra space in your budget gives you more to invest back into the brand. That’s something we can all get behind. Market experts The market of marketing is like any other industry. It’s constantly evolving, and it does so fast. The benefits gained from having a team of specialists on the cutting edge of the market are hard to put a price on. When you hire a marketing agency, you’re getting a team of individuals who focus solely on the most effective strategies to spread your message to the world. We know it’s different for everyone. That’s good! For some, the right decision might be to work with who’s there and amplify what’s already in place. Others might need a fresh approach to marketing. The right voice for your brand is out there, having a team with the skillset to find it is worth the money. Time is money This one speaks for itself. An agency can multi-task on the wide range of responsibilities that come with successfully marketing your brand. That gives you the time to focus on what you do best: manage your business. We know it can be hard to take a step back sometimes, but when you trust the agency you hire, it becomes much easier. Hiring a marketing agency is an investment in your time. Being able to maximize your return on that investment could be the edge your brand needs. Every little bit counts. A digital marketing agency can help you see an impressive boost in ROI, averaging 20%. ROI isn’t always easy to measure, but industry experts agree that brands that get it right reap the rewards. You’ve got a decision to make. We’d love to help along the way. At Pop Squid MKG, you’ve got a resource. Reach out to us and we can talk about the perfect approach for you!