REAP Your Social Media Campaign

Creating social media profiles for business comes with a multitude of motivations, yet it’s crucial that our goals are not siloed. A cohesive digital marketing strategy should be employed, one that encompasses and effectively integrates all our objectives.

Facebook fan page isn’t merely a sales platform, nor is it just a showcase of our company’s excellence or the day-to-day activities. As we craft our content strategy, let’s ensure it’s comprehensive—reflecting the REAP principles to engage and grow our audience effectively.

Relationship – Create a message that is human. Make real connections. Your community will feel your honesty by reading the posts you make or by the tone of your reply including how frequent you answer private messages and comments.

Engagement – Build engagement around posts that tickle the interest of your fans. Monitor your likes, shares, and comments, discern the pattern of what is engaging, and bank on it. What kind of materials do we need to post? Original videos and photos of people from the company have higher chances of engaging!

Awareness – Make your product or service known. Moreso, become the top-of-mind brand of your industry. On this part, it’s acceptable to sporadically highlight your product or subtly promote your accomplishments, provided that it is executed with moderation.

Captivate your audience with the remarkable aspects of your brand, draw them in BUT make sure the content is real and not make-believe.

Promotion – Engage your community and spark their interest in your offerings. Extend your reach beyond just fans to capture a wider audience and enhance your conversion goals—be it encouraging visits to your website, driving sales, initiating private messages, making calls, soliciting resumes, or increasing video views. While standard posts have their limits, investing in a targeted advertising campaign can significantly broaden your message’s impact and visibility.

Enjoy creating your content but balance that enthusiasm with a keen eye on the technical aspects. Keep a close watch on your analytics and remain open to adjusting your strategy based on what the data indicates. For inquiries on how to implement REAP in your business, just send a message.

Your Blog Writing Project Starts Now

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to start the writing process and once you rip that barrier with the support you need, the challenge is to remain consistent and how to keep the creative juice flowing. Don’t hesitate to begin the blog project now, and good things will follow.

Use your keywords on the title and first paragraph – Ask your SEO consultant for your brand keywords and build a write-up around it. Don’t overstuff your key phrases, no need to use all. If you have 15 key terms, just use one to three depending on the natural flow of your content.

Draft an article/blog content plan – Schedule posts can vary but make sure that you are committed to writing quality contents. Avoid writing now then two years after or never again… this scenario is for real. I’ve seen websites with this big blog schedule gap.

Give value – Write with purpose, and remember, it’s not always about your personal journey; it’s about what you’ve learned and how it can help your readers. Give tips with a clear target reader in mind, so you don’t fall out of tune with your messaging.

Write in bullets and have highlights – You may be giving a thought-provoking concept but try not to overwhelm your readers. Don’t bore and intimidate them. Make your idea chewable and easy to digest. Bear in mind that it is a blogging platform, and not a text book or your diary.

Catchy images – Images have to make sense to your overall content. It has to be a visual representation of your words. It is not supposed to confuse your readers and lead them to think away from the actual flow of your blog.

Leave a strong takeaway – Make them think or encourage them to reach out… this is a good way to build a relationship. Given the 300 to 500 words of your article, they should be able to articulate it for at least 75 words. Ideas that will stick to their head, push them to move, or make them think twice. Create a call-to-action that can really mobilize your readers.

A successful blog doesn’t happen in a snap. It’s a journey of sharing, learning, and connecting. Start your blog writing project today, and watch your ideas come to life!

Begin Your Digital Marketing Campaign with these Strategies

Online selling in the Philippines thrived during the pandemic, and many entrepreneurs continue their businesses post-pandemic. Local, homemade, and bespoke items have been introduced in the market and digital marketing has undoubtedly played a huge part to amplify these products

Here are some battle-tested strategies to consider:

Start with your own connections

Jumpstart your marketing initiative with family and friends plus your own Facebook connections. Word of mouth and organic (not paid) honest review can help create initial buzz for your business. Not everyone will buy at once but other than thinking of the immediate “purchase”, we can also consider “brand awareness” at this stage; people will have you on mind the moment they wish to hit the buying button.

Create social media pages

Other than your personal profile, try creating a social media page to stretch your product reach. Although the common challenge in managing a fanpage is consistency. Some people post the first week but tend to forget the task later on. On occasion, you may also run a targeted send message, post engagement, and page like advertisements. FB and IG ads are affordable promotion to explore. Depends on the targeting and industry, you can get 10 to 30+ inquiries for Php1,000. Create valuable content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, and related memes.

Join local online groups and communities

There are tons of “online buyers and sellers” communities with the goal of helping each other get the best deal and achieve a win-win scenario. Members who are inquiring have already passed your awareness campaign and have walk into the possibility of purchase so make sure to politely answer all relevant inquiries. 

Explore FB Marketplace

There are many sellers making use of this platform to reach the local market for free. Check for possible conversions since traffic here already signals their interest to buy.

Tap Online Influencers

If you have friends or colleagues who are influencers, send them your sample product and request them to feature it on their page or give a review. They will not always ask for payment as many would gladly do the endorsement for free especially if they genuinely enjoy the item. Collaborate with influencers in your industry to promote your product. Influencers can provide authentic reviews and reach a larger audience that trusts their recommendations.

Get a Website

If there is a budget for a website then do so. It may not come as a priority for small entrepreneurs but this is beneficial if you see your business to continue in the long run. Website becomes your online portfolio and ideal tool to strengthen online presence with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) included in your campaign strategy. Additional must-have for your website: mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, fast-loading, forms to fill are working, and equipped with clear calls to action (CTAs).

Push Email Marketing

Make use of your current database. Build and maintain an email list of interested customers. Send them regular newsletters with updates, offers, and valuable content. Personalize your emails to increase engagement and conversion rates. I would recommend a once-a-month email blast to keep you top of mind, but not more than two emails sent in one week, as this could be seen as annoying and eventually cause your emails to be marked as spam.

Monitor and Analyze Your Insights

Use analytics tools to track the performance of your marketing campaigns. Monitor key metrics such as traffic, conversion rates, engagement, and ROI. Regularly analyzing these metrics helps you understand what’s working and where improvements are needed.

Digital marketing is an ever-evolving field. Stay updated with the latest trends and technologies to keep your strategies relevant and effective. Build trust with your target market along with an excellent product so you can stand out from the competition.

When Plotting Your Digital Marketing Strategy, Keep it Simple

Now that many companies have finally jumped into digital marketing and has learned to adapt in this new environment, it is a must to stay focused at work and resist distractions. There will always be something new, better, and improved technology or platform but let us not get our sight out of what is really important. Sometimes the basic, simple way of doing things is still the best path for the business. Make sure to know…

 …who you are talking to

Create a clear picture of your customers and build around content that will draw them to you. Push your expertise so they can “run to you” or you become the “top of mind” person when they need assistance in your field. You can create a specific profile to represent your audience—Who are they? What is the age range? What do they like to do? Interests? Activities? Pain points? Offer a ready answer as you help them sort out their concerns.

…what is your messaging tone

Now that you understand your audience, find a tone that is relatable to them. This should still reflect your brand identity so you merge yours and their voice to communicate naturally. Will you use vernacular? Will you be friendly or serious? What is your CTA (call-to-action) mindset? Will you be using jargon or avoid technical terms?

…why are you doing it

You just don’t post for the sake of posting or just because you feel like doing it. You and your team must have a clear understanding of why we are drafting a social media content plan or why we are inserting keywords to a blog article. Why are we reaching out to partners for referral links? All these efforts are part of the whole online marketing strategy that we must integrate to succeed.

…what is your measurement of success

We don’t simply guess if the campaign is winning or not. Digital marketing team needs to plot specific KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) to know if it is working. Getting a website inquiry can be considered an achievement for the SEO (search engine optimization) people but are the leads generated qualified for the sales department? Given this scenario, you can have two metrics and weigh how it can seamlessly blend to reach the ultimate result.

Streamline your digital marketing strategy with simplicity in mind. Start your next steps today, get in touch.

5 Proven Ways for Your Company to Embrace Digital Marketing

Introducing digital transformation takes time; there are still several companies in the Philippines that are not yet fully embracing online marketing. Other than being in-the-know of all things online marketing, there are techniques to push your company to fully embrace all your digital-related initiatives. Your effort can be a success with proper strategy planning, focused mindset, resilience, and good relationship with your colleagues.

Get support from the C-suite with data and metrics relevant to them – No need to use so much technical jargons, just put on the table what matters—if we spend money on Facebook ads, we can get more inquiries via private messages and convert this to sales by 20%. Just make sure you have proper data to support it, perhaps a comparison with traction on Facebook with and without ads?

Provide training to primary departments – This can help drive appreciation to the ongoing and future digital marketing campaigns. Keep in mind that training with the Finance team is different from the approach with the IT people, adjust your presentation based on your audience.

Identify staff who can be your ally – Some are more online savvy than the others. Many are the go-to person in terms of digital in their respective department, bond with them. You will need this people to help push your initiatives as they are already an identified influencer among their peers.

Give small rewards to employees who are engaging with your social media activities – Thank those who are consistently liking, commenting, and sharing your posts. Think of ways to keep their enthusiasm at the peak. During a monthly or quarterly town hall meeting, acknowledge those who are the most engaged or those who managed to invite their friends to like the company fanpage then give tokens (Uniqlo or Starbucks gift card always works!).

Spot those with special skills that can be highlighted for digital contents – Encourage staff who can write well to contribute to your website’s article page then give them proper byline. Tap those who are articulate on camera to be one of the hosts of your company livestreams while those comfortable to be on photos or videos can become one of the faces of your brand. Making your company human is very important and having real people as part of your content can draw higher awareness and engagement.

We can help you organize and execute an online marketing strategy that is in full integration with your business, enabling your company to fully embrace the power of digital marketing. Send us a message today.

Do-It-Yourself Fixes for Your Online Marketing Presence

As people become increasingly familiar with using digital tools, many business owners are now eager to explore social media and search marketing for business growth. In my recommendations to clients, I always emphasize not to feel intimidated by the jargon. Everyone can start from the basics, and knowledge will gradually progress with daily practice.

Here are some pieces of advice I share with clients and colleagues as they manage their own campaigns.

• Quality content is still one of your most important assets in digital marketing. It should be made original and distinct to your brand. Resist copying. Do not post low quality, blurred photos. Take some efforts to provide materials that your audience can consume.

• Blogs can be repurposed to image posts and videos.  If filled with data, it can be turned into infographics and white paper.

• Try to avoid drastic and persistent grammar and typo errors across your online communications. Regardless of your industry, make sure to appear professional at all time.

• Answer relevant messages as soon as possible. Be polite and honest. Push on building authentic relationship. People inquiring are already interested to your product, nourish this and aim for conversion.

• Don’t allow trolls to affect you too much. Whatever platform you are using, they seem to actively exist but this should not stop your initiative.

• Allot some time to analyze the data. Explore Facebook Insights and your website’s Google Analytics. You don’t need to be an expert to appreciate its value. FB and Google are doing their best to make reporting user-friendly.

Stay consistent and patient as you implement the strategy. It may take a while to see results, but it is surely geared to happen. Enjoy the process and remain voracious to learn.

Tips When Outsourcing a Writing Task

When hiring someone to write for your online marketing content (such as website, social media, blogs, white paper, etc.), start it right by providing the person with the information he needs to fill the knowledge gap. This will save time and money especially if you are paying the writer on a per hour basis. Tons of back-and-forth revisions can also be avoided if there is a proper direction. Either you schedule a zoom meeting to have a thorough discussion or provide him with a gdrive file of the company’s information. Better yet, do both.

• Give a background about the company so the writer gets a feel of what he is writing about. No need to elaborate too much but just the highlights.

• Clarify your objective. He needs to understand the deeper context of his own writing tasks. Mobilize him with a clear path; say, you are rebranding your company so it can cope with the new online trends and you need to adjust your content to better fit the market. Make it relatable to the new identified audience while keeping the message relevant to the existing group.

You can start with this: “Our tone is professional yet friendly, and the profile of our readers include…”

• Describe your audience. Good if you can provide an audience profile so he gets a realistic picture of who will eventually read his material.

• Simplify the jargons. Help him uncover the terms that may sound strange for a new comer in the industry; this way, his writing will not alienate the readers and the technical terms can sound naturally pleasant. Good to also recommend resources the can aid his research.

• Share the style and voice that you like to “hear”. You can refer him to a prior content output or other online references. The point is to get a grip of how he will narrate your story.

Just last month, I also wrote an article about 7 Pre-Writing Considerations that can come useful when engaging with a writer. You can also apply the given steps as you move forward in building a productive writing project.

Pursuing a Blog Project: 7 Pre-Writing Considerations

You have decided to start blogging for your company website and have line-up possible topics to discuss (as listed from the last month’s digital marketing blog: 6 Blog Ideas for Your Company Website). Perhaps you have also assigned your staff to draft an article; gathering write-ups for the content pipeline is fun but sometimes reading the content from your team can be disappointing for many reasons (content, voice, grammar issues). Or perhaps the quality is good, but the material is appropriate for another purpose—the flow of story is quite distant or out of sync with the website’s writing objective.  To address this, it helps if you are all aligned and has the same perspective on the project. 

Agree on the guidelines and follow them. Schedule a meeting with those involved to calibrate the tasks, understand the expectations, be clear with the instructions, reiterate the mandatory elements, and assign the person in charge.

Here are Your Seven Pre-Writing Considerations:

1. Identify the Tone – Proper tone has to be set. Is it going to be friendly, authoritative, serious, funny, conversational? Each of us has a different blogging style but we can tweak it according to the given tone.
2. Know Your Readers – Who are the target readers? What’s the demographic?  The site visitors are also readers of your blog; targeting the content and satisfying the purpose of their visit is a must to make them your returning visitors.
3. Use the Keywords – Ask your SEO consultant for the copy of your keywords. Use two or three of these search terms on the title and first paragraph of your blog.
4. Browse for Samples – Check for possible articles that you like to be the peg of your writers (review industry and competitors’ blogs to give you ideas). This will give them a specific direction of what to write.
5. Use Images – Make sure that all blogs have corresponding images (depends on the length but one or two would be okay) either original and retrieve from the net with proper credits.
6. Set a Deadline – When is the submission date? Delegate an “editor” role to one of the members. It is going to be his responsibility to make sure all blogs are submitted on time. He or someone else must also be commissioned to edit the write-up following the agreed guidelines and implement general grammatical fixes.
7. Writing Brief – After discussion, finalize with a blog brief and disseminate the gathered information to serve as the outline of the writing project (from the tone, keywords to use, number of words, and when the blog would be due).

Staying organize and consistent is vital for the success of your writing initiative. This effort can jumpstart a stronger online presence and drive brand advocates. Writing something of value goes a long way.

6 Blog Ideas for Your Company Website

Now that you have finally convinced your team to start blogging and drove them to appreciate its importance in terms of building the brand on the internet, the next question is always— what to write? Creating a blog is not a one-time activity so pipelining the contents would benefit the overall digital marketing campaign whether you are doing online in the Philippines or in other countries. 

Here are some quick suggestions that can help spark more ideas:

1. Industry News – Highlight the findings and mention the trusted source of the study while giving your own point-of-view and interpretation.
2. How-To Articles – Assume that not everyone knows your product or service so consider your blog as a gateway of explaining what you can do. Reach out to your target market wherever they are in the world and convert them to become advocates.
3. Answer Problems – Try to consider the inquiries you are getting from your fill-up forms—what common questions do you get? When you attend a face-to-face meeting with clients, what are their usual issues? Gather and answer relevant chunks of these questions then write contents of at least 300 words.
4. Your Own Stories – Bring to front your expertise and what you have learned from your profession. Take note of your experience, what you have learned in the process, and enumerate tips; become an authority in your field.
5. Share Your Events – Are you invited to do a talk in a conference? Attending an industry-related seminar? Joining an expo? Is your company inviting a guest speaker? Promote it on your blog and write a gist of what happened.
6. Check Your Search Query Report – If your website has a Google analytics installed or offers a summary of “Top Searches” report, you can use the information to discover what your site visitors are looking for and translate it to a blog post.

And most of all, enjoy writing! Writing a blog goes beyond the act of creating content. It encompasses the satisfaction of connecting with your audience, sharing knowledge, and leaving a positive impact on others. Still need convincing? Hop to my previous blog: 4 Reasons to Create a Blog Page on Your Website.

4 Reasons to Create a Blog Page on Your Website

Part of my online marketing recommendation to clients is to consistently create a blog post. Given an SEO perspective, a website is not complete without an article, insights, or news page. I encounter some resistance from site owners, especially non-writers, emphasizing that their website can survived without it. Perhaps it can, but has the site attained its main objective or has it reached the target market? Did the website with no blog provide a prominent impact to the overall marketing campaign of the company?

A well-thought, properly written blog that is published regularly may be considered a worthy investment. Schedule of publication may vary—it can be weekly, once a month or twice a week depending on your resources, but the idea is to do it religiously. What can blogging do for you?

• Makes you an expert in the field

Sharing your knowledge to the site visitors gives a signal that you know your industry, your business, and you are capable to deliver what your website is offering. Blog page is a good push to your “about us” and “testimonials” as it highlights that you are truly in the zone of your trade.

What can happen then? Site visitors can be converted to customers or clients. You can also become a top-of-mind resource when your service is suddenly needed.

• Builds engagement

If you hit the mark and was able to answer a specific question of readers, expect that they would be in touch with you or may ask more information about what you wrote; this is an ideal setting to offer your assistance and put your product/service at the forefront that does not appear imposing and hard sell.

Some readers would just appreciate the value of your effort and share your contents via social media. In a likely scenario, their friends might click the link, read your post, re-share, and be aware of your existence creating a ripple effect. Voila! You get the advertising your business needs for free!

• Drives traffic (or visitors) to your site

More readers mean more site visitors and more opportunity to develop awareness of the website’s core products/services. The created content is also a very useful material for social media posting that can convert followers to readers.

• Improves search engine ranking

There is no schedule as to when Google bots crawl a website but when it does, we need to make sure that the page is SEO-friendly with fresh updates. This does not mean that we have to constantly rewrite the texts found at the “mission/vision” or “contact us” pages; that is why a blog is necessary.

Simply put, a new post gives Google a cue that the page is alive and that it maintains a good number of web traffic. This is also a spot-on activity to strengthen your SEO strategy (as you simultaneously work on the keywords, meta tags, image optimization, Google analytics, and a heap more.)

A good blog also helps keep your visitors stay longer on the page and thus reducing bounce rate (the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page at a given duration) which may suggest Search Engines that something is relevant, readers are not leaving at once!  It serves as one of the many factors for better ranking on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). So, when someone runs a query using your preferred keywords, Google might then include you up on the list!

If you are not yet implementing a blog page to your existing website or if you are planning to (re)launch a new site, make this your mandatory feature. It’s going to be worth your writing time.