Upvote
0
Being straight forward with the information you are passing to your potential customers, infographics are very popular now on social media, and the one's that get most replies are short and simple. The more text the customers will see, the less chance is that they will read it.
Content on social media get's smaller and smaller and there is more content than ever before, so you have to choose the right few word to explain your product/service.
If you have loads of products/services to offer, create more post/infographics, it will provide you with a simple message per one post, and you will have more posts to provide. If your customer see's you are active, they are more likely to engage.
Our theory is that a customer shouldn't be more than 3 clicks away from getting what they want!
Content on social media get's smaller and smaller and there is more content than ever before, so you have to choose the right few word to explain your product/service.
If you have loads of products/services to offer, create more post/infographics, it will provide you with a simple message per one post, and you will have more posts to provide. If your customer see's you are active, they are more likely to engage.
Our theory is that a customer shouldn't be more than 3 clicks away from getting what they want!
Upvote
0
When it comes to online marketing it is recommended to study your competitions and your targeted audience behavior to come up an effective strategies that will be implemented for the site. Content that is not just great and interesting but able to reach its targeted users is very important.
Upvote
0
Hi Chris,
You need to make your online business different from the rest. Advertising is fine but if you just offer the same as everyone else in your industry then you won't stand out.
Make your site an exciting and engaging experience. Offer 'value' to the visitor rather than just products or services. Many business owners often forget that people don't buy every time they visit a site. Sometimes it takes a few visits. Existing customers are also often neglected.
Your website should be a destination for cold prospects, warm projects and existing customers. They should all be able to gain something out of your sites whether it is product reviews, product demos, explainer videos, free downloads, etc.
By having this stuff available your marketing efforts will deliver better returns. Your PPC and affiliate marketing will convert better and your SEO will improve because people are sharing your site and it's value. In short, it will have that 'BUZZ'!!!!
My tips from the start would be to:
You need to make your online business different from the rest. Advertising is fine but if you just offer the same as everyone else in your industry then you won't stand out.
Make your site an exciting and engaging experience. Offer 'value' to the visitor rather than just products or services. Many business owners often forget that people don't buy every time they visit a site. Sometimes it takes a few visits. Existing customers are also often neglected.
Your website should be a destination for cold prospects, warm projects and existing customers. They should all be able to gain something out of your sites whether it is product reviews, product demos, explainer videos, free downloads, etc.
By having this stuff available your marketing efforts will deliver better returns. Your PPC and affiliate marketing will convert better and your SEO will improve because people are sharing your site and it's value. In short, it will have that 'BUZZ'!!!!
My tips from the start would be to:
- Produce lots of on-site content (Video, downloadable guides, podcasts, etc).
- SEO your content properly.
- Produce content to share exclusively on high value external sites.
- Use a 'strictly' target PPC campaign. Volume is not important. Conversion is.
- Re-marketing - Use something like Adroll to retarget lost visitors.
- Capture Data - Try to get this from people who visit your site. Don't annoy them though.
- Create an affiliate program (if it suits your business).
- PR your business to bloggers - let them know you exist!
Upvote
0
Don't skimp.
Knocking up a site together on Squarespace and then cobbling together content "borrowed" from your competitors might seem like an easy fix, but it's an instant turn-off for savvy customers. You need to look and act professionally. Get a proper, responsive website filled with sales-focused, SEO friendly content.
After that, look at scalable marketing. PPC has been covered, so I won't retread old ground. But email marketing really does work. Build a list of people who enquire and buy, and then hit them with offers and deals - not too often, but enough to keep your business in mind.
Without knowing what industry you're going into, I can't give more in-depth advice, but those would be on my checklist for any business.
Knocking up a site together on Squarespace and then cobbling together content "borrowed" from your competitors might seem like an easy fix, but it's an instant turn-off for savvy customers. You need to look and act professionally. Get a proper, responsive website filled with sales-focused, SEO friendly content.
After that, look at scalable marketing. PPC has been covered, so I won't retread old ground. But email marketing really does work. Build a list of people who enquire and buy, and then hit them with offers and deals - not too often, but enough to keep your business in mind.
Without knowing what industry you're going into, I can't give more in-depth advice, but those would be on my checklist for any business.
Upvote
0
If you do decide to use Adwords, just make sure that you've read up on it first and fully understand how it works.
It's by far one of the most effective advertising tools on the internet, but it's very easy to waste a lot of money for little or no result without understanding how adverts, bids, CPC, keyword grouping and quality score all work together.
It's by far one of the most effective advertising tools on the internet, but it's very easy to waste a lot of money for little or no result without understanding how adverts, bids, CPC, keyword grouping and quality score all work together.
Upvote
0
C
Chris Williams
- Original Poster
- #14
Some really good advice being posted.
Guess I should tell you more about the business.
The website is a Market place for Freelancers, contractors, sub-contractors and micro businesses to show off their skills and talents as well as experience in those fields. The site will then also be marketed to clients to come and trade with those registered skilled workers.
Before anyone makes a comment about 'That already exists' we know. We are looking more into the profile of the skilled worker specifically the experience. We are also looking at the payment method being ESCROW only (options for other will be made available on request). This is because one of the overwhelming issues that faces Freelancers is late or none payment for work carried out. (So much so that most political parties have mentioned 'Late Payments' as part of their manifesto).
So things we have already done - Baring in mind the site is about 35% complete (due for early July release).
Created splash page with 'sign up to newsletter' (Data capture)
Created and managing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google accounts
Completed several Twitter Ad campaigns
We have our first meeting with potential Affiliates next week (always looking for more)
To our benefit we have access to a talent pool of over 1.4m CVs (this is due to connection with a previous business) - we are currently parsing these to extract those that have or do Freelance so we can email market these potential Freelancers
We also have access to over 32,000 clients that will also be sent an introducer email (with option to opt out of future emails)
With the above in mind, I guess my next question is what else can I do whilst the product (website) isn't yet live?
Thanks again for all your advice
Guess I should tell you more about the business.
The website is a Market place for Freelancers, contractors, sub-contractors and micro businesses to show off their skills and talents as well as experience in those fields. The site will then also be marketed to clients to come and trade with those registered skilled workers.
Before anyone makes a comment about 'That already exists' we know. We are looking more into the profile of the skilled worker specifically the experience. We are also looking at the payment method being ESCROW only (options for other will be made available on request). This is because one of the overwhelming issues that faces Freelancers is late or none payment for work carried out. (So much so that most political parties have mentioned 'Late Payments' as part of their manifesto).
So things we have already done - Baring in mind the site is about 35% complete (due for early July release).
Created splash page with 'sign up to newsletter' (Data capture)
Created and managing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google accounts
Completed several Twitter Ad campaigns
We have our first meeting with potential Affiliates next week (always looking for more)
To our benefit we have access to a talent pool of over 1.4m CVs (this is due to connection with a previous business) - we are currently parsing these to extract those that have or do Freelance so we can email market these potential Freelancers
We also have access to over 32,000 clients that will also be sent an introducer email (with option to opt out of future emails)
With the above in mind, I guess my next question is what else can I do whilst the product (website) isn't yet live?
Thanks again for all your advice
Upvote
0
My first and fore most tip will be to group (organize) all your marketing efforts and strategies towards a single direction.
Your Facebook Campaign, SEO efforts, PRs and Blogs and anything else should all be be coordinated in an effective way. (although this might sound quite basic) Most business firms (even large ones) don't do this effectively and end up having a chunk of progress towards every direction with no payoff.
Your Facebook Campaign, SEO efforts, PRs and Blogs and anything else should all be be coordinated in an effective way. (although this might sound quite basic) Most business firms (even large ones) don't do this effectively and end up having a chunk of progress towards every direction with no payoff.
Upvote
0
My humble advice is to avoid blowing the budget on PPC. If everyone involved with the project spends two hours per day writing completely original content on every blog, PR site and forum on the planet, you will hit the ground running in July.
Bear in mind though if your URL is brand new it will struggle to rank for the first few months, but then all your hours of endless content creation will start to pay off. It's a slow burn my friend.
Good luck with the business.
Bear in mind though if your URL is brand new it will struggle to rank for the first few months, but then all your hours of endless content creation will start to pay off. It's a slow burn my friend.
Good luck with the business.
Upvote
0
J
Joyce - Contentation
- Original Poster
- #23
I love a content-centric approach with:
+ Lots of original and useful blog content that are both useful for readers and optimized for search engines.
+ Guest posting on sites where your target audience hangs out and get online influencers to write about your startup. Depending on how many categories you have on your platform, you could reach out to authority sites and influential figures in those areas.
+ Providing interesting content, especially visual content across social media platforms
In addition, paid campaigns such as PPC, Facebook Ads, Twitter ads to jump start your initial online presence.
+ Lots of original and useful blog content that are both useful for readers and optimized for search engines.
+ Guest posting on sites where your target audience hangs out and get online influencers to write about your startup. Depending on how many categories you have on your platform, you could reach out to authority sites and influential figures in those areas.
+ Providing interesting content, especially visual content across social media platforms
In addition, paid campaigns such as PPC, Facebook Ads, Twitter ads to jump start your initial online presence.
Upvote
0
Hi,
With anything to do with Marketing, it is all geared by the cogs of your target market - or likely buyers or likely users. By knowing who the core targets are can you then address what marketing channels to use and how to use them effectively.
By understanding the users route to a purchase or sign up (buying behaviour) you can assure the marketing messages (advertising) you place will be seen and be attractive to your targets. This will also inform the content and design of your website, blog content (informative and useful, with SEO, and calls to action in some cases), which is another marketing tool.
Knowing who your targets are will then bring you to:
However, these two aspects of traffic generation do not work alone. They pick up the "buyers" along different points in the buying process, and both have their own separate purpose.
For instance, PPC isn't costly when done right, and at the right time. You'll be looking for low clicks, and high conversions (i.e. lead to user).
£5 per day (£150 per month) would be an ample starting point once your website is live to bring in the highly targeted traffic. But only if that is a route your likely users will use to search for your type of business; otherwise, take a fist full of cash, go outside, and burn it!
Hope this helps...
With anything to do with Marketing, it is all geared by the cogs of your target market - or likely buyers or likely users. By knowing who the core targets are can you then address what marketing channels to use and how to use them effectively.
By understanding the users route to a purchase or sign up (buying behaviour) you can assure the marketing messages (advertising) you place will be seen and be attractive to your targets. This will also inform the content and design of your website, blog content (informative and useful, with SEO, and calls to action in some cases), which is another marketing tool.
Knowing who your targets are will then bring you to:
- SEO - targeted keywords; for researchers
- PPC - highly targeted keywords; for likely users
However, these two aspects of traffic generation do not work alone. They pick up the "buyers" along different points in the buying process, and both have their own separate purpose.
For instance, PPC isn't costly when done right, and at the right time. You'll be looking for low clicks, and high conversions (i.e. lead to user).
£5 per day (£150 per month) would be an ample starting point once your website is live to bring in the highly targeted traffic. But only if that is a route your likely users will use to search for your type of business; otherwise, take a fist full of cash, go outside, and burn it!
Hope this helps...
Upvote
0
Content is king.
Start creating awesome interesting content that appeals to your target market. Do this steadily and consistently and build a buzz. Within the content, market yourself/your company as the expert. If you're providing enough value and your content is good enough, people will begin to take notice.
Content can be anything from blog posts, to explainer videos.
Start creating awesome interesting content that appeals to your target market. Do this steadily and consistently and build a buzz. Within the content, market yourself/your company as the expert. If you're providing enough value and your content is good enough, people will begin to take notice.
Content can be anything from blog posts, to explainer videos.
Upvote
0
For brand awareness, it's an expense; for lead generation/sales, it's an investment that reaps a return.
Upvote
0
Brand awareness - 2 words that should never even cross your mind when thinking about running a PPC campaign.
Upvote
0
Not necessarily...
After all, it's advertising, so brand awareness campaigns often run alongside lead generation campaigns both online and offline. This ensures the steps in the buying process are catered for, and your brand is lodged in people's minds after need recognition.
For instance, at a Football match you see red and yellow display billboards plastered about with simply, 'McDonalds', written on them (brand awareness). Inside the guide booklet, is a text voucher for a Big Mac and Fries for just 99p (lead generation).
When a fan gets hungry after the match, they think of McDonalds, then this voucher, perform a local search, then go visit the local restaurant.
Same principle applies to PPC.
Upvote
0
S
sirearl
No single answer to that but I suspect most start up business's fail from lack of research,research.RESEARCH.
Upvote
0
Not necessarily...
After all, it's advertising, so brand awareness campaigns often run alongside lead generation campaigns both online and offline. This ensures the steps in the buying process are catered for, and your brand is lodged in people's minds after need recognition.
For instance, at a Football match you see red and yellow display billboards plastered about with simply, 'McDonalds', written on them (brand awareness). Inside the guide booklet, is a text voucher for a Big Mac and Fries for just 99p (lead generation).
When a fan gets hungry after the match, they think of McDonalds, then this voucher, perform a local search, then go visit the local restaurant.
Same principle applies to PPC.
I would agree with intelligentppc on this one. Brand awareness has its place, but it's poor for PPC.
The big bucks are in lead generation, where investment directly produces leads which can be turned into paying customers. Paying per click, which is often a considerable amount for one visitor, means that campaigns trying to target brand awareness produce a poor ROI.
It simply doesn't make sense to prioritise that over direct lead generation which will undoubtedly make a lot more money, and any PPC budget earmarked for brand awareness would be better spent on direct lead generation instead.
Plus, given the limited text available in PPC adverts, I would much rather use it for sales copy to encourage higher CTRs and more targeted leads instead of even mentioning a business or brand name and taking up valuable space. Obviously it's wise in some cases to create a campaign which targets the brand name as a keyword with relevant ad copy, but I wouldn't really call that brand awareness as prospects would already be searching for it and therefore already know about it.
If big corporations can afford to throw a lot of money into vaguely focused brand PPC marketing, then they are free to do so. However, for small/medium businesses, the best PPC approach usually lies in direct lead generation where the prospect is presented with the exact product or service they are looking for.
Upvote
0
The most important thing is visitor value (how much you earn from an average visitor) - or, more specifically, "relative visitor value" - how much you earn, compared to your competitors.
So, to answer your question, you should sell something where you can create a superior visitor value. Otherwise, it's all an uphill struggle.
Hope this helps,
Steve
Upvote
0
I don't know what people studied, but in basic level marketing classes it teaches that for brand awareness you need millions to invest, small businesses can't allocate such resources to have a place in consumers minds.
Brand awareness is a waste of money if you are not a multi million dollar company, and it still applies only for less than 10% of those multi million dollar companies.
Direct advertising that leads for 'call to action' is the way to go.
Brand awareness is a waste of money if you are not a multi million dollar company, and it still applies only for less than 10% of those multi million dollar companies.
Direct advertising that leads for 'call to action' is the way to go.
Upvote
0
Latest Articles
-
What I Wish I'd Known Before Using AI in My BusinessSomewhere between the headlines promising AI will transform everything...- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
Is AI Making the Internet Worse?It started with a comment about music. @JEREMY HAWKE , a courier...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
The AI Divide: What UKBF Members Really Think in 2026Every few months on UK Business Forums, a thread appears that refuses...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
When the Algorithm Gets It Wrong: What eBay's AI Moderation Problem Tells Us About Platform RiskA thread appeared on UKBF this week that, on the surface, looks like a...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
Should you crowdfund? A framework for UK founders in 2026Three articles into a series on what crowdfunding actually costs, the...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
