How to Develop a Strategy for Social Media, Blogging and SEO

While businesses can still drive great results through social media channels, there is a lot of competition for attention. Not only do businesses have to compete with each other for social media attention, but there are also countless publishers who want to keep social media users engaged for as long as possible so they can generate advertising revenue.

Because social media has matured as a marketing channel, it's important to have a solid strategy in place for using it. To fully maximize the value of social media, it's best to have an integrated strategy that includes blogging and SEO. We're going to cover some of the things to evaluate as you put together this type of strategy:

Find the Right Consistency

When we talk to businesses about their content marketing efforts, one of the most common reasons they aren't seeing the results they want is they're not consistent. Although it's easy to understand why consistency is important, getting content out on the same schedule can be an uphill battle. That's why it's helpful to find the right consistency for your specific business and resources. You should also consider enlisting the help of a content writing service to keep your production on track.

Experiment with Different Timings

In addition to being consistent with social media updates, blog posts and other types of content, it's worth looking at the impact of sharing during different times of the day. Since the audience of your business may be significantly different from others, you may find that sharing at an unexpected time of the day drives the best results.

Know What Your Competitors Are Doing

Copying your competitors isn't going to help you get ahead. That being said, it's worth keeping an eye on what they're doing. If notice a big change or them doing something that stands out, you can see if it makes sense to incorporate into your own strategy. For example, if a competitor suddenly improves their search engine rankings for multiple keywords, it may be time for you to hire a search engine optimization service.

Give Your Content a Purpose

When you're thinking of ideas for different content, it's important to think of the impact each one will have on your business. Whether it's to attract potential customers by sharing useful information or to help close a sale, the important thing is to identify this in advance and then make sure the content is crafted with that goal in mind.

There are a lot of elements that go into creating a cohesive strategy for social media, blogging and SEO. If you're looking for a way to jumpstart your efforts, be sure to take a look at how our social media management and marketing services can help.

Learn What Graphic Design Can Help Businesses Accomplish

Most business owners have no shortage of places to focus their attention. The real challenge is figuring out which things are actually worth some attention. Graphic design is a great example of this. Even if a business doesn't currently utilize anything like logo design services, they've probably at least thought about this topic. We want to expand that line of thinking by covering some specific ways that the right graphic design services can help a business flourish:

1. Create a Great First Impression

Whether it's online or offline, most consumers are going to form their opinion of a business within a few seconds. This small window can mean the difference between someone buying from a business on an ongoing basis or never interacting with it again. By making graphic design a priority, you can ensure that wherever it occurs, people's first impression of your business is formed in a positive way.

2. Tell Your Brand's Story

Creating a brand with a story that people connect to is a powerful way to elevate your business above your competitors. Although telling a brand story in a way that really resonates is no easy task, graphic design is one of the most powerful tools for accomplishing this goal.

3. Stand Out From the Crowd

Before you can get anyone to care about your brand's story, you need for them to notice your business and view you in a different light than your competitors. As long as you work with the right team, graphic design can provide a solution for elevating the way your business is viewed above any other competitors in your space.

4. Make Your Brand More Memorable

Continuing with the theme of making your brand stand out, graphic design provides a way to help ensure people remember your business and what it's all about. Given everything people are bombarded with on a daily basis, that's something that's easier said than done. Utilizing aspects of graphic design like a custom logo design can give your business the edge it needs to not only capture people's attention, but also hold it.

5. Drive Revenue

While topics like branding can seem a little abstract at times, these activities should all tie back to your bottom line. Even though there are plenty of examples of businesses investing quite a bit in branding and failing to move the needle for their most important metrics, that's almost always the result of losing sight of having a direct connection between these aspects of a business. By approaching graphic design as a tool for driving revenue, you will be able to make decisions that revolve around this specific goal.

If you're ready to start reaping all the benefits that great graphic design has to offer, take a look at our graphic design services and then get in touch with us to discuss what you need done.

The Newest Social Media Marketing Strategies to Know

2017 is set to be another big year for social media. Since this is a space that continues to evolve at a very rapid pace, we want to share a few ideas that will help keep your business ahead of the curve:

1. Go Live

Video was a major driver of social media activity throughout 2016. Thanks to significant efforts by all the major social platforms, video is no longer limited to pre-recorded content. Instead, live video is an area that continues to gain more traction. From Facebook to YouTube to Instagram, users are interacting with each other through live streams. In terms of what a business can do with this form of social media interaction, there are a number of avenues to test out. Whether it’s a Q&A or behind the scenes tour, the main thing to keep in mind is live video’s all about authenticity. So even though good audio and lighting are important, the best way to figure out what works best is to jump in and try a few streams.

2. Messaging

More social media activity is moving from the traditional platforms and into messaging apps. This behavior is one of the reasons that Facebook was willing to pay so much to acquire WhatsApp. While the personal nature of messaging may seem like it will exclude businesses, that doesn’t have to be the case. Most of the big messaging apps and platforms are making it possible for businesses to offer customer service. Businesses can even take this activity a step further through the use of chatbots, which are one of the hottest areas of tech in 2017.

3. Pay to Play

There was a lot of uproar last year when Facebook made changes to their algorithm that reduced organic reach. But because the pace of social media activity only continues to accelerate, this isn’t something that will change any time soon. However, what businesses often overlook is the very affordable nature of social media advertising. By taking time to experiment with paid social media activity and looking into other platforms like YouTube or Pinterest, businesses can achieve a very desirable return with only a minimal investment.

4. Social Commerce

Because there are only so many hours in the day, social media platforms want to keep their users around for as long as possible. One way they’re doing this is by enabling social commerce. Keep in mind that this activity can extend beyond products and into things like services, which is why businesses across all sectors should think about how they can utilize the latest social commerce features.

If you want help with staying on top of these social media marketing strategies and any others that may work for your business, be sure to take a look at our social media marketing services. You should also check out the social media certification and social media training courses we offer.

3 Mobile App Development Challenges (And How to Overcome Them)

Mobile apps are a great way for businesses to increase customer engagement and retention. When someone downloads an app from a business, they’re likely to open it on a regular basis. That makes having an app even more powerful than simply having a website optimized for mobile. Many businesses overlook the fact that social media marketing and mobile apps have a lot in common. These strategies make it possible to build meaningful relationships with both potential and existing customers.

Another reason mobile apps are so powerful is they can work great for both B2B and B2C businesses. As long as an app provides some kind of value, people will want to use it. While there’s no shortage of good things that can be said about mobile apps for businesses, that doesn’t mean they’re easy to build. Plenty of businesses have pursued a great idea for an app, only to have their progress derailed by one or more obstacles.

Since mobile app development can present a number of challenges, we want to highlight some of the most common ones, along with what you can do to overcome them:

1. Communicating with Developers

Whether they hire an employee or contractor, business owners often have a very hard time communicating their full app vision to developers. It’s also fairly common for non-technical individuals to assume that developers can do everything they expect, when the reality is those other tasks are best suited to another professional like a UX designer.

2. Outdated Technology

Most business owners don’t have time to learn all the latest and greatest trends in mobile app development. The problem is without that information, they may hire or contract someone whose skills are based around outdated technologies. This often leads to the creation of an app that falls far short of expectations.

3. One Missed Deadline After Another

How long does it take for a developer to build an app? The only way to accurately answer this question is to have a deep understanding of the numerous factors that affect development. While this is something a technical project manager can handle, it’s likely to be an ongoing source of stress for any business owner trying to manage this process.

The Best Way to Overcome Mobile App Development Challenges

If you want to avoid the challenges that tend to come up with communicating with developers, outdated technology and missed deadlines, your best bet is to hire a mobile app development company with a proven track record of success. By hiring a quality development company, you will have all the support needed to bring the ideal mobile app for your business to life in a timely manner. Not only will this save you a lot of stress and ensure a successful outcome, but the total cost is more affordable than most businesses initially realize!