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 Online Marketing is the method to deliver promotional content through the internet to the people’s browser or email. Online Marketing can be done by text ads, image ads, video ads, native content or from Apps like Facebook or Twitter and many more. Online Marketing allows you to reach people you may not reach with offline marketing campaigns. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic using various strategies, techniques and tactics to obtain high ranking in organic [Unpaid] search results. In other words, SEO is a process of making web pages attractive to the search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. SEO can be done by editing on-site and off-site elements of the website to improve the chances of showing up higher in Search Engines Results Page (SERP) for important keywords. According to Hootsuite, Google holds 76% of the total Search Engine market share while 93% of people click on the search results in the first page of Google. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)SEM refers to paid search marketing in the search results. We can define SEM as serving an advertisement to a user using a search engine based in their query. For example, for a user who searches for a query, we can bid on certain keywords which match algorithmically to the user query and serve a text ad to them.  Search engine marketing has grown exponentially over the past decade. Google AdWords is the most popular paid search platform used by search marketers followed by Bing. Social Media Marketing (SMM)Social Media Marketing is a method to increase traffic and promote your content, product or service using social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter or other social media apps. We can term Social Media Marketing as the process of using the potential of social media to leverage the value of your business.  Source: Slideshare Out of 4 billion internet users, 3 billion people use social media. So, the power to networking and publishing through social media is high. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)PPC stands for pay-per-click. It is a model of online marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Essentially, it’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to 'earn' those visits organically. The advertiser pays publishers every time a visitor clicks their ad, hence the model is known as pay-per-click, as advertisers only pay when the visitor clicks their ad. If a visitor sees an ad but doesn’t click it, the advertiser is made aware of the impression but doesn’t have to pay as no click took place. Content marketingContent Marketing is promoting free or additional value to your targeted audience or users that you already have. Good content either should provide information [that the user is looking for to solve the problem], inspiration [So people can get inspired to buy or use the product service to solve the problem.] or entertaining so that user will stick to the content for better click through rates. Writing a blog, making video contents, creating a podcast can be few examples of Content Marketing. Affiliate MarketingAffiliate marketing is monetisation of word-of-mouth marketing. It is a way of getting a commission in exchange for referring a product or service to another customer. Affiliate marketing has evolved over the past decade as the internet has evolved and a number of channels such as social or email etc. Basically, it is influencers that are recommending products and services that are not their own, but people go to them to get the information. Email MarketingEmail marketing is a workhorse of digital marketing as you can deliver a highly personalised experience, multiple times on a scale through email. The main advantage of an email marketing is that you precisely know how many emails have been delivered, opened or clicked upon. Tying up these numbers with revenue metrics, the numbers will have a big meaning to your email marketing campaigns. Example of email marketing can be sending promotional emails, email with offers or discount or thanking customers or users for using the product or can be used to provide inspirations to try your product or services. Some of the popular automated email marketing tools are MailChimp, Constant Contact, drip and convert Kit.
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 Social media should be part of your digital media strategy, if you want your business to grow this year. As with all aspects of life, you can choose two paths: 1) to wing it and hope that the path that you follow will work out OK. 2) Set yourself goals and have a plan in place ,which enables you to carry out those steps that lead you to your goal. For business marketing, goal setting is a must, and within that social media should be included. Sometimes it can be difficult to define what your objectives should be. To help you out, here are some of the most usual social media goals to think about: Raise brand awarenessDo people know about the products and service that you offer. In order to create authentic brand awareness, avoid a barrage of promotional messages. Instead, focus on meaningful content. What questions do your customers often ask? Provide them with those answers in good quality content. If you are the right fit for them, they will remember you and will potentially use your services. You can build a strong brand personality through your social channels and regular content that explains who you are and what makes you interesting to them. Drive traffic to your websiteWhilst you can build your followers within each platform, you may also have a need to drive traffic to your website for them to find out more information, learn about your services, and drive product sales. Using the right tools, you can measure how much traffic your website is getting from your social media posts.
Build your fan baseThe destination in this social media journey is to have a large and regular following, where your fan base interacts with your page in a natural and engaging way. Spending time and effort to create a positive brand persona on social will get you to this point. Higher quality of salesOn social media, use the hashtags and make sure that you are using specific keywords and phrases. Through structured and thought-through social media targeting, you can reach your core audience much faster. Increase in-person salesDo you have a store/office or other in-person location? These businesses use social media marketing to drive in-store sales. Do you have new products to offer? Consider offering a promotion to those who see your posts and come in-person to see you. This way you can monitor what is working within your marketing efforts. Better pulse on the industryWhat are your competitors doing that seems to be working? What strategies are they using to drive engagement or sales? Having a pulse on the industry could simply help you improve your efforts and take some tips from those doing well. To summarise, you can be as involved in social media as you want it to be. However, if you want to get the most out of your efforts, by wanting people to see your social media posts, you have to produce engaging content and respond to your community. By thinking about what you want, will help you decide how to get there. It’s our first 2019 Interview with… and reading about this foundling business is sure to get your mouth watering! If you’re new to this blog, it’s a regular bi-monthly feature that showcases local businesses in the Essex area. The team at Perfect layout believe that sharing knowledge and experiences is a great way to help other local businesses. By offering insights into how we do things, helps us improve our business acumen, which means that we’ll be able to offer more efficient and relevant services to the local community. Attracting customers to the Essex area is paramount if independent companies are to thrive. So read on to find out more about a mum that found her ability to create gravity cakes whilst making one for her daughters’ birthday and has since turned it into a money-making business…
How long have you been making gravity cakes for? For about 2 years now. What did you do before you started Jakes Sweet Bakes? I was a preschool assistant. Have you had any formal training? No, everything I know is self-taught. YouTube and Google have been my trainer. Where do you come up with your cake ideas? Well my son really started it all off. He had an idea of what he wanted as a cake for his birthday and I went off and made it. For other clients, an idea just comes into my head and I then research the theme online. Which type of cakes do you enjoy making the most? Cupcakes! Because I love making different designs and making different buttercreams.
How do you promote and sell your services and products? On social media. Facebook and Instagram. I also look out for companies like Maltesers and Flake that have promotions. Last year, for example, I shared my cake pictures on Maltesers UK and they donated £5 to Comic Relief and my pictures appeared on their website. On Instagram, because it’s public, my son had a paintball party and I shared a paintball themed cake on this platform. This was then seen and liked by a paintball company that now follow me Instagram. For Father’s Day, I created some cupcakes for a church that wanted to hand them out to all Fathers that didn’t have children or had lost a child. Because this was for a good cause I donated half my proceeds to the church. Do you have a website? No. Have you thought about growing your business through having a website, i.e. having a more comprehensive gallery that would allow people to peruse your work easier? Promoting my work through these social media platforms works well and I’ll continue to do that. I don’t think having a website at this point is necessary yet as I’m not quite ready to grow. What other digital marketing do you do to sell your cakes? Nothing, that’s it. How’s business going since you first started out? It’s steady. For other people out there with creative cooking abilities that remain unseen and unused, what advice would you give to get them to get started? Just try it and give it a go. Everything I’ve done has been self-taught.
What plans do you have for 2019?
I’d like to learn how to work with fondant cakes and tier cakes for weddings, birthdays etc. Where do you see your cake business going in the next five years? I’d like to continue having a steady stream of customers as this is something I do part-time and currently I would like for it to continue like this. So, if you fancy a cake that looks great and fulfils all your chocolate/sweet desires look no further than Jakes Sweet Bakes. Melissa’s creations can be found via her Facebook page. Get in touch if you have a business that you would like to feature in this regular slot. We'd love to hear from you!  This week we are delighted to have a guest post written by Chartered Accountants Clemence Hoar Cummings. Read on to find out why businesses should be thinking about getting rid of their paper accounting systems and putting everything online...  Clemence Hoar Cummings will not accept liability for any actions or failure to act based on the information provided below. We consider that the advice contained below is generic and that there is no substitute for advice tailored to the needs and circumstances of the individuals or organisations to which the Making Tax Digital rules apply. Making Tax Digital – The Essentials
- Includes Companies, LLPs, Partnerships, Sole Traders, Trusts, Non UK businesses who are registered for UK VAT and charities
However, for Trusts, Not for Profit organisations that are not companies, VAT Divisions and Groups, Local Authorities, Traders based overseas, Annual Accounting Scheme users, the proposed start date is 1 October 2019 What is my Taxable Turnover?
Points to Consider on Requirement to Register
What do we need to do to comply?
Exemptions
Administrative Receivership Estate becomes vested in any other person as that person’s trustee under a trust deed Software
Can Spreadsheets be Used?
What is a Digital Link?
What is Functional Compatability?
Can I Adopt early?
- a partnership - part of a VAT group - based overseas - Trust of NfP that is a company - Submit monthly or annual returns - Use flat rate scheme - A new business Digital Record Keeping Requirements
Data to be kept – Supplies Made
Data to be kept – Supplies Received
The VAT Accounts – Outputs
- amount owed on acquisitions from other EU member states - Tax required to pay on behalf of suppliers under reverse charge procedure - tax to be paid following a correction The VAT Accounts – Inputs
Scale charge adjustments, partial exemption calculations, are not included in the list of digital records Reverse Charge transactions need care Schemes
Is that it for MTD?
The principles will be the same – requirement to maintain digital accounting records. Who will that affect?
David Belbin is Managing Director of Clemence Hoar Cummings Chartered Accountants who have been providing accountancy advice and services to organisations and individuals in Havering since 1925. He can be contacted on 01708 333 300 or by email david.belbin@chc.uk.com  In online marketing, the conversion rate is the ratio of total visitors to visitors who perform desired actions. Companies will measure successful conversions based on the nature of their business and their goals. An online publisher might consider submitting a form on a subscription page a successful conversion; whereas an online retailer might measure their conversion rate by number of clicks to the "Add to Cart" button. Higher conversion rates typically translates to a greater return on investment. Internet businesses in every industry will use many methods to improve conversion rates. Some of the strategies are listed below:   Testimonials reduce risk and provide social proof. Having satisfied customers express their positive experience will increase trust in your business. Every claim you make should be supported by evidence. It is thought that using customer testimonials can result in more than 60 per cent increase in revenue per customer. It’s the recommendation that helps encourage people to buy your product or invest in your service. Customer testimonials show that other people have tried it. Use them on homepages, product landing pages as well as on your email opt-in landing page. You can ask for testimonials or spot them on social media and grateful email messages you get. It is appropriate to ask the sender if they wouldn’t mind letting you use some of those words on your website. A call-to-action (CTA) is a button or link that you add to your website in order to guide your visitor and tell them what to do next. In inbound marketing, they usually lead to a landing page where the visitor can fill out a form and become a lead. You want your CTA to grab the attention of your visitors and entice them to click. Show your visitors an offer that is visually appealing and contains persuasive content as well. In order to ensure your calls-to-action generate leads, you also need to remember the buyer’s journey. If the call-to-action you’re adding to your site doesn’t fulfil the need of your visitor, they’re not likely to move forward. Here are some tips to have in mind when creating calls-to-action that will generate leads:
Call to action examples:
 Contact form: The contact form is typically the gateway to allow people to submit their information to a company. This is the gateway for the consumer to initiate a conversion with your company. You need to keep your contact form simple. Keeping it simple will allow for minimal perceived risk to the end user. If it takes a long time to fill out a form it could be a potential risk. Visitors could also be questioning whether they are going to get a phone call or email as well as wondering when they’ll get a response. A good contact form will allow a user to feel that there is no risk in submitting their information. Have only the absolutely needed fields that are required. You can add a few more fields into your contact form to help quality or send certain requests to the correct person. But your contact form should never exceed the length of your browser. In other words, keep it above the fold. Tell people when, how and what to expect once they fill out the contact form. Will they get a call, an email, a package in the mail? That also reduces the risk that a user may feel if they know how they’re going to be contacted and by when. In conclusion, when you pair a simple contact form with a great call to action that is clear and defined, you’re well on your way to a higher converting landing page. Don’t forget to test your call to actions. Since some people react differently to certain phrases, always test to see which one works best for your users. Another approach you can take to increase the conversion rate is to create a sense of urgency. For product-based businesses show how the number of stock items is reducing each time a purchase is made. For service-based businesses include time sensitive offers. This will motivate the visitors to grab the offer before it’s expired. Website design should reflect the vision and purpose of the company. Everything used from colours to layout and images should represent your brand. Keep things simple and aesthetically pleasing. Avoid using complicated navigation menus. Make sure your message is clearly written and has an impact in the first few seconds. If you would like help to make this happen for your business, get in touch with the Perfect Layout team today on 01708 578 015. |
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