FYI Friday with BBB | Key Takeaways for Marketing Your Brand | Issue 3

Creating a space for your business within the marketplace is key to getting your business in front of customers. Learning to quickly and effectively market your business helps you reach customers and build a trusted brand.?

Key takeaways for small business marketing

Build your assets

Website:?You need a place where people can find you, and that place is a website.

• It needs to be well-designed by a professional.
• When you sell products through your website, you're also selling design. Nobody wants to buy a bad design, so ensure your website is intuitive, user-friendly, and aesthetically pleasing.
• Make sure to include your BBB Accreditation seal on your website to let customers know that you are a trusted and vetted business.

Drip sequence:?You need to follow your sales prospects — keep your business top of mind by using a sequence of text or email reminders.

• Collect customers' data by issuing them a store club card, offering them a $5 off coupon on their receipt if they fill out a survey, or by offering them discounts when they sign up to receive emails.
• Customers are concerned about how businesses collect personal data, but?75% are more willing ?to give their data to a business they trust.?

High-quality media:?You need to make a great impression.

• When it comes to a website, aesthetics and engaging content are everything.
• Use high-quality photos and videos and provide value to your audience.

SEO

One of the most important tools a small business has is search engine optimization (SEO).?Customers are always looking for a way to fix their problems, and many go to search engines with the sole purpose of buying a solution. If they can't find you and the solution you're selling, then you're missing out on a huge section of potential customers.

Implement search engine optimization (SEO) to make sure your web pages, images, and videos focus on the keywords and phrases searched for by your target customers.?Ensure that the searcher intent also aligns with how search engines understand queries. As you marry the two, your chances of showing up for specific queries will be higher.

Here are some statistics from?Google’s research studies and analytics data :

• 50% of shoppers say that they used online video while shopping in the store.
• 74% of in-store shoppers who searched online before going to the store said they searched for something in-store related (locations, in-stock items, hours, directions, etc.).
• 59% of shoppers surveyed say they use Google to research a purchase they plan to make in-store or online.
• 46% of shoppers surveyed confirm inventory online before going to the store.

There are several key takeaways from this data that can help you make your small business thrive.?You can use these tips to create an actionable approach to establishing your brand online.

• Post videos on YouTube about your products or services. Hire a marketing service to make videos for you, so they're professional-quality. Every view is another sales opportunity that you don't have to pay a salesperson to pitch.
• Register your business with Google Maps. Provide links to your website and include your phone number, store hours, and information about different locations. Make a listing for each business location. It makes your business look more trustworthy.
• Link to your BBB business profile page. From there, potential customers can see your rating, read your reviews, and know that you’re accredited.
• Know the entire buyer journey. For instance, if nearly half of your website visitors are abandoning their cart due to shipping costs, then you can adjust to optimize sales goals.

Pay-per-click advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a lot like SEO, except you pay for it and get immediate results. Using PPC advertising doesn't mean you should stop your SEO efforts. It's simply an effective way to make sales and pull customers in immediately.?

PPC ad writing information is available through?Google's training program. ?Other search engines are worth looking into as well, such as?Bing ?or?Yahoo . You may end up paying less per click on these sites and ranking higher since there isn’t as much competition.

Social media marketing

82% of Americans are on social media . The main difference between SEO and social media is the intent behind the marketing. You want to connect with customers to learn about them, but not necessarily to sell to them. People go on social media sites to connect with their friends. They don't log on to learn about your products or hear your sales pitches.

Successful social media marketing focuses on valuable content that isn't product- or service-centric. Find out where your customers are hanging out, who they follow and why, what groups they belong to, and what they have to say. This research will tell you about your customers' goals and problems. With that information, you can create content that improves their lives. Share quotes, infographics, and results-oriented content. Share often for best results.

Paid social media ads

Social media ads are less effective than PPC ads on search engines. A few PPC ads are fine, and they might attract a few new followers, but they're expensive and not always effective. You really need to know your audience to reach them in social media ads. Ads need to create value, have headlines but very little copy, use emojis to portray emotions, and contain high-quality images and videos.

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The Dos and Don'ts of email marketing

1. DO determine who will be on the receiving end of your campaign.

Before you get started on an email marketing campaign, you need to determine who you want to reach. To this end, you will need to build an email list that includes people who are?interested in your products ?or services. And how do you get their email addresses? The solution is simple: invite them to subscribe on your website, either by using a subscribe button throughout your site or with an?exit-intent popup ?that will give them the option prior to leaving a webpage.

2. DO set goals for yourself and your campaign.

One of your first priorities when looking to run a successful email marketing campaign is to set goals. Ask yourself what you want to achieve and how you plan on doing it. Some of the most common goals for an email marketing campaign are the following:

• Attracting new subscribers –?You can do this by letting them know about your business and the value you offer, which will then lead to building a relationship with them.
• Increasing engagement –?Regardless of whether you want to make a sale or promote any services you offer, this goal focuses on your viewers interacting with the content of your website, which includes any information on your business.
• Providing value to existing customers and subscribers –?What is it you would like to offer to your loyal customers? Whatever it is, let them know!
• Bringing inactive subscribers back into the fold –?Have you noticed a decrease in traffic to your website? Let your inactive subscribers know what you've been up to and tell them about any new services or products you have to offer.

3. DO decide what kind of email you want to send.

Nail down the purpose behind your campaign. Are you looking to promote your business, offer new services, or showcase special sales? Do you want to send a newsletter or provide your subscribers with the most recent information about your business? Or maybe you simply want to welcome new subscribers or let them know their purchase is on its way. The importance of knowing what type of email you want to send is that it will help you use appropriate wording in the body of the email. This is, in essence, what will attract new customers and drive sales.

4. DO use technology to your advantage.

One of the best ways of creating a successful email marketing campaign is to use available technological tools to your advantage. These tools include analytics, software integration, automation, templates, and workflows (among others). They will help you send promotional emails, segment your audience, target emails by demographic, schedule updates, and respond quickly to your customers, all of which are the basis of a successful campaign.

5. DO create an eye-catching subject line.

The first thing a subscriber will see when your email lands in their inbox is the subject line, and that is the moment a successful campaign is made or broken. A subject line that attracts the reader's interest will lead them to open the email and continue reading whatever it is you have to say. Keep these tips in mind to crafting a successful subject line:

• Keep it short.?Nearly half ?of all email opens happen on a mobile device. So, you want to keep your subject lines pretty concise. If you can, try to stay under 50 characters.
• Cut the fluff.?Tell your readers what to expect when they read your email. There is no need to be vague or misleading. This is one case in which honesty is the best policy.
• Don’t be deceptive.?A misleading subject line may counter any of the benefits you hope to gain by sending your email. Less-than-truthful subject lines are more likely to send readers to the unsubscribe link. Be honest about who’s sending the email and the nature of the message.
• Get personal.?Adding the reader's name to your subject line will ensure their engagement and draw their attention. Personalization is one of the best ways of letting your subscribers know you are thinking of them, so show some warmth and catch their eye.
• Include engaging emojis.?Catching a reader’s attention may be as simple as adding an eye-catching emoji .?Just make sure to test everything first to confirm it appears correctly.

6. DO make sure the body of your email is short and sweet.

• Your email does not need to double as a novel. Keep the copy short, but not so short you can't get your message across. Ensure you keep your reader's attention and lead them to act, including:
• Create a great hook right at the start.?Having a great hook at the start of the email will lead to increased interest in what you have to offer and ensure the success of your campaign.
• Personalization is key.?Remembering to use your reader's name throughout the email is an important part of a successful campaign.
• Engage your readers from the get-go.?Useful information, interesting content, resources, statistics, polls, and surveys effectively educate your readers and keep them engaged with your products or services.

7. DO collect data and follow up.

Collecting data, analytics, and demographic information is a sure-fire way to make future campaigns even more successful. Additionally, following up on your initial email is an opportunity to add previously left out information, get to know your customers, and receive their input, which can help you shape future mailings.

8. DON'T bombard your readers.?

While following up on your initial email will show you are invested in your business and subscribers, sending too many emails will only turn your readers off to what you have to offer and ensure your mailings end up in their spam folders. A good way to plan the number of emails you send is to wait three days to send a follow up. Once that’s done, wait three weeks before you send another one unless your reader answers with specific questions, in which case, respond immediately.

9. DON'T overuse images.?

If the aesthetic of your email depends on a large number of images, it may never be read. Image-heavy emails are often perceived as overly promotional. As a best practice, many marketers try to limit images to no more than 50% of the of the content included in their emails. Otherwise, your message may have a harder time making it past spam filters.

10. DON'T forget to add a call to action.

A call to action (CTA) can be as simple as clicking on a link that leads to your website or filling out a subscription form for future content on your site. No matter how great, compelling, or engaging your email is, without an actionable link, success may be hard to find. After all, a single email is not enough to show your readers everything you have to offer.

11. DON'T forget to add a physical address to your email.

This doesn't only add legitimacy to your business, it is also the law. Of course, you don't have to add your home address for the world to see — using a valid PO Box is perfectly acceptable.

12. DON'T ever sell your subscribers' email addresses.?

This is a major no-no. Building and maintaining trust with customers hinges on a business’s ability to safeguard their information. Plus, selling email address information is illegal and can lead to lawsuits, fines, and worse.

In the end, successful email marketing campaigns depend on the humanity present in the email itself. So, keep things simple, keep them personal, and keep them interesting to ensure your emails achieve their intended outcome.

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