User experience (UX) design is creating products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. This involves the design of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability, and function.
Social media is rapidly becoming one of the most significant aspects of marketing for any business. It is an outstanding way to engage with customers and grow a base. Most businesses do not know how to manage their social media accounts and for that, it is important to have sound knowledge about what social media management is. It goes beyond just managing posts and uploading content. There are numerous other aspects to it. Simply put, social media management is creating, publishing, promoting, and managing content across social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube. It also involves engaging with the respective audience and searching for new opportunities to grow reach and visibility.
The world of social media is expanding rapidly, with more than 4 billion users which is more than half of the world’s population. Businesses that are not using this powerful tool are missing out on huge opportunities. These days it’s the best low-cost investment a business can make. Social media marketing is rapidly evolving into a competitive market. Businesses are competing for ad space and spending millions on social media platforms. People are becoming more and more comfortable shopping online through ads and messages they come across on social media. Strategically placed ads that appear natural are generating more sales than ever.
Another evolving trend involves gen X since they too are becoming more comfortable with making purchases online. Ads that are running on Facebook and to an extent, Instagram are doing especially well with baby boomers. Social media channels are a powerful tool used by brands to gain insights into their audience’s preferences. They are the perfect platforms for launching new products, storytelling, and creating awareness about new initiatives.
Social media marketing is not just an option anymore, it has become a very critical part of businesses specifically those working in eCommerce. According to Forbes, 79% of consumers say user-generated content influences their buying decisions. UGC is becoming a very impactful tool for earning revenue. Meaningful content helps deepen the connection between a brand and its audience.
In order to have a successful marketing plan it is important that the social media strategy is sustainable and positively impacts the business. To ensure this, several steps should be followed;
● Researching Buyer Personas
By taking the target audience into consideration, it becomes easy for a company to determine what will appeal to it and thus create relative content to engage it as well.
For successful social media marketing, it is essential to choose the right platform. There isn’t a single solution to this because it depends on the needs of the target audience and which platform, they spend more time on.
We’ve taken the liberty to put together a brief overview of some of the different platforms and the benefits they can provide to businesses.
With limitless video hosting, businesses can upload as much video content as they want.
Developing a social media strategy is a significant part of making sure that each campaign is getting the business closer to its marketing goals.
After deciding which platforms to use, it is better to consider how often a business plan to post and what type of content will they want viewers to see. It is vital to develop content that’s engaging but also speaks to customers’ needs, wants, and challenges.
Part of the social media marketing strategy is how a brand engages and responds to its audience. Will they see your content, reach out and start conversations? What will the frequency of social media posts be? How will you engage the audience? Your marketing strategy needs to revolve around these questions and their answers.
Social media management tools allow businesses and organizations to manage and analyze their social media presence. These tools typically include various features, such as scheduling posts in advance, tracking the performance of posts, and identifying and analyzing key metrics, such as the reach and engagement of posts. Many social media management tools also offer collaboration and team management features, making it easier for teams to collaborate on social media campaigns and initiatives. These tools can be an essential part of any organization’s social media strategy, helping to streamline and optimize their efforts on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
PROS
One of the most significant advantages of social media marketing is its cost-effectiveness to increase web traffic, brand awareness, and engagement. Compared to traditional marketing campaigns, social media marketing proves to have a higher ROI.
Other types of advertisements are less likely to drive traffic to a website while that is not the case for social media ads. This opens up a lot of potential for brands.
Social media platforms are now being used by brands to announce products and run promotions. This drives sales and generates leads. Other advantages include consistent brand visibility, customer support and feedback, content promotion, and demographic insights.
CONS
While there are numerous advantages of social media marketing, there are some disadvantages that should be considered before forming a strategy.
Brands are under increasing pressure to undertake a political stance on social media, where silence during times of social turbulence is frequently interpreted as collusion. However, brands should avoid broadly supporting social movements, to avoid coming across as inconsiderate.
Considering that social media platforms are public forums, unforgiving customer feedback can harm a brand’s reputation more than they’d like. On social media platforms, negative mentions of a brand are noticeable to current and possible customers. If a customer is dissatisfied with a brand, they can vent their frustrations in a social media post that can be seen by hundreds of thousands of other users. So replying promptly to grievances and offering a real solution will help reinforce a brand’s reputation in the eyes of its followers.
Considering the speed with which the number of social media platform users is increasing, it is clear why businesses are opting for social media channels to promote their businesses. It may seem a little overwhelming but by understanding current marketing trends and using resources available online, one can start working on developing an effective social media marketing strategy that will increase the brand’s reach, and followers, and thus boost conversions.
Dexterous Solutions is a global branding and marketing agency based in the US, serving companies of all sizes. We specialize in understanding your brand and vision and work closely with you to craft branding and marketing assets that align with your brand strategy, mission, vision and goals. With satisfied clients worldwide, let’s connect and explore how we can help you achieve your business goals.
Christmas is just around the corner, and that means it is time to get those marketing campaign strategies aligned. Festive marketing when done efficiently, can bring a huge boost to revenues, retain customers and strengthen relationships. An efficient marketing campaign keeps the customers engaged, resulting in them giving the brand priority when shopping last minute. To have a successful marketing strategy it is vital to have clear objectives.
Some of these are
Businesses can have more than a few marketing objectives. It’s important to know how to achieve these goals. Mentioned below are some of the most effective strategies for Christmas marketing campaigns.
Well-known brands like Amazon, Sony, and Samsung appeal to their customer base by giving them special holiday offers. Making the campaign attractive can be as simple as a catchy and brief subject line with creative visuals.
Another way to get customers intrigued is by creating a festive gift guide. Since Christmas is the season of exchanging gifts, this technique can prove to be quite profitable. The idea is to lay out options for customers that make the brand’s products look visually appealing. This will help promote the brand and encourage sales or at least subscriptions. Limited edition Christmas products and packaging are also a great way to get customers interested.
We’re all guilty of last-minute shopping, and this is something companies can take advantage of. Preparing last-minute marketing materials and communicating them via emails to customers can definitely get their attention. A digital gift card campaign can also be considered. These gift cards can have flexible limits.
Some ideas that can be used are
According to research, 61% of web traffic to retail websites is from mobile phones. The power of mobile phone marketing cannot be ignored while strategizing a campaign. People prefer browsing and shopping on the move. Optimizing mobile apps before the Christmas season can drive sales and improve the customer experience a great deal. An impressive strategy is having mobile-only deals that are not available on the website. This increases traffic to the mobile app and enhances user engagement.
A message conveyed through video can have a very long-lasting effect. Video marketing not only helps promote products but the overall brand as well. Christmas themes should be incorporated in the videos to create a holiday vibe.
Social media holds immense power and is a great way to engage with customers. One of the cost-effective ways to boost brand sales is giveaways. They help in engagement, acquiring new followers, and building hype. By using giveaways and promotions the audience can get excited about the upcoming holidays and the brand.
Another efficient strategy is influencer marketing. According to research, 17% of organizations spend more than half of their marketing budget on influencer marketing. Collaborating with influencers to show the brand’s product during the holiday season will encourage the audience to try it. Influencer-based holiday marketing can
User-generated content is considered to be an authentic way of marketing. According to research, 85% of consumers find it to be way more effective than a brand promoting their product. When customers share content about their positive experience with the brand it can have a substantial effect on sales. It increases brand credibility as well. User-generated content can strategically be used by
A very interesting strategy for marketing is to make the content interactive. Static content bores the audience. By making them a part of the campaign they can have a better experience. 93% of marketers are of the view that interactive content is more effective in enlightening the buyer than static content. There are numerous types of interactive content and it should be chosen according to the target audience. For example
The holiday season is one of the greatest times to make an investment in an emotional bond with the audience. By segmenting customers for a really tailored experience, making the campaigns easily shareable, and offering the best deals that are constant across all channels, the brand can position itself for all-out success with the upcoming holiday season.
Responsive website design, commonly known as RWD, is a design strategy to automatically alter the website according to the screen size. This makes sure that the feel of the website remains seamless and uniform, irrespective of the device being used by the user. For example, a laptop, tablet, and mobile will use one HTML code on the same URL. The concept of responsive website design is becoming an integral part of the life of developers worldwide. The responsive website design was first introduced in 2010 and has been recommended since then.
The main purpose of a responsive website design is to make the visitor experience as best as possible. The goal is to eliminate unnecessary scrolling, resizing, and zooming on the website. This ultimately leads to a consistent user experience resulting in increased lead generation, sales, and conversions. The analytics are easily trackable and the reach increases profoundly. Research shows that Mobile web traffic has surpassed desktop traffic and now accounts for more than 55 % of overall website traffic. As a business owner, it is vital to impress the user in the first 3 to 4 seconds, and a responsive website design helps in making that possible.
The domination of mobile users on the internet started in 2015. Google started perceiving that trend and released Mobilegeddon, an update to their search engine algorithm which involved a website’s mobile-friendliness as one of the ranking factors. This update was designed to boost mobile-friendly and responsive websites in the SERP. The importance of ranking high in search engines is not a new concept. Hence, web pages that are mobile-friendly and follow the best practices of high readability and a friendly user interface have a better chance of ranking higher in search engines. Especially Google.
A responsive website design can make it very easy and quick to make changes. Designers don’t have to make updates on two different sites separately. Having two separate versions of a website result in duplication of content which ultimately lowers the search engine ranking. Having one responsive website design saves developers a lot of time and energy. Which makes this idea quite cost-effective.
IMPROVED USER EXPERIENCE
Visitors to your website will have a great experience if it is responsive, no matter which device is being used. It is highly likely that they spend more time on your website if they face no issues in scalability and effective response while navigating. A responsive website design gives business owners peace of mind that their users can access all the content they want without any hassle or getting frustrated.
HIGHER CONVERSION RATES
According to research, the average Smartphone conversion rate is 64 percent greater than the average desktop conversion rate. It is evident why designing a responsive website with an improved user experience is the key to increasing conversion rates. Your visitors will develop trust in your business as they spend more time on your website, which will result in higher conversion rates.
CONSISTENT BRANDING ACROSS DEVICES
Users access websites with varying devices. Business owners must provide a streamlined experience and feel across any device being used. A responsive website design allows consistency in visuals and call to action.
SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING
A responsive website design improves how your content is shared across social media platforms. If your website has a responsive share button, it is easy for users to share embedded links on small screens even. This results in increased traffic and the introduction of your brand to a new audience. Increased traffic and engagement will help your search engine ranking as well.
WEBSITE MANAGEMENT
Businesses, especially smaller ones, don’t have a lot of time to work on the look of their website. A responsive design accounts for making changes quickly and easily. In this way, concentrating on other aspects of the business is easier.
COST-EFFECTIVENESS
Maintaining websites for mobile and non-mobile users can get expensive. By designing responsive websites and plans, money can be saved because you won’t be paying for a mobile site separately. Support costs will be lower when running one instead of two variants of a website.
INCREASED INTERNET SHOPPING
Another benefit of having a responsive website design is making the user’s shopping experience easy. Internet shopping is very straightforward and gaining popularity every passing day. 80% of customers consistently use their mobile phones for shopping online. If your website is not mobile-friendly, you are losing a great number of customers.
CONCLUSION
Presently, a large number of people are accessing the internet using mobile phones instead of laptops or desktops. So, your website needs to have great visuals and be responsive on mobiles as much as on laptops and desktops.
