Digital Marketing Trends

Digital Marketing New Year Trends that will Help Boost Your Business

by with No Comment BusinessDigital Marketing

Marketers are now heavily investing in digital marketing strategies and exploring new areas for growth to stay afloat. Despite the upheaval, companies that are nimble, adaptable, and inventive are flourishing. A lot of companies are keeping their chins up despite the uncertainty. With New Year just around the corner, more and more people are adopting digital marketing strategies.

1.     Emphasis on a Plan with Measurable Social Impact

It’s not a new phenomenon for brands to advocate for the causes they believe in. However, the shift in how businesses are presenting themselves in response to global events is reflected in the fact that they are placing their impact strategy at the heart of their digital marketing plan. Brands that show initiative and care about their customers’ values and beliefs are more likely to succeed.

2.     Promotional AI

Promotional AI is an incredible strategy that can be worked around New Year’s. Recently, there has been a meteoric rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered services including content generation, chatbots, and search engines.

There’s a lot of excitement about AI’s potential for digital marketers around New Year. There is a correlation between the performance of a digital marketing effort and the speed and accuracy with which data about client behaviour can be gathered using AI.

Marketers’ time can be freed up for more complicated duties like creative strategy formulation when AI is utilised to automate routine chores like data collection and analysis.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Many of your clients are still taking advantage of the convenience offered by digital assistants. Users can now conduct web searches without ever touching their phones, thanks to features like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google’s digital assistant.

Plan on making adjustments to your search engine optimization (SEO) to accommodate voice searches. Consider the natural language terms individuals would use to ask their virtual assistant to discover you. According to Google,

Digital Marketing voice search stats

 

3.     Visualization of Content for Telling Stories

You could be forgiven for assuming that “readable” material is more important than graphics and design in modern times, what with the rise of smart speakers and voice search.

It’s true that innovations in voice search are impacting how we’ll create content in the future, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore visual content or the fundamentals of brand storytelling in the present. People are more likely to engage with a piece of content if it also includes visual elements.

4.     Personalization

One of the most significant developments in marketing is personalization. Create advertising and marketing efforts that focus on specific people, rather than broad demographic groups to have a significant effect on your traffic, leads, and revenue this New Year.

Email marketing campaigns are the best approach to customise interactions with customers. Consider trust, brand alignment, and comprehension when developing a digital marketing plan.

5.     Introduce Solutions

People are looking for solutions, especially as the New Year starts. They have new motivations, new determination, and a new sense of achievement; therefore, it’s essential to provide them with solutions. People want to follow strong, reliable leaders who can advise them on where to shop, who to work with, and what services to use.

Customers will become loyal to your brand if you establish yourself as an authority in your field and cater to their psychological and social requirements.

6.     Create Material in accordance with Google’s E-A-T Guidelines

If you want your site to rise in the results around New Year, you must prove to search engines that the content you provide is quick, accurate, trustworthy, and authoritative. Create content and develop strategies for digital marketing in accordance with Google’s E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) guidelines.

7.     Invest in a Podcast

Creating a podcast is one of the best ways to transform your C-suite employees into influential voices in your field. In 2022, 62% of Americans listened to podcasts. It’s an easy approach to connecting with your audience, and conveying your expertise, and doesn’t need as much production as video.

8.     Make Promotional Videos

The word “video” or the thought of making one yourself may make you uncomfortable but have no fear. It is an exceptional digital marketing strategy and it won’t cost as much as you imagine. A good camera and a microphone are all that are required. In many instances, a smartphone will do the trick.

Do the following to enhance search traffic to your site:

  • You should make sure your video helps your ideal customer with their problem.
  • Applying appropriate keywords to your YouTube video will increase its visibility.
  • The name you give your video is also crucial.

The most important thing to know about video marketing is that videos are currently the most popular type of content on any social media site.

9.     Use Networking Sites

Depending on your specific business objectives and audience, you should allocate your resources accordingly. Instagram is your best chance to reach Generation Z this New Year. On the other hand, if you’re in the business, you might appreciate the more formal atmosphere that LinkedIn provides.

Use social media for customer retention and customer acquisition. Remember that the more often a potential customer sees your brand, the better chance you have of gaining their trust and, eventually, their business.

What are YOUR plans for the New Year?

When it comes to marketing, do you plan to hire a digital marketer? Hire us at PixaFusion, a digital marketing agency Cardiff to increase your team’s social media activity. Send us your New Year’s resolution and let us know if we can lend a hand.

Advertising Strategies for New Years

Advertising Strategies to Increase Sales around New Year

by with No Comment AdvertisingDigital MarketingGoogle AnalyticsSocial Media Marketing

Sales and expansion tend to slow down in the weeks following the holiday season. Consumers have just about spent their last dollar on holiday gifts, seasonal decorations, and expensive fare. In addition, Covid-19 continues to have far-reaching effects on our society, and a sizable proportion of the population continues to experience mental and economic hardship as a result.

Your target demographic might not be ready to make a purchase or go forward with your company. After the holiday rush has died down, the new year ushers in an excellent window of opportunity for some creative and interactive approaches.

1. Encourage Impulse Buying

The impact of spur-of-the-moment purchases cannot be overstated by any store, virtual or traditional. They play an important role at the register, both as impulse buys and as necessities.

You should plan ahead for the New Year to capitalise on impulse buys and returns. Remember that the first few weeks of the New Year are peak return weeks. Many folks receive unwanted presents around the holidays. They may have also purchased an item in anticipation of New Year’s or a holiday that has already passed without their opportunity to use it.

What’s crucial to remember is that a customer’s return trip to your website is an excellent opportunity to upsell them on other products. Buying on impulse is the quickest method because the consumer has less time to deliberate over the purchase.

2. Include Data Analysis

Finding out what people are looking for online and catering your content to those queries is a surefire approach to increasing your site’s traffic. It’s important to include data analysis in your plans for the New Year. Knowing what people are looking for is crucial. This could have an instantaneous impact on your bottom line if you run an online store.

3. Get Social with Your Audience

Hosting a contest is a great way to get people talking about your brand on social media, one of the most popular New Year marketing strategies. Many people view the beginning of a new calendar year as a chance to begin anew. For the most part, it functions as a creative reset button.

4. Advertise a Sale for New Year’s

New Year’s Day sales are always a good idea, even if you aren’t introducing a brand-new product. The best way to get people talking about your campaign is to centre it around the New Year.

Even if the holidays and deals have finished, there may still be people waiting for lower prices. Allow those customers to try out your goods and services now.

How?

By means of limited-time discounts.

With the help of some brilliant New Year’s marketing strategies, you can get rid of any remaining holiday stock in a flash.

There is no guarantee that customers who shop during these limited-time events will return. However, they can be utilised to your benefit to efficiently liquidate surplus stock.

If you don’t feel like being creative with your promotion, a straightforward discount offer will do the trick. Social media advertising can be used to spread the word about the sale.

Due to people’s high spending habits, you may not see as many purchases from this type of campaign as you would over the holidays. However, it can still help you avoid a sales slump just as the New Year begins.

5. Make Regular Website Updates

Your website represents your online reputation. Before doing business with you, consumers will likely look you up online. Therefore, you should also make sure your website is updated with your New Year marketing messaging. Google advertising is a surefire way to boost your sales.

We understand how challenging it is to regularly update your website; therefore, we propose the following strategies:

  • Dedicated landing pages for an advertising drive
  • Modifying the website’s main banner and featured pictures to reflect the New Year’s advertising push
  • Including a seasonal exit pop-up in your site’s design

6. Make sure Your Current Advertising Efforts have New Year’s Landing Pages

Be selective and only utilise high-quality visuals that accurately represent the visual identity of your brand. As soon as you’ve finished creating them, be sure to hand off your brand style guidelines to the design team so that everything stays on brand.

7. Have a Contest to Mark the Occasion

A giveaway is a great method to get people talking about your brand on social media. Have participants follow your page, like and share the post, and tag their friends to enter. The act of tagging friends in the hopes of winning a prize is a surefire method to develop your following and spread the word about your company.

Are You Still Unsure? Approach PixaFusion!

Having a professional bespoke web designer can be the most practical opportunity for most businesses since it allows them to take care of their website’s software updates, online security, and functionality upkeep themselves.

Pixafusion, an advertising agency Cardiff, gives you a hand while still allowing you to steer the ship. You’ve come to the right place, as we’ll collaborate with you to create a one-of-a-kind website that dominates search engine results, brings in new clients, and increases your profits.

Bespoke web design

Bespoke Web Design for a New Business – Does it Help?

by BusinessWeb Design

Bespoke web design is the need of the hour. To start a new business, you must invest in the magic of customisation and get a web design that encapsulates your company’s essence and core values. You, your clients, and your company can reap substantial rewards from investing in bespoke web design.

1. Optimising First Impression

Competition is constant for every internet venture.

Search engines like Google can generate infinite results for competing businesses in your industry and location. Your website and online presence will be virtually indistinguishable from your competition’s.

To construct a one-of-a-kind website that stands out from the crowd, you need to study your brand and competitors’ sites and develop bespoke web design so you can offer your visitors something they haven’t seen before.

2. Functionality

Bespoke web design and development ensures that your site contains all the features essential to the success of your online venture. You can provide the details your customers need and prompt them to take action, such as making a phone call or sending an email. Bespoke web design and development services can provide you with every possible option.

3. Sustainable Online Growth

There will always be limits to what can be changed on a website. However, a visionary web designer in Cardiff tends to grasp your goals and construct a scalable and adaptable site that endures even as your business develops.

Using a template site, you’re up against the most restrictions. You are limited in what you can add and change on the site and may not receive help from the template’s designers. However, bespoke web designs tend to promote sustainable online growth.

You will get the knowledge and expertise to grow and improve your online presence if you collaborate with the digital marketing agency that created your unique design.

4. Expansion

You must increase your web development and marketing efforts to expand your new company. You can use different approaches to get your new website to the top of Google search results for keywords and to increase sales through eCommerce. A bespoke website design plays a pivotal role in this regard.

5. Uniqueness and Personalisation

Many templates are highly adaptable and can be modified to suit your business’s unique needs by changing fonts, colours, and graphics. However, you are restricted to no more than what is possible within the parameters of the given template.

Many pre-built systems allow you to implement a wholly unique design on top of the platform, providing you with a measure of differentiation. However, these systems are built to be duplicated easily. The code structure is always the same; your idea won’t be original for as long as you’d like.

If you hire a good graphic designer or logo designer to build a theme on top of an existing platform, you may end up spending too much for what is, at heart, a template system. That’s only a waste of money and resources. Instead, invest in bespoke web designs to personalise your site.

6. Comparison of Responsive and Imitated Responsive

The user interface (UI) designer is the first step in developing a site that adapts to the screen size of its visitors’ various devices. The designer will seriously consider the user experience on mobile devices, such as smartphones, leaving out unnecessary content while keeping the most critical parts of the site intact. Its format may differ significantly from a standard computer screen.

responsive web design

Pre-built solutions and templates frequently apply responsive design imitations. The system automatically calculates the screen size and modifies the style and the size of other UI elements like images and fonts. The same basic layout is used but scaled to fit the available space. It’s preferable to have an emulated responsive design than to have no responsive design at all.

Be aware of what your web designer is offering you by asking if it is genuine responsive instead of just an imitation of responsive design.

7. Expertise

Modern, one-of-a-kind, scalable, and produced by the individuals responsible for the coding and not simply the design, a custom website will make it easy to make changes quickly and painlessly.

Companies with expert software engineers, user interface developers, highly skilled web designers, logo designers, and graphic designers deliver bespoke websites. You may rest assured that your website will still be around when you hire one of these organisations rather than a fly-by-night, tiny design agency.

8. The invention of Code and Modern Technology

The founder company spends a lot of money developing pre-built solutions since they are trying to make a solution that works for everyone. This means they will have to repeatedly market that solution over a long period to make a profit. Since the world of technology is constantly evolving, you must have a bespoke website built to keep up with the technology.

Looking for a Web Design Agency in Cardiff?

If you are looking for skilled web designers in Cardiff, well your search is over since we are here at your disposal! Not only will we offer excellent bespoke web designs, but will also help you flourish your new business with result-driven strategies and digital marketing services.

SEO service and google analytics

What is Google Analytics?

by BusinessDigital MarketingGoogle AnalyticsTechnology

Google Analytics is an interesting tool to use and can be very beneficial when keeping track of statistics that can be used for marketing strategies for your website.

Behavioural Patterns in Customers

By understanding and looking into the behavioural patterns of your customers you can tailor your marketing and context to match this alongside testing which strategies are working better than others. 

So, by giving you information regarding your customer’s behaviours like what device they use or whether your audience has an age/gender/demographic pattern it can show what will work in terms of making the right impression. This data is also presented in an easy manner through charts and graphs, by segregating each demographic it will make the analysis easier to interpret.  

Specifically, it can help with SEO strategies. By having access to specific data such as the demographics, interests, and behaviour patterns of your traffic you can use that to tailor your keyword generation for example. So, by using keywords that clearly resonate with the traffic being brought to your site, it will highly optimize your digital appearance on google as well as improve your ranking… This information can further be used to build your content up on your website and socials again tailoring it to any data provided by google analytics. This provides an opportunity for trial and experimentation to see whether your SEO strategies will reflect on your build-up of traffic to the website.

One issue we find when offering SEO and access to google analytics to show a client’s performance is that it won’t happen overnight. Strategies need time to show activity. Especially as this source of data shows google traffic brought to the site it can be frustrating when these numbers aren’t always converted into leads so this needs time and patience to show some really valuable data!

Understanding your website’s data and performance will put you ahead of your competition!

retail and customer

How Brand Strategy affects Customer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty

by with No Comment BrandStrategy

Brand strategy is significant in any business type, it ensures your brand is seen and heard by customers – it has its own perception by the public and awareness. The main way of doing this effectively is through marketing strategies, now these need to be focused on certain aspects of the business and may differ between products if it means it reaches the intended audience (and depending on your price range). It’s imperative that a loyal customer base is established, in a Forbes article stated that the Pareto Principle, which is a phenomenon around how the distribution of 80/20 occurs frequently, revealed that 20% of a company’s current customer base will be responsible for 80% of said companies future revenue. Evidently shows how important it is to retain customers.

By having the right strategies in place it should cover all bases to ensure your customers are happy, a blogger Macy Storm, stated that 79% of people were less likely to repurchase if they had a negative experience from a company website. Therefore, it is important that even little aspects like a website should give a good impression and fulfill the needs and expectations the customer will have. For example, having a chat engine where a customer can in real life time sort an issue out or answer a query, customers love to know information asap and have that information accessed easily so they don’t have to waste their time searching for it, even if it might not mean they will purchase, it gives them a good impression of the company. Little aspects can create big impacts, it could even boil down to how a customer may perceive an attitude to sound like over the phone.

Most factors that influence or encourage satisfaction, retention, loyalty, etc, result from how your business is marketed. Websites were briefly mentioned but the entire perception of a business can be determined by this, that’s why having the right marketing techniques in place is important and so making sure the right marketing agency is chosen for the business is also important.

Once your marketing techniques are organised it’s important that the entire purchasing process is taken into consideration as each stage is just as important as the next. Post-purchase is very important when increasing the chances of customer retention, by having a positive finish to their purchase will make them want to purchase again, a study by Bain and Company found that when customer retention rates were at 5% it increased profits by 60% showing how important it is in the long term.

Satisfied customer

How significant is customer behaviors: The factors of Purchase Intention

by with No Comment Business

We are all customers or have been at least once before and we all have different behaviors that put us in certain target markets, from a business point of view it’s essential this is done effectively. In essence, this looks into a customer’s buying habits/patterns and influences what encourages purchases, and social trends so a business can better market their products and services, this also takes into account how natural tendency and inclination can impact the decision to purchase.

All of these factors correspond with each other but need to be looked into separately. Customer buying patterns are usually influenced by an external factor some of the time this can be social media however, these social media trends need to be categorised and adapted to marketing strategies for example, with the summer months coming soon, this means hotter weather, therefore, summer clothes are in demand and so customers may buy now during sale periods so they have summer clothes for the occasional hot weather that’s occurring now and for when it’s at its peak. So, for a fashion brand, you could market a sale of summer clothing going on, attracting customers and increasing sales. An article created by Forbes magazine found that 80% of consumers were more likely to purchase a product if a friend highlighted it on social media, stating that “the era of virtual word-of-mouth recommendations is in full effect”. Therefore, showing the significance social media has on purchasing behaviors.

Consumer behavior can be dependent on several factors, one proven is the color emotion association theory, this means that an individual may be more drawn or more likely to purchase a product depending on what colors are on the packaging, the brand, the product, etc. Color is a key element in any business brand/package process as you want the color to be associated with your brand. For example, in supermarkets green would be ASDA, blue would be Tesco, red for Sainsbury’s, etc. This also goes hand in hand with the actual brand logo and association with that but having the initial color trigger the familiarity with your brand creates awareness and customer loyalty. If customers are reminded of your brand by seeing certain colors they will most likely purchase again, creating retention. A study conducted by the student, Satyendra Singh found that 90% of consumers make purchases dependent on their color by making ‘snap judgments’- the initial thought of the product. This also took into account the perception of the brand and also associations/traits that came with that certain color, this study was called ‘Impact of Colour Marketing’.

It’s also important to take into consideration the key differences between old and new customer behaviors and how they differ. Although your targeted audience may stay the same it’s also important to understand what has influenced your target audience to change their purchasing habits. This can be highlighted by measuring purchase intention, this can show what is encouraging purchasing and how retention is formed (and upheld). The main way to do this is through customer feedback via surveys, by asking them scaled questions where they are able to provide a rough estimate as to when they may purchase a certain product again can provide information on which demographic should be targeted when that time comes. This can be done through tailored and directed marketing strategies like a personalized email during the post-purchase stage.

Overall, understanding consumer behavior can be very difficult without extensive research into the targeted audience and has elements of psychology, chemistry, and economics that need to be taken into consideration but when the understanding part is achieved it’ll make marketing and selling goods easier, more effective and efficient for the business and customers will feel more satisfied when their needs are met.

Internet Marketing

The Impact of Word of Mouth & Influencer Marketing

by with No Comment Business

Both of these strategies of marketing are very effective and work for hand in hand; an influencer complimenting a product and showing how desired it is, makes customers want it (especially if said influencer had a large following of the intended targeted audience). If this type of marketing is done correctly then it can be greatly beneficial in creating sales and creating a large awareness of the brand, product, or service. 

However, like many marketing strategies, this needs to adhere to your business and its needs. By being a small local business you may not have the funds to pay for sponsorship for example and so positive word of mouth would need to be taken advantage of. Word of mouth can be spread through social media and so having a presence across certain platforms would greatly help this, as the public will be able to comment/review your product or service on your platforms. It’ll be the first place a potential customer will look to see if it’s worth investing in. The issue with word of mouth is that unfortunately negative reviews spread quicker and are seen by more compared to positive reviews which can’t be helped, customers may purposely search for negative reviews to make a decision as to whether it’s worth their visit. It may sound obvious but it’s important to realize how customers behave especially when they choose where to take their business, M. Nick Hajili stated in the International Journal of Market Research that:

 

“Trust, encouraged by social media, significantly affects intention to buy. Therefore, trust has a significant role in eCommerce by directly influencing intention to buy and indirectly to influence perceived usefulness.”

Alongside using word of mouth online it’s also very effective face to face as 92% of consumers stated that they would trust a family or friend’s opinion on a product/ service compared to the advertisement, this was found in a report by Nielson. 

This is not to say however that a small business can’t use influencer marketing, if by chance an influencer stops by your store and posts about your product/service or if a said business decided to send an influencer or celebrity a package of their goods known as a PR package in hopes they may review your products to their followers without paying a large cost for a potential positive fake review. PR packages should be very specific and require research into who to send what, this could either be the make or break of your brand.

Even though this all looks pretty pessimistic regarding negative reviews or negative word of mouth but think of it as customer feedback, unfortunately, it is very public and could be detrimental but it also highlights how to better your business, which you can do for your future customers. This leads us to the fake reviews and some customers’ opinions on influencer marketing;

Fake reviews from paid promotions can be beneficial but not if they put your business in a position where they can’t offer it, for example, a spot cream that’s meant to reduce the look of spots might be marketed by the influencer as completely disappearing them… for future customers, it can cause confusion and may do more harm than good, so it’s important that the influencer won’t just say positive things just because you’re paying them to, you want them to be honest with your future customers. Alongside this, customers’ opinions on this type of promotion can be fairly negative as they feel that the influencers are only saying positive things because they are getting paid for it, providing a fake review. This would probably give the influencer more negative feedback than intended. Still, it will also reflect badly on your brand- you’re willing to pay someone just to say something good about your product- the fact that you need to go to those lengths for a positive review may do more harm than good on your brand image. This could be argued as 61% of consumers said they trusted influencer reviews and recommendations which is still over half of the intended audience showing it has some significance over opinions (source thesocialshephard.com) 

In general, if you wish to take your brand into these types of marketing strategies, it’s important it’s done properly and with extensive research to ensure it’s done correctly, picking certain influencers that correspond with your products (makeup influencers given makeup products to try) and encouraging customer feedback directly to the business can be worth it for your businesses future.

pexels-cottonbro-3952234

Digital Marketing in the Year of Covid-19

by with No Comment Business

During this year, businesses have become more reliant than ever on their digital strategy. Without wanting to sound too alarmist, in many cases, it has been the deciding factor in whether they make it through the tough times now and the months ahead.

The unprecedented, almost-total disappearance of all channels related to live events and conferences, and the increasing barriers to face-to-face business, pose an enormous challenge. The key to resilience is the development of ongoing contingencies to mitigate this loss.

B2B companies have relied on the annual circuit of trade shows and exhibitions to network and build customer relations. In industries that are not digital-native, they may also be less sophisticated in their digital growth and customer relations strategies.

For smaller businesses, especially, those used to getting new customers through word-of-mouth referrals or on the strength of a hard-won reputation, their loss is coming as a shock.

Larger companies are also now finding themselves in the position of having potentially lost millions through cancelled activities and events and cannot claw back the hours of time and expense spent on preparations for this year, but insurance and flexible cancellation policies will leave them with a marketing budget to reassign.

Digital is the clear winner here, and companies including ones that may not so much as had a Facebook page before will need to move into social marketing, content marketing, SEO and influencer-led campaigns.

Of course, this means there are opportunities out there for the taking if you are a B2B supplier in an industry that has been slow to adapt to digital marketing. A key factor in resilience is adaptability. If it’s standard in your industry to go out and meet new customers face-to-face before you do business, adapting may mean opening new channels over the web or social media platforms where introductions are made and relationships are fostered.

In the coming months, your prospective clients are going to be less open to the idea of letting you walk through the door and shake their hand – and no one really has any idea how long this will last and whether this will lead to longer-term change.

Being confined to the office or even the home rather than on the road on sales visits or at events, means marketers have more time to develop digital strategies. This means researching where your customers can be found online and how different approaches and tactics might impact your success. If your organisation previously put token efforts into digital channels because like a lot of other businesses, you had built your networks offline and that had always seemed to work now is the time to revisit them.

That could be as simple as giving your website and social pages a refresh, or a more innovative approach. It’s undoubtedly true that the coming weeks, or months or however long this situation lasts will be a challenging time for any company that isn’t ready to think about how they will replace the opportunities that have been lost.

As long as businesses approach the shift to digital marketing strategically, there’s no reason why it should just serve as an emergency strategy but could carry on providing long-term value when the world eventually gets back to normal. And of course, it would make companies more resilient to deal with any future pandemics.