How can small businesses utilize the art of ‘thanks’ vs soliciting for sales? This can become a very thin fine line as stewarding a consumer (potential or repeat) has the ultimate goal of converting to sales.
I received my Bachelors in Marketing and Certification in the Pastry Arts. I have managed a wide array of printed and digital marketing needs.
IGTV, a platform owned by Instagram, is a standalone vertical video application made for smartphones. Its intent is for business purposes to feature longer videos to bring audiences closer to their favorite brands. In many ways, it is comparable to YouTube with uploading feature videos that users can subscribe to, as well as related channels. The software also offers a seamless integration between Instagram and IGTV to remove hassle of video uploads to be viewed on both platforms.
Video lengths can be up to 10 minutes or up to 60 minutes if you are verified or a larger account. The videos will be placed on your channel, which is essentially the company’s profile.
Storytelling.
There are many avenues that your company could take with this benefit. Different areas of storytelling can be divided into the following:
All of the above avenues will directly help your brand convert engagement to sales. With the capability of videos being up to 10 minutes, you are allowing for the possibilities of building stronger connections with your audience and potential customers as you create and showcase the creativity of your business, along with your service or product.
Videos are not limited to the type of content, length or format. Which means the different types of social video marketing can be utilized on this platform as well. However, with that in mind, the videos need to tie in to certain campaigns, area of focus (product launch, etc.) to be effective for your viewers. Always linking back and confirming that the videos are adhering to your brand identity is a key component in successful and coherent stories.
Content creation for the audience already curated by Instagram is a main focus, but do not neglect those that may find you through friends, suggestions, or accidentally. Placing the videos in to your content calendar will be a great tactic as you build your marketing strategy as a whole.
Leverage and expand your community.
The IGTV app instantly starts to play content when the application is opened. So subscribers will automatically be able to view the new content your business has created. Also, since IGTV is built by Instagram, you are potentially engaging many of the 800M people part of Instagram community. The viewing audience can be people who are seeing your video because it is trending or by a suggested channel based upon their current interests.
By using the relevant keywords and hashtags for your videos, the possibility of a larger network will build to see your videos and increase your subscribers. IGTV has valuable content discovery tools that allow users to watch trending videos based upon interests and current brands/people they follow.
IGTV may seem like just another platform that creates more work for your company. That could be true and in that case, it may not be suited for your brand.
Facebook Live is a great way to interact with your audience, but has one major downfall – it’s live! Mistakes happen and that’s why there is the editing room. Certain formats work well for Facebook live, but not all.
Facebook and Instagram Stories allow for edited or live videos, but are short lived and disappear after 24 hours. The challenge there is how to effectively convey your message before it disappears. Same goes for Snapchat.
Video marketing is on the rise. Cisco has projected more than 80% of all Internet traffic will be video based by 2021. Engagement keeps consumers zoomed in on your brand longer and create the experience that consumers are looking for before and during their purchase.
Smaller businesses are not out of luck because they can’t produce as many videos as larger companies – there is no direct link between company size and number of videos published. Why? Because smaller companies have less red tape and can alter strategy when necessary to create the needed content. However, you must factor in your budget and resources before rolling out new video marketing plans to compliment larger initiatives.
The biggest challenge will be for companies to unify their Instagram strategy with the features of IGTV. There will and should be crossover pending what content is being used, but how can your brand’s IGTV strategy distinguish itself and become a valuable part of your social media marketing? Experimenting with length and format on IGTV should be part of your early strategy. Marketing is always a moving target, as to what will best resonate with a given audience.
Colleen Eakins Design can help strategize what design components will be needed in your video along with a storyboard to guide you in producing the best content for social media marketing.
I received my Bachelors in Marketing and Certification in the Pastry Arts. I have managed a wide array of printed and digital marketing needs.
Instagram and Facebook stories are the latest social media craze to be adopted by marketers. Are you using them with your business? Here are five ways to leverage your business with this social media feature.
Denese is a lover of knowledge and puts her research skills and creative eye to good use with her infographics. When she’s not researching and designing visuals to present data, she spends time volunteering in her other passion–health education.
There is always that one negative business review that sticks out like a sore thumb from the mound of positive comments. A perfectly reasonable and sound explanation can be used to justify the consumer’s experience, but the review is already placed in to the internet universe for anyone to read and could possibly be someone’s deciding factor.
Many consumers find that reviews have a major influence on their decisions, just as much as referrals from friends and family. And the more positive the reviews, the more the consumer is to trust the business that is selling the products or services. The company has credibility and will no doubt, increase sales.
Reviews are not only a great (and major) way to increase sales, but can be used to increase experiences of the consumers to influence their potential conversion.
Before you can filter through the reviews to understand your consumers’ wants and needs, you need to acquire them. Giving them a space to provide feedback and allowing them to instantly see it viewed, will give them a sense of value. Your company is appreciating their opinion and the consumer believes the company will take their comments under advisement.
If you are having trouble acquiring reviews, you can offer incentives such as a discount on their next purchase or small token for their time.
Giving the space to provide intriguing content that describes their whole experience – from the product itself, to their sales experience, to the overall environment – will provide valuable information for your brand.
This evaluation of your company can form a new campaign, company policy, new product or service. It could also help improve the point-of-sale system as an outcome of glancing through the reviews. This will of course differ from online to in-person sales, so understanding the consumer experience in both environments is crucial.
Again, ask for those reviews.
When searching for a new restaurant or product, do you see what the rating is, along with how many reviews there are? Of course you do! More reviews increases the trust a potential buyer has with a certain item or service. Having more than 50 reviews can translate to a bump of 4.6% in conversion rates, according to a study by Reevo.
Most importantly, monitor to your brand! Setting up notifications through tools such as Google Alerts can help manage your feedback. Those comments are also “word gold”. Use them to highlight missing SEO needs that will pinpoint searches to a fantastic review of a product or service you are promoting at that time.
Increasing the opportunities for potential customers to see your reviews, increases the chances of conversions and creating credibility and interest. See a comment that will speak to the masses? Use it in other media channels!
If the comment doesn’t highlight your company in the best light and you can directly interact with the author of the comment, ask them to do an interview to fully understand their concerns. By taking the conversation offline, the commentator understands that the company is willing to acknowledge and provide solutions to their issues without the glory from the public.
Have control over your reviews and how they are viewed? Re-sort the reviews to make sure what is seen instantly and above the fold to showcase what your company would like to see. Yes, the negative reviews will still be searchable and viewed, but not what the user will see first. The first impression will be shining. This may take a little bit more time and will need allowance for testing on what may work. Does the right sorting option come from “most helpful”, “most positive”, “most recent”, or a combination?
Do not ignore the negative comments! Respond and acknowledge the negatives and positive reviews. Consumers who see companies thank someone for their comments and then offers a solution will not only bring them back to the brand but poses merit. Even if an indifferent review that is gearing negative, respond. This can persuade an indifferent potential consumer that you are invested in the company’s growth by accepting all sorts of criticism and feedback.
Learn how to write effective comments for consumers to feel commitment from the brand. Use your company’s voice and stay on message of what the comment relates to (contest, promotion, or an engagement piece). But, do not ask for a transaction in the comment! Think about the consumer’s experience and not just their money. An important note, respond in a timely manner. With how quickly and instantly the world works, consumers want to know they are being heard now!
If you are able to resolve negative feedback with positive solutions, ask if the commentator can update their review to reflect the current situation. Having consumers see that your company is able to take issues and resolve them to satisfy a customer will gain the trust of potential customers.
Being able to effectively monitor and handle situations that can cause a reputation of bad customer service will keep loyal customers loyal and convert potentials.
Contact Colleen Eakins Design to help pinpoint ways to leverage your reviews in a visually effective way.
I received my Bachelors in Marketing and Certification in the Pastry Arts. I have managed a wide array of printed and digital marketing needs.
Benefits of Remote Workers–when your staffing needs increase, but your budget does not. When you do not have the office space/real estate for another desk.
Denese is a lover of knowledge and puts her research skills and creative eye to good use with her infographics. When she’s not researching and designing visuals to present data, she spends time volunteering in her other passion–health education.
©2019 Colleen Eakins Design
©2019, Colleen Eakins Design
©2019, Colleen Eakins Design
©2019, Colleen Eakins Design
©2019, Colleen Eakins Design.