Five post-Covid marketing trends
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the global economy in different ways around the world. Since the pandemic first hit the shores of Australia, people have changed the way they spend their money. As a result, businesses must also change the way they reach consumers or clients in the first place. While marketing hasn’t undergone drastic changes, there have been shifts in digital marketing trends post-Covid.
1. Digital ads are increasing
Thanks to lockdowns across the country, digital ad space has been in high demand. Both consumers and businesses have had to look to the internet meaning businesses have needed to increase their digital ad spending thanks to the loss of foot traffic and in-store visitors. Facebook and Instagram are the top platforms where businesses spent more money on their digital advertising. Post-Covid, shopping online is becoming more normalized with consumers and businesses are both migrating to the digital space. As a result, the competition for digital ad space, especially that on social media platforms, has increased. This makes it more difficult to be heard through the noise, but it does lower the cost-per-click. It’s more important now to optimize your digital ad campaigns to make sure you’re still getting value for money in your digital marketing campaign.
2. Video is becoming more powerful
Thanks to an increase in screen time and the never-ending bad news headlines, video is increasingly helping to break up the monotony in social media feeds. Consequently, video ads have grown 18 per cent in the past quarter. And 56 per cent of marketers plan on experimenting with live video by the end of the year. Video has been steadily growing in popularity in the past few years and the pandemic isn’t slowing that momentum down. The real estate industry was one of the first to see the value in video, using it to enhance engagement on property listings at the beginning of the pandemic. Now every industry should be tapping into video to reach and engage social media users.
3. Consumers are craving convenience
While consumer loyalty is still an important marketing tool, post-Covid has changed the buying behaviours of Australians. A combination of more stressful financial times, a lack of confidence in being in public, and social distancing rules has caused this shift in buying behavior. Extras such as flexible payment options and affordable or free shipping are what consumers are now looking for when choosing a brand to trust. As a business, you’ll need to make it easy for potential clients to find you online and to clearly understand what services you offer.
4. Influencer marketing is growing
As consumers and social media users begin to crave authenticity, influencer marketing has been growing steadily since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Users are after a personal connection with a brand or company which is a likely byproduct of lockdowns and social distancing measures. Influencer campaigns can provide opportunities on social media with smaller budgets, rather than competing with competitors for social media digital ad space.
5. Not ignoring the pandemic
Despite what you might think about the pandemic, your clients or potential clients don’t necessarily want you to stop talking about it. Instead, consumers are looking for businesses who can assure them that they are taking measures to keep them safe. The hospitality industry has done this well since the pandemic began, welcoming back customers by strictly following pandemic protocols and offering refunds for hotel stays that are cancelled due to closing borders. By putting your restrictions and commitment to public safety front and center, you can reassure your brand credibility.
While some of the marketing trends have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they aren’t completely new. All you need to do is re-evaluate where you should be prioritizing your budget, especially when it comes to digital advertising.
Frequently Asked SEO Questions Answere
You know that the better your SEO is, the higher you rank on search engines such as Google. But that doesn’t quite make you an SEO genius. Here are some of the most frequently asked SEO questions marketers get all the time.
What exactly is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization which are the techniques used to help your website become more visible in organic search results in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
What are meta descriptions and do they still matter?
A meta description is the small paragraph of text that appears below your page in a search engine result. It helps explain what the page is all about. Meta descriptions still matter, just not in the same way they used to. They used to help keyword bots but now, it’s more important to write something that makes readers want to click on your page.
What is the difference between paid and organic results?
Organic results are those that appear in search engines for free. These are based on algorithms which pick out the keywords that relate to what someone has typed into their search bar. Paid results on the other hand are results that usually appear at the top or to the side of the search results. Businesses pay for those positions.
Am I using the right number of keywords on a page?
There is no right number of keywords to include because what you should be aiming for is making your page or content readable. You should be able to find enough natural opportunities to include keywords that you won’t even have to worry about reaching a certain number of them.
How many internal links do I need on each page of content?
As with keywords, you shouldn’t worry about having a specific number of links in your content. You only need to include them when they are going to enhance the readers’ experience.
What’s the difference between internal, outbound and inbound links?
Internal links are links in your content or on a page on your website that go to another page on your site. Inbound links are links on other websites that link to your content. Both of these links are valuable for your SEO. Outbound links are those that you include to link to a different website page that doesn’t belong to you.
Do I need to know fancy IT code to do SEO?
No, but there are some more advanced SEO tactics that basic coding can help you understand and achieve. It’s not necessary for every aspect of SEO though.
What’s a sitemap.xml file?
This is an index of all the pages on your website. This file makes it quick for search engines to understand your website and the content you have on there.
Why do I need alt text on my images?
Search engines cannot read images, but they can read text. The alt text helps them work out what the images are. Alt text also helps when a page doesn’t load properly. If the image doesn’t load, visitors to your site can still work out what the image is by reading the alt text.
How long does it take to see results from SEO?
This will depend on how much content you create, the quality of that content and how that content resonates with your audience. If you have a big website with strong domain authority, you’re more likely to see results sooner. Smaller websites will likely take longer because search engines crawl them less often. You should monitor and measure your SEO approach weekly and leave it about a month before you change up your strategy.
Should I hire someone to do my SEO?
Hiring someone internally or externally to do your SEO can be helpful, especially if you don’t want to spend the extra time doing it yourself.
What should my SEO goals be?
Don’t limit your SEO goals to how many more visits you can get to your website. Think about your full marketing strategy and how much quality traffic you’re getting to your website currently. Set goals based on traffic as well as the entirety of your marketing funnel.
While you might have a better understanding of SEO now, it’s important to remember that SEO changes regularly. This is thanks to search engines improving their usability and their approach to crawling websites. So don’t forget to adapt your SEO strategy to those changes.
How to write a blog for your website
You’ve been staring at a blank page for what feels like hours on end, trying to start a blog for your website. So, you’ve typed into your search engine, “how to write a blog” and luckily, you’ve stumbled across this helpful article. You know your website needs content, but if you’ve never sat down at a computer and put something together, it can be difficult to know where to get started.
What’s the purpose of writing blogs anyway?
Regularly publishing blogs to your website is a great way to grow your brand and introduce people to your product or services. Blogs help to keep your audience informed about your business and industry in an engaging way. Well written blog articles can boost your website’s search engine visibility, driving traffic to your website. How? Through Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) which is basically a bunch of terms people use when they search for things, just like you probably typed “how to write a blog” into your search engine. Even if you’re planning on reaching your potential clients through an email newsletter, writing blogs for your website is the first step in getting them to sign up for further information and in having information to share with them.
Alright, I’m ready to write a blog, but where do I start?
First, you need to understand the audience you’re writing to. Start by thinking about what customers generally ask when they first interact with your business. What is it they’re looking for when they find you? Is there anything you think they should know before they contact you? Understanding who your client base is and what they want to know will help you get started. For example, if you’re a real estate agent and the majority of your clients are first-home buyers, writing blogs on how to secure their pre-approval with their bank is something that they’ll likely be looking for information on.
Now that you know who you’re writing to, you should have a basic keyword strategy. This is what’s going to help drive traffic to your website and help you get a sense of what your blogs should be focused on. The Google Adwords Keyword Tool is a great way to find phrases that people are using to search for your products or services. Moz too can help you find the most effective keywords to rank for. These keywords should be included in the blog you write so that when people search those terms, your website shows up in their search results. If you’re not confident in researching and using SEO keywords, don’t fret, they’re not the be-all and end-all. Your blog will still be a valuable asset to your website and email newsletters.
You’ve got your potential blog topics ready but before you go ahead and start putting words to screen, you’ll need to decide what type of article you’re going to write. Your readers might benefit from a to-do list, checklist, an educational ‘how to’ style blog or a series of instructional blogs. Educational articles like how-to’s are a great starting place. As an internet user yourself, you’ve probably searched for an answer to something by typing “how to…” into your search engine. Going back to our example of a real estate agent trying to target first-home buyers, you might write something along the lines of “how to apply for a mortgage”. If you’re a travel agent though, a list based blog could be more beneficial for your targeted audience such as, “10 things to pack for a winter holiday in Europe” which is more likely to resonate with your readers.
Get your keyboard ready – it’s time to type!
So, you’ve done the research and you know who you’re writing to and what you’re going to write about, it’s time to do just that – write!
Step 1: Write a working title
Getting started is the hardest part but once you have an idea for your blog and a working title, the rest should fall into place. Working titles are flexible so you can always go back and change the title to suit the entire blog after you’ve written it. The style of blog you’re writing and the topic you’re writing about will help you get started. Think along the lines of the questions your customers might ask “how to…” or “why I should…” or the things you think they need to know more about “five reasons why…” or “when should I…”
Step 2: Write an introduction
The intro of your blog is your chance to grab the reader’s attention. You only have a couple of sentences to do this in, so try and get those creative juices flowing. You could tell a joke, share a story which involves a common problem your audience might face and that blog will solve, or an interesting fact or statistic. Whatever it is, make it something you’d want to read yourself. Once you’ve done that, explain how your blog is going to address a problem your audience may have. This gives them a reason to keep reading. Need a bit more help? Go back and read the intro we wrote – if you’re here, we managed to keep you reading on.
Step 3: Write an outline
You probably have a couple of ideas of the things you want to mention in your blog. Jot them down on your screen so you can rearrange them in an order that’s going to make the most logical sense for a reader. Take this blog for example. We didn’t start by explaining how to write an outline of a blog before we explained its purpose and how to research a topic to write about first.
Step 4: Write that content
Now it’s time to put fingers to the keyboard and get typing. Just remember to write what you know. It’s your expertise and knowledge that your audience wants to read. Write down everything you want to say and don’t worry if it’s not flowing as well as you’d hoped, you can always take breaks and come back to it later. When it comes to the word limit, 43% of readers admit to skimming blogs online so aim for 500 words. That being said, longer content (1,000+ words) does perform better in search engine rankings, as long as the content is relevant. Don’t stress too much over the word count, as long as you’re writing quality content that your audience wants to read.
Step 5: Don’t forget your call-to-action
At the end of your blog, tell your readers what they should do now – whether that’s sign up to your email list for further information, or call your company for a quote. Not only does this give your audience an action to complete if they’ve enjoyed your blog, it also helps remind them that you’re the expert behind the words, and you’re there to help.
Step 6: Don’t forget to make it look pretty
Have you ever sat at your computer screen and read thousands and thousands of words on end? Very few people have the time (or patience) to do that. So, make your blog more visually appealing by using headings and subheadings, images and graphs. Images also add more value to your blog. Let’s say you’re a yoga instructor and you’re writing a blog on “how to master the headstand,” having images that follow your step-by-step guide helps readers visualize what you’re actually saying, especially if you’re using terms to describe poses they’re not yet familiar with.
Step 7: Edit your blog
Well done, you’ve written your first blog! You’re so close now, all you need to do is re-read what you’ve written and check it for any spelling or grammatical errors. Make sure your sentences aren’t too long and that they make sense. Now go back to that title you wrote right at the beginning of your blog – is it still relevant or does it need to be tweaked? Once you’re happy, all you need to do is upload it to your website!
Step 8: Utilize your blog
Now that you’ve uploaded your blog to your website, it’s going to start ranking for SEO. But there are a number of other ways your potential clients can find your blog. You can share the blog in an email newsletter or to your social media pages, including a link to the article on your website.
Writing an article doesn’t need to be as painstaking as writing a college-grade essay. Just start with what you already know about the problems your potential clients are looking for answers to. And remember, you already have the answers – it’s just a matter of writing them down in a blog and sharing them to your website.
Five things to check before hitting send on your email newsletter
You’ve just spent all that time putting together your latest email newsletter. But don’t hit send just yet! Here are five things you should check before sending out your newsletter to make sure you’ve checked all the boxes.
1. My email newsletter reads well
To optimize your newsletter content for easy reading, paragraphs should be short, 3-4 sentences long. Huge blocks of text will lose readers but subheadings can break up different sections and make it even easier to skim through quickly. Keep the most important information above the scroll line, in case someone does not scroll. Using too many different fonts and sizes can be visually confusing, so be consistent with the style. And definitely don’t forget to check for spelling and grammar mistakes. Send your test email to the biggest grammar geek you have on your team to alert you to any slip-ups, and always be sure to spell-check.
2. My content is compelling and relevant
Your subscribers opted to receive newsletters from you because they are interested in your content. The content in your newsletter should apply to everyone you send it to. If the content is more specific, consider segmenting your subscription list to target different audiences. The content in your newsletter should also include clear calls to action. You want to keep readers engaged and interested, but the newsletter does have a purpose beyond that.
3. My email newsletter is user-friendly
No one wants to read an email only to find broken or forgotten links. Not only is this not user-friendly, but it also defeats the purpose of you sending an email newsletter in the first place. It’s really important to make sure your links are working. So actually click on them, all of them, and check for yourself. Double-check to make sure everything that’s supposed to be linked is indeed linked. This includes anchor text, CTAs, social media follow/sharing icons, and images.
Don’t forget to also Include all your sharing buttons linked to social media and email to make the content easy for readers to share. It’s also a good idea to have alternate text for all your images, in case the images don’t load for some subscribers. In the same line of thinking, the email should make sense without those images. Be sure to test all of the common browsers, email providers and devices, including mobile phones and tablets to ensure everything displays the way you imagined and that it loads quickly.
4. My subject line works
Subject lines are often the sole decision-making factor behind whether or not someone opens your email. You want it to be punchy and compelling, with a call to action that subscribers will follow. You can experiment with different types of subject lines until you find what works for your subscribers. If you’re using any dynamic tags such as [FIRSTNAME] or emojis in your subject line, check to make sure they’re functioning properly and pulling in the correct information. To avoid landing in peoples’ spam folders, be sure to avoid buzzwords, exclamation points and misleading information.
5. Do a function test
And finally, be sure to do a function test. Make sure you send yourself multiple test emails so you can check them in different browsers and with email providers, both on a computer and mobile device. When testing the functionality of your email, make sure you keep an eye out for the footer of your email too. You need to have an easy way for your subscribers to unsubscribe from your email by law.
Now that your email newsletter is ready to go, double-check your list of subscribers to make sure you’re sending it to the correct one and hit send.
What is content marketing and am I doing it right?
You’ve heard the term being thrown around by marketing gurus but what is content marketing exactly? While it might not sound like anything too different from what you’re used to in regards to traditional marketing, content marketing is actually very different. Let’s clear up exactly what content marketing is and how to know if your approach is working effectively.
Ok, so what is marketing then?
So, content marketing, in a nutshell, is written material that is educational, not promotional. Instead of writing about your brand, products or services, it’s content written for your audience and designed to teach them something about the industry you’re in. For example, a travel consultant might share a blog on how to score a free flight upgrade to business class. The blog doesn’t advertise the fact that they’re a travel consultant who can book your flight in business class, only how you might go about getting an upgrade. It’s educational and doesn’t push a sales message. It answers the question that travel consultant probably gets asked by their customers too. That’s content marketing.
What does content marketing actually look like?
An estimated 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing so chances are you’ve seen what it looks like without even knowing it! The most obvious form of content marketing is informative blogs that you find on a business’s website. Like the example given above, they answer a question potential customers are searching for online. Content marketing can also take shape in e-books, videos, infographics and webinars. Basically, any content that’s designed to answer a specific question and can provide your audience with educational information is content marketing.
As a business, what will I need content marketing for?
We’re glad you asked! Marketing is impossible without great, valuable content. Content marketing is the best way to turn your service or product into something different from everyone else’s on the market, no matter how common it is. By sharing engaging and educational information your audience wants to hear, your brand becomes credible and authoritative on topics that matter to your potential customers. It’s a great way to be discovered by the right audience and earn their trust and loyalty. Content marketing is a long term strategy that often works out more affordable than traditional marketing. In fact, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about three times as many leads.
How do I know that the content I’m sharing is right?
First off, it’s important to remember that content marketing requires a lot of persistence and patience. However, it should be measurable. The right strategy should see your customer relationships grow and strengthen, traffic to your website should increase, your active and engaged subscriber base should grow and you should see an increase in open rates for your email newsletters. To achieve these goals, consistency is key. According to emarketer, 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content a day. That might sound like a lot of content. But if it’s valuable and something your potential customers are looking for, it’s going to be worth it in the long run.
Where can I find more valuable content?
There are a few ways you can go about getting the content you need for your business.
Write the content yourself: First off, you could write the content yourself. You’re the expert when it comes to your business and the industry you work in so it makes sense that you start blogging the answers to the most common problems and questions your customers have. Need help getting started? Read our article on how to write a blog.
Hire a freelance writer: So, that one piece of content a day is probably going to take up some of your valuable time. If you don’t have the resources to create that content in house, you might consider hiring a content writer. Freelance content writers are able to take a brief and produce an article that you can then upload straight to your website. This requires you sending the writer a brief, negotiating a price, editing the work and then uploading it to your website. It’s a lot less time consuming than writing it yourself, but it’s still a fair bit of work.
Buy the content you need: That brings us to our final method of getting content – purchasing it from a content marketplace. This gives you the ability to buy the content you actually need and want, without having to hire a writer to produce it for you. Simply purchase the blog you like, edit it to make sure it suits your website and brand, then upload it to your website! You can also use the content in your email newsletters and share it to your social media pages.
Content is the key to successful email marketing
Email marketing is still one of the most effective forms of marketing, and for good reason. It’s one of the most affordable ways to keep your audience engaged after they’ve opted-in and subscribed to your newsletter. So, how do you make sure your email marketing keeps your clients engaged? With high quality and relatable content! Content is the key to successful email marketing.
Start by building your database
Before you can send engaging emails, you need to have a database of emails to send them too. Start by offering interesting and educational content you know your clients can learn from. The value of your content is what’s going to encourage those subscriptions and opt-ins to grow. It’s also going to help cement your reputation as an expert business clients can trust.
Now it’s time to segment your database
You’ve probably got a database of emails from various sources so it’s important to segment your audience. Doing this will allow you to send the right message to the right person. In return, you’ll continue to engage your audience and provide valuable information that they actually need and want. And it helps reduce unsubscribes!
So, what content should be going into your emails?
When sending emails to your existing and potential clients, it’s important to remember that content is about informing, not selling so you should be educating and informing your audience. To do this, you should be answering their questions before they have the chance to ask them. They’ll let you know they value your content by giving you their business and staying subscribed to your email list.
Inspire your audience with content
Use the content you share in your emails to get your audience thinking out how your product or service could help them. Make it personalised, local and timely to make your emails more engaging, relevant to the recipient, and valuable. Once you’ve got that down, you can continue making your emails more engaging by personalising the subject line, following up on their abandoned cart or basing the email on their previous site activity or purchased products. Make your audience feel like you know them.
Where do you get this inspiring content from?
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes – you need to think like them. Then you can write content that answers the questions they’re likely to ask and the issues they’re likely to encounter day-to-day.
If you know what content you need but simply don’t have the time or resources to put that content together in-house, you can always purchase pre-written articles. Partica is an online marketplace for content, already written so you can edit and rework the content to suit your needs.
