What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is the process of partnering with popular bloggers and social media stars to promote a brand. In other words, it’s when you work with influencers, who are often people with lots of followers on social media platforms such as Instagram or YouTube, to promote your product or service to their large audiences in exchange for free products and/or compensation. Influencer marketing has the advantage of being fast, since you can gain thousands of Instagram followers or YouTube subscribers within weeks if you pay the right influencer to promote your product or service in their social media feeds.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a form of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online content with the goal of generating leads and driving sales for a business. The most common forms of content marketing include blogs, social media posts, infographics, podcasts and videos. As a result, content marketing has been steadily increasing in popularity over the past several years. As one of the most cost-effective methods of building brand awareness. There are so many benefits to implementing content marketing within your company: increased visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), increased conversion rates, increased traffic to your website, improved customer experience and customer loyalty! The key point here is that there are multiple ways to measure success when it comes to content marketing: how many people you reach; how much revenue you generate; how much engagement you get from followers or subscribers; how well people like what they see on your social media accounts.

Which is more cost-effective?

Both influencers and content marketers have their strengths, but content marketing is the more cost-effective option for most brands. The average cost of a single influencer campaign who has over 100K+ followers is $800 to $1,000 per couple posts on Instagram, while the average cost of producing a blog, post series campaign or even video ad campaign can be anywhere from $500 to $1,400, which can last for even a couple months.

Conclusion

There are many benefits to using both influencer marketing and content marketing, but it really all depends on your business goals, what you’re trying to accomplish and your budget. If you’re trying to generate awareness for your brand, then content marketing is the way to go since influencer marketing can have a steep cost when it comes down to paid advertising. But on the other hand if you are looking to promote an event or even a flash sale then influencer marketing might be the choice to reach more people fast.

I hope this newsletter helped clear some questions between both types of online marketing. If you enjoyed this newsletter and want it deliver straight to your inbox don’t forget to subscribe.

And of course, if you need help with online marketing feel free to reach out!

Get festive with your branding

Winter is a time for family and friends and you can get in on the festivities with your holiday branding as well. So begin crafting some winter-themed ideas for your email campaigns, social media posts, and website. You can also transform your company’s website into a holiday wonderland using simple designs that use winter colors, seasonal elements like snowflakes and warm fireplaces to evoke feelings of warmth, family, and festivity.

Strengthen Client Relationships

Consider sending out special end of the year holiday cards to those clients who have been loyal to your business throughout the year and don’t waste the opportunity to offer them a holiday discount.

Sometimes, it’s more about relationships than money. Reward your loyal clients, they’ll appreciate your generosity and will be more inclined to keep supporting you.

If your business has been around for a long time, it may be time to celebrate with a holiday party. Invite your clients and give them little gifts, key chains or mugs.

You can even add their names as corporate sponsors in your next business ad campaign, they’ll take note and appreciate you even more.

Collaborate with other businesses on a winter promotion

One of the best ways to promote your business in the winter is by collaborating with other businesses on a promotion. For example, you could team up with a local coffee shop and offer free drink coupons for customers who buy from both places. It’s a great way to get your name out there as well as drive traffic to both businesses.

You can also host your own promotions with giveaways during this season to help boost your sales on the upcoming months, by providing coupons or discounts that can be cashed on your low months.

If you do decide to do giveaways, keep them short and sweet!

Give back to the community this winter

Winter is a time for giving. And giving back not only feels good, it’s also good for your business. To help you get started, here are five ways you can give back this winter:

• Host a food drive with items such as canned goods and dry goods that will be donated to a local food bank or soup kitchen.
• Adopt a family in need by providing them with gifts during the holidays.
• Sponsor an animal shelter by donating toys, treats, money or supplies to provide comfort and care for animals who have been abused or neglected.
• Sponsor a child (or many) in need by providing them with gifts during the holidays and even throughout the year.

Conclusion

So there you have it, six exciting winter marketing ideas that your business can use to boost sales this holiday season. When you help others, you help yourself!

We hope these tips will help make your winter marketing campaign a success!

And by the way, if you need help with a website, marketing campaign or video commercial to promote your business give me a call or text me, and mention that you saw this post to give you 25% OFF on the total 🙂

Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

Identify Your Ideal Customer

The first step in finding a perfect audience is identifying your ideal customer. The best way to do this is by asking yourself the following questions:

• Who are your customers?
• What are their demographics? (Age, race, gender, location)
• What motivates them?
• What problems do they have?
• What solutions that you offer are actually attractive to them?

Once you are able to answer those questions you’ll be ready to start creating content to begin talking to them. If someone visits your website or social media page and feels like it’s too targeted towards them then there’s a greater chance they will follow you and even convert into a paying client if you have gained their trust.

For example, if you’re trying to attract a 25-35 year old woman who’s motivated by health and fitness then you might want to create content about new ways of eating healthy and workouts specifically designed for women.

Know Which Platforms They Use

The first step is knowing which platform your clients use, then tailor your content to that type of audience. For example, if you are targeting a younger audience, you will want to focus more on Snapchat or Instagram. If you are targeting an older audience, Facebook or LinkedIn might be a better fit.

Always stay up-to-date with what your ideal customers are using, because things change all the time! A good rule of thumb is to invest about 70% of your time and resources into social media platforms where people in your demographic live, but also have some presence on all major platforms and make sure to include links back to your most active platforms.

Create Valuable Content

People don’t want to be sold something all the time. Create content that educates and entertains before asking for a sale. Find creative ways to promote your products or services while also providing educational material or entertaining content that they can share.

Also keep in mind, that in order to find and attract new customers, it’s essential that you share content that will appeal specifically to your type of audience. Test different content to see what they like and interact with the most, then do more of the same.

Run Contests And Giveaways

As a business owner, you want your customers to be happy with their purchase and you must also open up the opportunity for others to sample your product or service if they don’t know you. Running contests and giveaways is a great way to expose your products to new potential customers.

Giving away a product or service, even if it’s just in exchange for an email address or other contact information, can be a great way to boost your exposure.

Get creative and find unique ways that you can give people access to your product or service. For example, you could offer a workshop as part of your contest prize or have participants upload their photos with your product at a location or event so they have a chance to win a prize. By giving away something that’s attached to your business and that has value you spreading brand awareness in a fun way.

Conclusion

We hope this post gave you some good information about what questions to ask when finding the perfect audience for your business and some ideas of how to find them and attract them.
If you have any questions or need help with finding your target audience, don’t hesitate to contact me, we would love to help you get started with finding your perfect audience and attract new clients.

If you liked this article, follow this newsletter!

By: Jorge Santacruz · Marketing Director at Redizel

Need help with online marketing? Connect with me for a free consultation!

Using The Right Colors

When it comes to color, there are a few things that you need to know:

1. Color can affect the mood of your customer.
2. Colors evoke different emotions and feelings, for example red is good for urgency and excitement while blue is good for stability and trustworthiness.
3. Colors can also be identified with a product or service, so it’s important to make sure that the colors you choose will complement your company image in order to create brand recognition.

Read my previous blog on the The Power of Color in Marketing

Choosing The Right Font

When it comes to fonts, there are so many options. But how do you know which font is right for your business? There are a few things to consider when choosing the right font. Consider the audience – will they be able to read your logo clearly? Will the font give off the vibe that you want? And will it send off an accurate representation of who you are as a business and brand?

Take time to decide on the best font. Perhaps print out different versions with different fonts and show your friends, family and customers what they think.

Finding the Perfect Design

Here are five things you need to consider when looking for a logo design company:

1. Do they specialize in your industry?
2. Does the company have a track record of designing logos that match your needs?
3. Do they take the time to understand your business and goals before creating a design?
4. Can they provide reference examples of their work?

When you find a designer give them as much information as possible about your business, what it does, who it serves, if you have a mascot, icon or object in mind that may relate to the name or business, as well as, what color and font you think fits more its identity, so that the designer can provide you with a design that will represent your business correctly.

Conclusion

A logo is one of the most important aspects of a company’s identity. It identifies who you are and what you do, so it’s important to take time to find the perfect design for your brand. Remember that a logo is only as effective as the company it represents; make sure your logo is something you can be proud of!

Connect with me for a free consultation!

What Is a CRM?

Let’s start off with what is a CRM. A CRM, or Customer Relationship Management system, is software that helps you manage your company’s customer interactions in one place. A lot of businesses use it to track and organize prospects, leads, and customers. It can also be used for email marketing, lead management and tracking sales cycles.

The Advantages of using Software Vs. Excel Spreadsheets

In the old days, small businesses used Excel spreadsheets to track their contacts and customers. These days, there are so many new tools out there that make it easier to run a business. For example, you can use software like Salesforce or HubSpot to keep track of your contacts, automate marketing campaigns and measure your success on social media. There are many CRM options out there and some of them can get a bit expensive, so in a bit, I will introduce to you some of my favorite ones which are also free!

What type of businesses can benefit from implementing CRMs

For any type of business, CRMs can be an invaluable tool to help you grow your customer base and keep them coming back. That said, not every small business needs to invest in the technology. It all depends on the size and scope of your company. The first questions you should ask yourself is whether or not you deal recurring customers or wish to bring existing customers back, if work in sales, if you work in marketing, if you have a team of 3 or more employees.

A CRM can help you stay in track and focused, which in turn can help you increase sales leads, improve customer service and manage teams more effectively.

Ways you can use a CRM

Here are some ways a CRM can help you:

• Track of all of your customer relationships,
• Helps identify your best customers and how to better interact with them
• Track lead follow ups
• Track business (Team) TODOs
• Track inventory
• Log customer information
• Automate customer service
• Payroll
• Track & Measure KPIs

A must for this sectors:

• Real estate agents and brokers
• Marketing companies
• Sales-based companies
• Businesses that create quotes and invoices such as contractors
• Insurance companies
• Hotels and the hospitality industry
• Retail businesses

How to Choose One a CRM

Figuring out which CRM is best for your small business can be difficult. So, here are some questions you should ask yourself before deciding on one:

• What features does the CRM need to have?
• Can it be customized to my business model and needs?
• How much will it cost me to purchase and/or subscribe to this software?
• Does it have a simple interface or has extra features I don’t need?

Here is a list of the most popular and robust CRMs:

• Salesforce
• Zendesk
• Hubspot
• Zoho

Here is a list of light CRMS which you can easily customize to your business model (free versions available):

• Airtable
• Trello
• Monday

Conclusion

So does a small business need a CRM? Yes, a small business needs a CRM. It is important to have a system in place that can keep your business running smoothly.

CRMs are essential to keep your business in check by being able to track and organize customer contact data, define what is working and what is not and to have an overall view of your past trajectory, day to day tasks as well as of your future goals.

if you need help setting up a CRM or creating a custom one for your business, send us a message!

How does the psychology of color work?

There are three main areas where color has the ability to create an emotional response: hue, saturation, and brightness. All of these elements play a role in determining the type of reaction a person will have to any given color. As marketers, it’s important that we understand these basic principles so that we can harness their power for our own purposes.

In nature, there is an infinite gamma of colors and shades, and our body naturally reacts differently to every environment, primarily because of the tone of color, therefore we must use color to our advantage to evoke the feelings we want through our brand.

Examples of the psychology of color

If you were trying to communicate energy or strength, you might want to use combinations of the colors red and pink. If you wanted something calming and soothing, try combining cool blues or greens with pale shades or combine different shades of warm oranges or browns for something cozy.

Colors evoke different feelings and associations, so understanding how this works is essential to getting people to take action on your offer. Here are just a few examples of how you can use color psychology when creating your next marketing campaign.

If you’re selling a product or service related to health and wellness, consider using colors like green and blue. If you’re marketing a product or service that requires purchase decisions, oranges or reds may be better suited for your needs. If you want something eye-catching at an event booth, yellows may work best. If you sell food and want people to buy from you, avoid tones of blue or purple and instead use reds and oranges. On the other hand, if you want your brand to appear calm and luxurious use grays and purples.

In general, warm colors are more inviting than cool colors, so consider using reds and yellows for energy-related products or blues for calming items.

When designing an ad or logo, understanding the psychology behind color will help you more effectively market your product.

Conclusion

No matter what business you’re in, taking into consideration color psychology as part of your strategy because it will be instrumental in reaching the right audience with the right message.

If you want to experiment with color palettes try this website:
https://coolors.co/

I love this website because it helps me brainstorm and decide what color combinations work best when I need to do rebranding for a client or need a new color palette for an advertising campaign.

Hope it helps!

If you liked this article, follow this newsletter and add me on LinkedIn!

By: Jorge Santacruz · Marketing Director at Redizel

Need help with branding and marketing? Connect with me!

1) How does your customer find you now?

If you are currently based in a physical store then most likely your customers will find you by driving by, a google search or by word of mouth. In this case you are at an advantage and most likely some organic marketing is already in place, so you may benefit in other ways by having an online store.

For example there might be times when people come into your store wanting an item that you don’t currently have in stock and by having an online store you can refer them there to check when that product becomes available, so that they can easily order it and get it delivered directly to their house without the hassle, and if you have an email list campaign in place, you can continuously promote your products to them to keep them buying from you.

In some other cases, having an online store can cut expensive office costs, especially if you provide services and do not necessarily need to host physical products. Having a website where you can display your services and charge for them if they decide to hire you, will definitely free up costs and time so you can invest it in sales processes (which will talk about next), customer support, and marketing your business online to help it grow much faster.

2) Can other people handle part of the sales process for you?

An ecommerce website requires someone that can handle sales processes and “immediate” customer support. In order for an ecommerce website to be successful, it needs the manpower and resources to keep it going. If you plan on running the online store but do not have the “tech-savvy” skills, you will need to hire someone with these skills or learn.

An online store serves no purpose if it’s not alive. This means you need to promote it a lot, respond to requests immediately and keep it up to date. So in other words, you may need people in charge of order fulfillment, customer service and marketing. All of these jobs take time.

It’s not a physical store but it should be treated as one, as it can potentially earn you way more than a physical one, but it requires a lot of work and marketing.

3) How much time can you devote to marketing and finding customers online?

If time isn’t on your side, it might not be worth the investment. You will need to devote a lot of energy and resources into marketing efforts and finding customers. An online store is very different than a physical store. With a physical store, if it’s in a decent place with foot traffic and it’s inviting enough for people to walk in, you will have no problem showcasing your products. Unlike with an online store. If you setup an online store and don’t promote it constantly, people are simply not going to find it.

Yes, you need marketing for both types of stores, and we can talk for hours about different marketing strategies for either types of business, but the main point here is that a physical store can survive with little marketing if it’s in a good location and has decent customer service and products, while an online store can’t stand a chance if it doesn’t have enough marketing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, decide if your business can expand, improve customer satisfaction or even cut costs with an online store. If having an online store means that it will cause the opposite, then think twice about implementing an online store right away, and instead draft a plan to gain the resources you will be needing to be successful (time or people to help you with it).

Your brand story has the power to attract potential customers and inspire them to take action.Your brand helps create an emotional connection between your company and your customers, which motivates them to buy from you because they understand why they should support your company over another one like yours.

To get the most out of your marketing efforts, you’ll want to develop a purpose-driven brand that not only sets you apart from your competition but also helps your customers determine whether or not your products and services are right for them. This can be achieved by defining your unique selling proposition (USP), identifying your target audience, creating the right message to communicate with them, and deciding on the best channels to reach out to them through.

What Is a Purpose-Driven Brand?

A purpose-driven brand is one that defines its core values and acts accordingly. In other words, it’s a business with a mission and vision that goes beyond just making money. According to Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why, People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it, the key is in understanding your customers’ motivations, before designing any type of marketing message or campaign.

What Is Your Business’s Purpose?

Every business has a purpose and differentiating yours is important for attracting new customers and motivating them to take action.

A business purpose is also an essential way of differentiating your brand from other businesses in your industry or niche. A purpose-driven brand with a well defined business purpose attracts customers who are looking for something more than just a product or service and motivates them by making them feel like they’re part of something bigger, rather than just another number.

Defining The Customer Experience

The customer experience and support is one of the most important components of any business. It’s what defines your brand and how you’ll be perceived in the market. When we’re setting out to create our brand, we want to make sure that we’re designing it with your customer in mind.

The customer experience begins at your business’s touch points and extends beyond your brand and into their day-to-day lives. The way you interact with them will have an impact on their perception of your brand.

By defining and designing your business’s customer experience, you’ll be able to optimize your touch points in order to maximize customer loyalty.

Connect With Your Audience On An Emotional Level

People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. When you know your why, everything else will fall into place. So, before you promote your products or services to customers, first promote your purpose and sell yourself. Give people a reason to care about who you are and what you do. If people believe in your cause, they will be motivated to take action.

Evolve Over Time

Brand building is an ongoing process. As your business evolves, so should your brand. That’s why it’s important to define your purpose-driven vision early on and be open to feedback from those around you. It can take time to build momentum, but if your customers are committed to what you stand for as a company, they’ll stick with you through the tough times and help get word out about your mission when things are going well. It’s also important not to make any major changes without first getting customer feedback – even small tweaks can have huge implications for how customers perceive what you’re trying to achieve with your products or services.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a purpose-driven brand is your personal statement about what you believe in and who you want to serve. It’s your company’s unique contribution that helps differentiate you from the competition. So stop everything and go figure out yours if you haven’t done so!

Yes, there are tons of ways to improve a website but here are four simple tips that will help you get started on creating a business website that will draw in more customers than ever before.

1. Keep it simple

Keep it simple. Don’t get fancy with design or try to overcomplicate things by adding too many bells and whistles. Remember, the purpose of a business website is not just to look pretty, but also to convey information in an easily digestible format. Also, ensure you have a site map that provides easy navigation for your visitors so they can find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently.

2. Add a clear CTA at the top of your page

A call-to-action (CTA) is a directive that asks readers to do something. For example, ordering a product, signing up for a newsletter, or donating to a cause. Calls to action should be included at the top of the web page so your audience can easily identify what it is you’re trying to achieve and remember to always include a contact form or quick-access link to your contact page on the homepage and preferably on the top fold as well.

3. Include a service benefits section

On our previous blog post we talked about features versus benefits and your website is the perfect place to apply this.

Businesses should focus on highlighting benefits of their product or service instead of features. Features are the characteristics that make up a product, but benefits are what your potential customers will get or feel from using it. Benefits are much better at convincing anyone.

4. Include testimonials

Include testimonials whenever possible. These serve as reviews. A testimonial is a personal story about how the product or service has helped someone. They can be used in any type of marketing campaign, but are often found on a business website and you should add as many as possible on your website to improve conversions.

Conclusion

As a small business owner, you should take the time to optimize your website so that you can draw in more customers. Keeping your website simple, utilizing clear call-to-actions, adding product benefits instead of features and including testimonials will help increase your conversion rates!

I hope you found this short article useful!

Need help with marketing? Connect with me!