If you want to start a business or branch out from traditional marketing to digital marketing, you might wonder why it is so important to post relevant and engaging content on your website. After all, you might think, people, visit my website to learn about buying my product. Can’t I just put an informative blurb about my product on the website and rely on advertising to draw in customers?

Traditional product-centered advertising can still work in the modern world, particularly for established brands that already have a following. However, consumers have become increasingly savvy about recognizing the methods marketers use—and often no longer fall for them. Unless a potential customer already plans to purchase what you’re selling, they might tune you out before you even get to your pitch.

Good content in blogs, email newsletters, or other digital formats can change that dynamic and lead them to seek you out instead of deciding to ignore you. The new conventional wisdom says that only 20% of your marketing effort should include a pitch for the product or service. The rest should provide information for the consumer’s benefit—to inform, entertain, and engage. Let’s review four reasons why this content will pay off, even if it has little to do with what you’re selling.

Good Content Is What Your Customers Want

Consumers aren’t the captive audience they were fifty years ago. They have constant streams of media content at their fingertips. They do not—and will not—spend their valuable time reading boring sales-oriented advertising copy. Engaging content, such as tips, quizzes, opinion pieces, or even humor consistent with your brand, gives consumers a reason to gravitate toward your site. Once there, they’ll likely become more receptive to the occasional sales pitch.

Good Content Defines the Brand Beyond a Sales Context

What does your company stand for? If your company only focuses on selling products, it will be more challenging to get consumers to relate to your brand. They don’t spend every waking moment selling products, and they wouldn’t hang out with someone who did. Good content makes your brand about more than the product.
If your business is a law firm, educate your audience about the law in an approachable way. If you run a lawn care company, write helpful articles on landscaping, outdoor family gatherings, or anything else to help your audience enjoy their lawns. Content turns your brand from a salesperson into a mentor or a friend. Companies can also connect with potential buyers by sharing their commitment to popular causes and charities, such as the environment or cancer awareness.

Good Content Generates Buzz and Free Exposure

When people see good content, they want to share it and talk about it. Consider, for example, all those insurance ads on TV, the ones with strange mascots and weird antics. They often don’t have much to do with the product, but they entertain. Consider a lawn care company that holds a contest in the community to reward the best holiday lawn decorations or a cookware company that showcases their customer’s best recipes. If you put content on your site that people want, they will share it, and in the internet age, that can give you word-of-mouth advertising in places that your conventional marketing won’t reach.

Good Content Provides a Buffer Against Negative Publicity

Bad things happen to companies every so often. An executive might resign amid a cloud of scandal. A product might face a delay or a recall. In hard times, layoffs and cuts to services might shake customer loyalty. If your website focuses only on selling products, it sends a clear message. “We only care about selling products.” Web content for the benefit of your consumers shows them that they matter, even if they’re not buying anything at the moment. Web content praising your employees and helping their professional development shows that you care about your workplace. Of course, you can still be a caring, dedicated business owner without web content, but the content you provide goes a long way toward showing your customers who you are and what you value.

Digital Engage is a comprehensive, professional digital marketing firm based in Tennessee. We excel in web design and reputation management. Let us explore your brand image and core values with you and discover ways to convey your brand identity through your website and social media. Call (615) 997-0736 for a consultation today.

Websites are more than just pretty pictures; they’re excellent marketing tools designed with one goal in mind: getting customers interested enough in what you have to offer to purchase your goods and/or services.

An effective web presence can help you get new customers while keeping existing ones happy. Here are elements that will help set your website apart from competitors.

1. Lots of White Space

If you want your website to be light and easy on the eyes, make sure that it isn’t full of blocks or dense text. Instead, use white space by putting in more graphics than words to provide users with an optimal reading experience.

Lots of white space also means less scrolling, leading visitors directly back into conversion mode because they’ll see everything as soon as they land on your site without having to click around longer than they need to.

2. Content Writing

Content is king, so make sure you include as much valuable information on your website as possible. Include industry-specific content aside from general topics such as how-to guides or educational articles.
The more knowledge your potential customers acquire from your site means more opportunities for future sales.

You could also carry out thorough market research to identify and find terminologies or words used by the target audience to search for specific services or products.

This is important because it helps build a customer base that resonates with your product or service while also attracting new ones.

3. Elegant and Responsive Design

An attractive design is essential if you want to make your site stand out and grab attention. It doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive but it should look good on all devices so that people can find what they’re looking for on whichever device they’re using.

You’ll also want to make sure your site is responsive so that it’s easily accessible. This will also increase the likelihood of being found in search engine results.

4. Speed Optimization

Don’t overlook the importance of optimizing for speed. This makes your site faster and more reliable for everyone who visits it. To make sure your website is fully optimized for speed, here are a few tips:

• Make sure images are optimized for easy loading
• Minimize the number of requests to reduce latency
• Reduce the number of plugins
• Choose a CDN provider (this can be improved by using caching)
• Reduce the use of web fonts

5. Web Design and Layout

A web design featuring a navigation system with intuitive links will help customers easily navigate your website without getting lost or frustrated. You may also consider adding drop-down menus in addition to traditional top-level menus for increased usability and ease of access while browsing.

The navigation system will help with that, but you’ll also want to include a search bar at the top or side of your site so customers can quickly locate their desired information and products.

If there are any questions about where something might be located on your site, try adding navigational links such as an FAQ or “Helpful Hints” section.

Additionally, the layout of your site is a crucial element in how easily visitors can navigate your website. Ensure that you have an organized layout that makes sense to your customers and allows them to find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently.

6. A Good Call to Action

Getting prospective customers to do what you want them to do can be like herding cats. It’s not easy, but it can be done. One important way to get your visitors to take the desired action is by adding a call-to-action button to help them take initiative.

7. Images

Did you know that images on your website do more than just make your design look good? Images are an important part of the conversion process and can help you convince someone to sign up for a newsletter, purchase your product or service, and more.

Here are some further reasons why you need to use more images on your website:

• They bring your content to life
• More clicks and views
• Fuel social media
• Higher search rankings

8. Testimonials

Testimonials work well in boosting credibility and reputation on any website. They are a great way to build trust with your visitors and show prospective customers how other people feel about the product or service you offer.

Testimonials are also important when you want people to feel confident about purchasing from you online. This gives them something real that they can rely on instead of just choosing randomly off the internet.

Ready to be ahead of the pack? Call Digital Engage today at (423) 397-2467 for a professional web design that will skyrocket your business.

When going through the buying cycle, customers do extensive research to ensure their purchase makes financial, logical, and emotional sense. The more time and money customers invest in your product or service, the more likely they are to research your business’s reputation and weigh it against that of your competitors.

Searching social media posts and browsing consumer sites with reviews are often a significant component of your potential customer’s research strategy. If your business has bad press or poor reviews, consumers will find it, and you will lose them to your competitors.

By implementing the online reputation management strategies below, you can build a positive brand image and ensure proper business representation.

Understand Your Audience

Interacting with your target audience is integral to online reputation management. Consequently, a thorough understanding of your followers and their needs and frame of mind are critical to ensure you use the correct tone, promoting optimal engagement.

For example, a daycare center’s brand voicing should be friendly, empathetic, and comforting, while a tax attorney’s tone should be informational, authoritative, and professional.

Build a Positive Image

Focusing on what you can control goes a long way towards effective reputation management. Building a positive image starts with your website and social media platforms, and it requires active ongoing management. This strategy involves the following:

• Verifying that the contact details on your website and Google My Business listing are correct
• Making your website user-friendly, with fast loading speeds and easy navigation
• Posting valuable, relevant, and authoritative content on your blog and social media platforms regularly
• Creating white papers to help readers make decisions or understand complex issues
• Adding positive testimonials from satisfied customers to your home page

Being active on social media and responding to comments, questions, and messages will promote engagement with your followers and build a positive brand image.

Cultivate Transparency

Businesses often make the mistake of trying to prevent negative comments at all costs. If you are not open to criticism and feedback, you may fall out of touch with your audience’s needs.

However, by being transparent, you establish open communication as a platform for building trust. Your followers may also view your willingness to learn from mistakes as a competitive advantage. Cultivate transparency by asking customers for feedback and addressing criticism publicly.

Provide dissatisfied customers access to a one-on-one communication channel where they can air their grievances. Doing so allows the opportunity to convert a potentially harmful public review into a positive one.

Monitor the Web for Brand Mentions

When someone posts a review on a consumer site, social media platform, or public forum, you must respond as soon as possible. However, scrolling through all platforms is time-consuming, and you will likely miss brand mentions. A tool for tracking brand mentions will notify you immediately when someone mentions your business online.

Responding to a negative review allows you to show that you care about your customers, and you should always be courteous, helpful, and professional. Never try to outwit a complaining customer or respond sarcastically. If a complaint is frivolous or overly critical, others will see it for what it is, and it won’t reflect negatively on your business.
Discredit Your Attackers
Being transparent doesn’t mean you have to put up with unlawful behavior or malignant online attacks against your business. If someone posts false information online, file a criminal charge or civil suit against them and do so publicly.

Discredit Your Attackers

Being transparent doesn’t mean you have to put up with unlawful behavior or malignant online attacks against your business. If someone posts false information online, file a criminal charge or civil suit against them and do so publicly.

Focus on Search Engine Optimization

If you have an optimized Google My Business listing, user-friendly website, and content-rich blog, you put your best foot forward where it matters most.

Almost all potential customers who want to learn more about your business’s reputation will do a Google search. With proper search engine optimization, you increase your control over the top search engine results, pushing bad publicity down and out of sight.

Search engines such as Google have highly sophisticated algorithms, which they use to select the most relevant results for their searchers’ queries. However, the relevance and usefulness of your web content are not the only factors search engines consider. Your website should also be easy to navigate with fast loading speeds.

Contact Digital Engage

A sound online reputation management strategy is critical to mitigate the consequences of bad press or negative reviews and ensure sustainable business growth. At Digital Engage, we can provide you with reputation management solutions as a comprehensive service package. Call us today at (423) 397-2467 to schedule an initial consultation and start managing your brand image.

The COVID-19 pandemic is among the primary drivers of new developments in digital marketing, mainly because of the sudden increase in online traffic volumes and the notable shift in buying behavior.

Search engine optimization and content marketing are still the cornerstones of digital marketing, but the focus is now on humanization, personal interaction, and experiential marketing.

In 2021, digital marketing strategies are reaching new levels of sophistication, allowing for large-scale but personalized lead engagement on platforms consumers use every day. Learn more about these trends below.

Chatbots

Chatbots are artificial virtual assistants that interact with customers, providing 24/7 support and a pleasant customer experience. These automated messaging bots analyze customers’ queries and respond in real-time with relevant and helpful data.

By saving customers’ time and providing personalized support, chatbots are ideal for lead qualification and nurturing. Chatbots also promote customer engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

Personalized Marketing

Since 2006, most businesses have implemented marketing automation to achieve large-scale outreach while saving time and money. Even though this strategy worked well for the better part of a decade, consumers no longer respond well to generic emails and ads.

In 2021, personalization is the trend to implement across various strategies, including:

• Market outreach
• Content marketing
• Customer experience
• The creation and delivery of products and services

Examples of personalized marketing include Netflix’s title recommendations and BBC’s gamified email to promote BBC One.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is the collaboration between a brand and an online influencer. This content marketing strategy aims to build trust and loyalty with the influencer’s audience and improve brand recognition.

An influencer is someone with their own brand identity and organic audience. Influencers can affect the purchasing behavior of their audience by leveraging their leadership skills, special knowledge, authority, or relationship they have with their followers.

Voice Search

Voice search is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to traditional web searching. With voice search, consumers can get information without picking up their devices, and they can get an immediate response without having to wait for web pages to load.

In 2021, ranking for voice searches is the ideal strategy to generate traffic, build trust, and demonstrate commitment to a superior customer experience.

Web Push Notifications

Web push notifications are marketing messages that pop up on consumer’s desktop screens. This type of messaging already replaced email newsletters as the preferred means of outreach to a target audience.

Easy opt-in is the most significant advantage of browser push notifications. To sign up for push notifications, users only have to click “Allow” on the opt-in message that appears automatically on the website. With web push notifications, you no longer have to ask for email addresses in exchange for a lead magnet.

Content Marketing

Content marketing remains one of the most effective strategies to generate interest in products and services. This tactic involves creating and posting content such as blog articles, videos, podcasts, and infographics.

Content marketing aims not to promote your brand explicitly but to establish your business as an authority within its niche. Providing your audience with valuable information also builds trust and loyalty.

Shoppable Social Media Posts

Both ecommerce and social media are rapidly becoming mainstream among consumers from all walks of life. By creating social media posts, you capitalize on consumers’ interaction with videos and images while eliminating the steps they have to take to buy from you.

Shoppable media posts have been around since 2018 when Instagram introduced the concept. Since then, other platforms, including Facebook, have allowed shoppable tag posts. This year, shoppable social media posts will likely become more popular among consumers as platforms refine this feature’s robustness.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Google’s first page remains the primary source of traffic to websites, and optimizing your site for search engines is among the most crucial digital marketing strategies. In 2021, the objective with SEO is to rank in “position zero,” which is Google’s featured snippet and top result.

As always, providing an optimal user experience with high-value, relevant content is integral to SEO success. Traditional SEO strategies, such as maintaining a user-friendly website, keyword research, optimization for mobile, and the focus on topic clusters remain critical to implement.

Building a portfolio of backlinks to demonstrate your site’s authority is also a highly effective SEO tactic and a viable marketing objective for 2021.

Contact Digital Engage

If you are looking to implement effective digital marketing strategies and step away from the noise, Digital Engage can help. Call us today at (423) 397-2467 to schedule a consultation and tell us about your business.

As a marketer, you know the importance of digital marketing. But if you’re like most marketers, you don’t have all the time in the world to manage projects and execute your strategy.

Designing a successful marketing strategy nowadays is not just about creative design but also about knowing and understanding digital technology. It’s vital to hire an agency that specializes in both creativity and technical know-how.

One of the most critical steps in evaluating a digital marketing agency is understanding how they approach your business and what their creative process looks like.

Partnering with a Marketing Agency

You may be struggling to take your business to the next level despite your efforts to start a blog (and updating it regularly), maintain a consistent social presence, and offer excellent customer service.

If your goal is growth and sustainability, it’s time for you to evaluate digital marketing agencies that could provide your organization with expertise in website development, SEO/SEM optimization, content creation, email marketing, and customer relationship management.

Questions to Ask When Evaluating a Digital Marketing Agency

1. What is Your Process for Evaluating a New Client’s Needs and Goals?

Sure, you want to see results, and that’s probably the first question you may ask. But you need to dig a little deeper and ask questions about the process for evaluating your needs and goals.

They’ll probably give you generic answers and avoid offering any specific examples of how they evaluate new clients and their needs. If this is the case, then you might want to look elsewhere.

2. How Do You Measure Success? What Metrics Should I Be Looking at to See Whether My Campaign Works?

You should be able to measure ROI and achieve your marketing goals. The best way to go about this is through analytics. The digital marketing agency should have key performance indicators (KPIs) in place to measure your success at achieving goals with different tactics.

This will leave a lasting impact through your marketing efforts. Here are some KPIs that should be covered by a marketing agency:

• Subscriber rate
• Traffic distribution
• Leads generated
• Average pages per session

3. What Are the Track Records for Businesses Like Mine?

Any reputable digital marketing agency will want to show you that they understand everything from analytics and social media to SEO and email campaigns. Don’t be afraid to ask them whether they’ve worked on any projects that are similar to yours.

If your company mainly revolves around content marketing, for example, make sure that the agency has proven experience generating content that brings results for likeminded clients.

A general rule of thumb is to search for agencies that specialize in a specific industry and see whether they have experience with companies like yours.

You want to make sure the agency has a strong understanding of your business and can execute strategies that are made for you. Another thing you’ll want to consider is an agency that will deliver results in a way that clicks with your audience.

4. What’s the Pricing?

Price is a huge factor to consider when choosing an agency. Different agencies have different tiers of pricing to accommodate different budgets and needs.

One price may be better suited for small businesses while another might work better with enterprise clients, so do your research to find what will best fit your company’s goals and finances.

Also, find out whether there will be any additional costs associated with their services (i.e., monthly retainer fees) or hidden fees (i.e., hourly rates) that you will be required to pay.

5. What Are the Agency’s Credentials?

Accreditation and certificates are a must-have for any agency. Carry due diligence for any company you’re considering working with because this will be your business’s reputation on the line.

Make sure that the agency you choose has been established and in business long enough to stay afloat and is accredited with major industry bodies.

Last but not least, check out their portfolio, find client reviews, and ask for testimonials to see what others have said about them in the past.

This will help you determine whether the marketing agency delivers what they are promising. If they exaggerate their results, you might not get a clear picture of what to expect in the long run.

Working with the right digital marketing agency like Digital Engage can take your business to another level. Call us at (423) 397-2467 and let us take the load off your back. We have the experience and technical know-how to help your brand stand out from the crowd.

Did you know that 74% of customers trust a business more if it has favorable online reviews? This stat shows just how important online reputation management is to your business.
But online reputation management should not be confused with public relations. With online reputation management, businesses employ specific strategies to ask for, improve, and respond to customer reviews on popular review sites like Google My Business, Yelp, Trustpilot, and more.
Here, we explore what online reputation management is and how it can help your business.

What Is Online Reputation Management?

Online reputation management is the practice of building and maintaining the public’s or your target audience’s perception of you, your brand, or your business online. It involves creating and maintaining good standing online and managing any negative opinions to limit damage to your reputation.
To ensure that your business has a good standing, you must use online reputation management strategies like:

• Asking for and publishing customer reviews
• Being verified and active on social media and review sites
• Engaging with your audience and the public by responding to and thanking customers for their positive (and negative) comments
• Promoting positive reviews through multiple channels, e.g., banners, social media sharing, and paid ads
• Adding a review schema markup to your site

Why Is Online Reputation Management Essential for Businesses?

One bad review from an angry or dissatisfied customer is enough to influence what others think about your brand, hindering your future revenues and profits. That’s why maintaining a good reputation and standing online is imperative.
An excellent online reputation management strategy:

1. Builds Trust with New and Existing Customers

Online reviews on social media and review sites have given customers a platform to “tell all” about their experience with a business or brand.
Reviews now have associated star ratings on Google searches. Sites like Trustpilot and Yelp also have star ratings, which can make a difference in how people perceive your business.

Who can forget the case of Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, AZ? Because of the owners’ outrageous behavior toward their customers and the subsequent negative reviews on Yelp, the business eventually folded in September 2015.
You can’t hide from online customer reviews. Managing them well and building trust with your audience is the only way to maintain and improve your bottom line.

2. Ranks a Business Highly on Search Engines Improving Web Traffic

Online reviews are an important ranking factor on search engines.
There is a clear link between customer reviews, the number of negative reviews, and the responses to the reviews with local SEO ranking.
Customers looking to purchase a product will consider businesses with a 3-5 star rating, and Google will prioritize these businesses over others. The top-rated companies feature on the “Local 3 Pack,” reaching more people and improving traffic.
If your business isn’t achieving a 3-5 star average rating, chances are you are losing out.

3. Solidifies Social Proof

Facebook is now the second most popular reviews platform globally after Google.
1.84 billion users visit the social media site daily. Additionally, in 2015, 52% of online and offline customers made their purchases based on Facebook recommendations.
Facebook and other social media platforms’ reviews act as valuable social proof of your brand or business.

4. Converts Site Visitors and Leads into Paying Customers

80% of customers trust online reviews and will base their purchasing decisions on them.
You must be displaying any 5-star reviews prominently on your website to entice potential customers to do business with you.
This strategy also converts mere visits and leads into paying customers.

How Can You Easily Monitor Your Online Reputation?

You must have a strategy to monitor these reviews to ensure that you maintain a good reputation for your brand or business. Leaving negative reviews unanswered or not engaging with positive reviews at all makes your business look amateur, uncaring, and untrustworthy.

You can invest in online reputation management software, but you may need to monitor and manage your reviews manually on some sites.
Ensure that you have a team that:

• Checks social media platforms for notifications and alerts on any new comments and reviews
• Conducts “most recent” brand searches across social media and Google to unearth new reviews.
• Creates a Google alert to your inbox that shows up whenever people mention your brand or business.
• Uses social media management software such as Social Pilot and Hootsuite to monitor what people say about you.

At Digital Engage, we have developed online reputation management strategies that will revolutionize your online reputation. Call us at (423) 397-2467 or contact us online to learn more.

Today, social media platforms have become the primary information and commerce channel, far outperforming other digital platforms. People are gravitating to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram to get news, search for products and services, and even make purchasing decisions. Since the beginning of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated social media adoption. Businesses have had to change their whole operational and marketing models to grapple with the drop in in-person sales and the rise in socially-distanced online shopping. So, how can businesses leverage social media to survive and thrive in this challenging business environment?

Here we look at how to adopt social media marketing on various social media platforms to help you connect with new and existing customers.

What Is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing uses social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn to build brands, engage target audiences, and increase sales. It involves creating tailored content to create more brand awareness, drive engagement, and increase revenues. According to Statista, in 2019 and 2020, people’s average time on social media per day worldwide was 145 minutes, up from 142 minutes in 2018. So, especially in this pandemic, businesses cannot afford to ignore social media marketing and must adapt to survive.

How Can You Leverage Social Media Marketing to Grow Your Business?

We can all agree that things are changing, and the world is going digital. Statista states that 4.66 billion people were active internet (which includes social media) users in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. That is over 50% of the world’s population!

Here lies an opportunity for your business to flourish. Below we look at the social media strategies you can use to take advantage of this marketing shift.

1. Have a Water-Tight Social Media Strategy

A comprehensive social media strategy can mean the difference between success on various platforms and catastrophic failure.
To have a proper game plan for your brand, start by creating clear goals using the SMART framework. Consider your brand’s needs and strategize on how to meet them.
Ask yourself:

• Do you need social media marketing for brand awareness or to drive sales?
• Do you have various social media strategies to meet potential customers at the different phases of their buying journey, i.e., Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion?

2. Identify Your Target Audience and Tailor Your Marketing to Them

Who is your ideal customer? If you do not know this yet, it will help if you performed in-depth research to find out.

To understand your target customer, consider their:

• Demographics (age, income, gender, location, interests)
• Expectations for your product or service
• Pain points and how you can meet them
• Current purchasing habits
• Brand preferences

If your business is getting low or zero engagement on social media, the audience you are engaging with is not your target market.

3. Create Engaging Content

Content is king, but good content is gold. Content that resonates with your audience can set you apart from competitors and make your customers want to engage with you. Ensure your content stands out, tells a story, and adds value by making it compelling, relevant, and to the point.

4.Use Paid Ads

Paid social media campaigns are a sure way to give your brand or business quick visibility. When you pay for an ad, you are guaranteed to appear in your target user’s feeds. To meet your paid ad goals, ensure your ads resonate with the social media platform you use, your target audience, and their behavior pattern. Unlike traditional marketing tactics, you can measure your social media advertising strategy’s effectiveness and track the ROI with ease.

5.Leverage Retargeting and Lead Nurturing

Once you’ve gained leads from paid and organic reach, the next step is lead nurturing. You’ll need to make your audience receptive to your brand and earn their trust to get them to make a purchase. However, most people don’t buy on the first contact, so you must also use retargeting campaigns such as Google Ads, Facebook Retargeting, or LinkedIn Ads to bring them back to your site and get them to buy from you.

Pro Tips:

• Different social platforms have different target audiences, so tailor your marketing to those audiences.
• Take advantage of analytic tools such as engagement, reach, hashtag performance, and likes to track your metrics.
• Deploy your social media marketing strategy on multiple platforms, using both organic and paid strategies.

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to adapt to a purely online operational and marketing model. Most companies struggled at the beginning of the pandemic. One year later, brands and businesses are regaining their footing and using social media marketing to grow and engage with their clients. Have you incorporated social media marketing in your business yet? Get in touch with Digital Engage today for expert tips and strategies to integrate social media marketing into your business. Call (423) 397-2467 or reach out to us online.