Top Tips for Your Marketing Strategy

Marketing trends are constantly evolving. Digital marketing has become a crucial element to the online success of all types of businesses. Customer success is one of our top priorities, so we stay current on the latest marketing tips and tricks in the industry.

At Vervocity, our years of experience as digital marketers, website designers, programmers, and videographers have allowed us to identify some of the best tips for our customers. We strive to provide the highest quality service for our clients, and now we’d like to share what we’ve learned with you. We’ve compiled a list of the industry tips we’ve shared and sent through our newsletter over the past year. Here are top tips for your marketing strategy.

Digital Marketing

1. Why should customers choose you? Promote those benefits on your website and in all your marketing efforts. Proudly showcase what makes your business unique.
2. It is impossible to reach your audience if you don’t know who they are. Conduct market research to determine who it is you want to target. Sometimes it’s easier to start with defining who you don’t want to target, first!
3. Build your branding. Consistent fonts, colors, logos, graphics, and photos establish visual representation for your business. Customers put more trust in a brand that is easily recognizable.
4. Want to collect more email addresses? Offer an incentive like a free product/service or discount to those that submit their email address to you!
5. Track your marketing! Use UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) codes and other methods to track where your leads come from.
6. A/B testing is important because people will react differently to a post depending on the copy and CTA phrases used.
7. Be a superhero for your customers. The reputation you gain and what customers say behind your back is the most important part of your branding. Ask your customers for feedback on their experiences and have them submit reviews. Collect and highlight positive reviews on your website. If you get negative feedback, build upon that to make your business better.

Content Creation

1. Stuck in a rut when it comes to content creation? Try creating an outline of the topic first. Categorize the main points in a bullet point list to help you build the content in pieces. Then you can work to put the pieces together in a way that flows smoothly.
2. When it comes to employee recruitment, copywriting goes hand in hand with driving candidates to your door or website. Make your job postings, social media posts, and career blogs personal. Communicate why employees should care about the job, and keep your content simple and approachable.

Web Design

1. When designing your website, be consistent with the fonts you choose for your brand’s style guide. Try not to use more than three fonts within your site, and make sure they’re easy to see and read. These fonts can also be a guide when creating social media and marketing content.
2. Studies have shown that consumers are more likely to complete an online order when shipping is free. However, some businesses can’t afford to offer free shipping all the time. To help offset the cost, try offering it for a limited time or only on orders above a set dollar amount. You can also include quicker shipping options for an upgraded price.
3. Is your website responsive? People are using mobile devices more now than ever before to access websites. Ensure that your website is accessible and viewable on all devices.
4. Keep your website design simple. Too many elements on a page can be distracting and frustrating for visitors. Use a simple navigation bar to make it easy to navigate the site and keep action requests to a minimum.
5. What is content driven design? This concept allows you to focus on what you are trying to accomplish first. Instead of squeezing in your content into a website design. We design unique website experiences for your customers that focus on promoting your unique offerings.
6. Put your phone number at the top of your website, especially on mobile and make sure it’s a click to call button.
7. Make sure the logo on your website links back to your homepage.

Web Hosting/Security

1. Backing up your website is a necessity. A website backup is a copy of all of your website data that acts as a safety net in the event of human error, failed plugin updates, hacking, data loss, and more. Backups should be performed frequently so you don’t risk losing all the hard work you’ve put into your website.
2. Did you know you can block traffic to your website based on geographical location? Not only will this limit your site traffic to only the countries you provide products or services to, but it will also help prevent unwanted spam from countries you don’t service.
3. We recommend using security plugins to keep your WordPress website secure. WPS Hide Login, Limit Login Attempts Reloaded, Sucuri WordPress Security, iThemes Security, and Wordfence are great options for web security based on your specific needs. To read more about what each has to offer, check out Our Top Five WordPress Security Plugins.

Social Media

1. Get social! Your brand needs a visible presence on social media. Determine which platforms work best for your business, and engage with customers each time you post.
2. Attach photos with your posts whenever possible. Social media posts that include at least one photo produce over two times more engagement than posts without.
3. Received a negative review? Don’t stress- it happens! Respond to the review in a professional manner, thanking the customer for leaving a review. Sometimes, negative reviews can highlight areas of improvement for your business, so make sure you keep an open mind and address issues if they arise!
4. Less than 3% of the “friends” of your business on Facebook will be shown your posts… so boost posts and use Facebook Ads to reach a larger target audience!
5. While keeping your search engine privacy turned on may be a good idea for your personal Pinterest account, turning this setting off is recommended for brands. This allows search engines such as Google and Bing to show your Pinterest profile and boards within their search results.
6. Using too many hashtags can make people annoyed and can scale back your engagement rate. To avoid that, try to use two or three targeted hashtags per one post on your social media channels and make sure to only use relevant high-volume hashtags you can find using hashtag generator tools. Some platforms, like Instagram, allow up to 30 hashtags, but it’s best not to use more than 11.
7. Social media messages should be clear, concise, and unique to your audience. Jumbled captions can leave your audience feeling confused or uninterested. Always include some type of call-to-action at the end of the post.

Search Engine Optimization

1. Inconsistent directory listings can damage your search engine optimization efforts. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number appear the same way on all your online listings to maximize your local SEO potential.
2. Keyword research plays an important role in content creation. Before writing content for your website, designate a few keywords per web page. Too many keywords on a single page could result in keyword stuffing, confusing content, and even Google penalties.
3. Google likes fresh content. Regularly published content, like blog posts, keeps your website updated and provides additional opportunities for search engine optimization.
4. Reach more customers online by claiming and updating your Google My Business page. It’s a free and easy-to-use tool that adds your business or organization to Google Maps while also pushing your listing higher in search!

Photography

1. Lighting isn’t just about brightness – every light has a tone called “Color Temperature.” Try to avoid shooting scenes with mixed lighting conditions. For example, indoor lights often have a warmer orange color compared to the blue daylight coming through windows. Oftentimes, mixing the colors together can result in a very unflattering image.
2. Exposure is key to getting a great image. Whether you’re using a smartphone or a high-end DSLR camera, make sure to use your metering tools to properly expose the image. A photo or video that’s been underexposed or overexposed may have lost details that can be difficult, if not impossible, to recover in post editing!

Videography

1. Use a rectilinear lens to avoid barrel distortion when taking photos of buildings and architecture. A rectilinear lens is designed to minimize or eliminate barrel distortion completely. It allows you to capture the entire view of the scene while also keeping walls, windows, and other straight lines completely straight.
2. It’s the stories that sell, not just the product! Customers connect to stories that promote an emotional attachment with your brand. Truly effective storytelling inspires ideas, encourages interaction, and educates your audience. Don’t be afraid to be bold with your narrative!
3. One of the biggest misconceptions about video is that the visuals are most important, when in reality, an audience can forgive low quality video much more easily than bad audio. When recording audio for a video, try to find a quiet location that won’t have much background noise or reverb. Your audience will thank you by listening to what you have to say!
4. With video, the best way to reinforce your message is to “show, don’t tell.” Don’t just tell your audience your message, take advantage of the visual medium to show it to them as well! This approach makes it easier for your audience to understand and retain the information you’ve given them.
5. Drones can produce stunning, unique imagery, but they can also be a liability! Whether you’re shooting aerial footage yourself or hiring someone else to do it, make sure they’re covered by insurance in the case of damage or injury.
6. Drones are more accessible than ever, but when using a drone for your business, make sure you do so legally! In order to shoot drone video footage for commercial purposes (and that means anything to benefit or promote your business, not just commercials!) the pilot must have a Remote Pilot Certification from the FAA.
7. When creating video, make sure to grab shots or scenes you can re-use – grab :10 seconds of a process, and use it in social media, for instance.
8. Great visuals and a compelling story are both wonderful things, and if implemented properly, can grab hold of your audience’s attention. Don’t let that effort go to waste! Be sure to include a call-to-action in your videos and let your audience know what to do next with the information you’ve just given them.
9. When shooting footage on a green screen to composite with other footage, make sure the studio lighting matches the lighting of the environment you’re compositing with! If the shape and direction of your lighting doesn’t match, your audience will notice that something is off, and they’ll be distracted from your message!

Interested in staying up-to-date with the latest marketing tips and tricks? We send out a new tip every week in our newsletter. Scroll to the bottom of this page to fill out our e-newsletter sign up form!