Social Media Marketing

New Year, New Goals: Here’s Your Business Marketing Resolution

January 1, 2021 by Workdom Marketing Specialist

Love them or hate them, New Year’s resolutions are everywhere you look. And with so little time left until we shove 2020 out the door, the time is already here to make your business plans for January and beyond.

Oftentimes, we look back on the previous year and consider our triumphs as well as areas where we could’ve done better. We decide that this next year, we’re going to make an honest effort to improve. But what area should we focus on? Marketing encompasses so many different aspects and there’s so much involved that it can be hard to know where to start.

But there’s one thing in the midst of this tangle of overwhelm that’s as clear as day — you can’t just do nothing.

Here’s what we recommend:

Lose the Networks You Never Use

Remember Foursquare? How about StumbleUpon (now known as Mix)? Digg? As business owners, we, more than most people, are willing to experiment and test the waters on different social networks to see what resonates with our audience. But no one has time to keep up with them all.

Rather than trying to be all things to all people and spread yourself too thin, take this opportunity to really hone in on the social media and marketing channels you actively use, while cutting out the ones you don’t.

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone needs a board on Pinterest or to be streaming on Twitch. If that’s where your target audience hangs out, of course that’s the place you’ll want to be. But it’s better to be more tightly focused on the networks that you and your customers use rather than trying to be all things to all people.

Experiment with Social Media Ads

When you find an ad “formula” that works with your social media ads, you want to rinse and repeat it often. That’s understandable — who would want to change a running system? But at the same time, don’t be afraid to experiment a little too.

Zero in on what your audience really wants, rather than what you think they might want. Don’t just focus on how your product or service is better — give them an inside look, go into detail on the materials or ingredients or highlight the experts that make it great.

In other words, don’t be afraid to change things up a little to see how your ads perform. You may be surprised at what you learn as a result!

Step Outside of Your Branding Comfort Zone

Your brand has a very specific set of language associated with it. You could position yourself as witty or wise, clever or cool, elegant or eclectic. But you don’t have to stick rigidly to that set of guidelines. Keep in mind, they’re just that — guidelines. Sometimes it can be refreshing to break out of the mold just a little and take a step outside of your comfort zone.

And if you’re not exactly sure what your brand stands for (or what you want it to stand for), there’s no better time than the new year to reorient yourself on how you want your brand to be positioned and portrayed, and what you want customers to think of when they see your site and what you have to offer.

Refine Your Email Marketing Campaigns

With the holidays behind us, many people are recovering from the dreaded “email fatigue” of having so many holiday offers heaped on them. They’re just now digging out from under the onslaught, which means now is the perfect time for you to consider what types of campaigns will gently warm them back up to what you have to say and share.

This could also be a good time to tweak your email marketing design a bit — out with the old, in with the new!

Reconnect with Your Best Customers

Finally, take a moment to reconnect with your best customers. Thank them for their business, their social shares and their support. Remember, you wouldn’t be where you are without them. So here’s a heartfelt thank you from everyone at Workdom to all of our clients, past, present and future. We appreciate you!

And if this list of business marketing resolutions has you feeling like you’ll drop it like a bad habit by the second week of the month — fear not! Our senior advertising professions can help you get on the right track with your marketing and promotional plans, and can help you create high-converting campaigns that get results. Contact us today for more information!

How to Promote Your Business on TikTok Over the Holiday Season

December 4, 2020 by Workdom Marketing Specialist

Politicians may be wringing their hands over how to deal with this insanely popular app, but that popularity is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. And smart marketers are learning just how lucrative TikTok can be, especially over the holiday season.

For that reason, we at Workdom have put together a Marketing Guide to TikTok that will help grow your brand awareness, promote customer loyalty and boost your sales during what has been a real rollercoaster of a year! Our guide is based on TikTok’s own recommendations, made in cooperation with Ad Age, so you know your marketing efforts will be in good hands!

Let’s take a closer look:

What Dates Matter Most to Your Business Promotions?

TikTok allows you to create new ads based on its existing templates, shortcutting much of the creative process. In creating an entire campaign that spans Black Friday and Cyber Monday all the way until after the holiday season, you’ll want to focus on specific dates and specific objectives (more on objectives to follow below). For example, if you’re looking to improve brand awareness and attract new customers, you’ll want to focus on video views, which needs a different type of campaign than one designed specifically for getting traffic to your website.

And even if you want to focus on sales, the question then becomes, should you concentrate on product page views? Whether or not a product (or products) was added to the cart? How much of these product page views actually converted to a purchase? As you can see, there are a lot of things to take into consideration when marketing on TikTok.

Ensure You Have a Frictionless Mobile Shopping Experience

In the rush to promote your business on TikTok, it’s important to remember that this is an app, which means users are going to be navigating through it and onto your website via their smartphones. That means your mobile shopping experience has to be seamless and user friendly from start to finish. Be sure to test it out thoroughly on different devices (Android, iOS, etc.) and different phases of the action you want your audience to do (i.e. product links, checkout process, etc.) to ensure that the process is as easy as possible throughout the transition from app to store.

Discounts and Special Offers Can Make a Big Difference

This year, more than any other, people are watching what they spend. A solid discount, special bundles or special offers can make all the difference in convincing them to take that action and click that place order button. But don’t forget that although Black Friday and Cyber Monday are some of the biggest shopping days of the season, they are by no means the only ones, so make way for similar discounts on products and watch your sales grow as a result.

Don’t Forget to Create and Analyze Your Goals

As we mentioned before, aligning your TikTok marketing efforts with different goals is important to get the most out of this hugely popular app. There’s no real “secret sauce”, but just like any marketing strategy, it’s important to consider your goals first, and then work backwards, optimizing in order to achieve that goal. Be it page views, video views, or any other metric, having goals in mind rather than throwing everything at the app without really getting to know how it works is a recipe for spending a lot while getting very little (if any) return on the investment.

The good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel with TikTok. You can easily use the assets you already have, including videos, photos and more and incorporate them into TikTok’s templates.

And if you need help with formulating, creating, launching and optimizing a TikTok campaign for your business over the holidays, why not reach out to us at Workdom? Our advertising specialists know how to make this unique platform work for your business, no matter what you have to sell. Contact us today to learn more!

Instagram B2B Marketing for the Holidays

November 25, 2020 by Workdom Marketing Specialist

These days, it’s not just about maximizing your business presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube; Instagram also deserves your attention, and for those in the B2B world, you may be wondering how best to make use of this social media platform to reach other businesses as opposed to consumers.

Does B2B Marketing Work on Instagram?

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Instagram is only a photo haven for millennials and the younger generation. Although these are its primary audience, Instagram also has potential for the B2B market if you know how to leverage it.

The secret to attracting interest in your products or services through B2B marketing on Instagram is to leverage the popular Instagram Stories feature. Instagram Stories piggybacked on the immense popularity of Snapchat to launch stories to an incredible reception.

But unlike photos, which stay on Instagram forever, Instagram Stories only last 24 hours. And although you might think this isn’t long enough to make an impression on your target audience, you’d be surprised at the creativity and interest this “setback” can actually open up once you think about it.

Taking Advantage of Stories

Think about the things that you could do in the span of 24 hours. Imagine that someone came to you and said, “You’ve got 24 hours to make your product or service absolutely irresistible to your target market. You can use images and videos.”

Brainstorm ideas that you think would attract your target audience, including things that will help build rapport, position your product as the best option and generally add personality and relatability to your brand. Although these tactics are most often used in the B2C world, there’s no reason that B2B has to be too stuffy and corporate. Inject a bit of fun, humor or creativity into your story and watch how your audience responds.

Stay Tuned for the Next Episode

One of the best ways to take advantage of the limited time “shelf life” of Instagram stories is through serialized content. Similar to how TV shows end with a cliffhanger encouraging you to “tune in next week”, you can leverage this idea to create your own Instagram Story that actually tells a story. For example:

Are you doing something unique in your business, challenging or changing the status quo?
Are you giving back to the community or making investments in local matters of importance?
Are you using technology in a way that goes beyond the business itself to help others?
What are the fun facts that people need to know about your business?

Stories like that get people talking, and more importantly, interacting with your brand.

Become a C-Suite Influencer

People who are interested in Instagram Stories are also interested in the people behind the brand. This is a great opportunity to introduce people to key decision-makers in your organization.

For starters, introduce your business’ founder or CEO:

Who is your CEO and why should people care?
What is your CEO’s vision for the company and why should people care about that?
How can people become a part of that vision?
How do they plan to use their product or service to help others in some way?
What is the future of your industry like?

Give your CEO a presence and demonstrate first-hand through Instagram Stories how you’re making the change you want to see in the world.

By doing this, there is a highly likely chance that another business will discover that they resonate with your organization’s goal and that increases the chance of them doing business with you. Though this is through the digital space, this serves as an attempt to get closer to your target audience by providing that human aspect of your business.

Go Behind the Scenes

Depending on your industry, Instagram Stories is a great way to go behind the scenes of the product, service and the people behind it. Who are the people that make up your company? What are their unique talents? What do they love about their work?

Maybe Jim in Customer Accounts is a phenomenal mountain climber. Maybe Kristina in IT has an incredible voice and performs with the local theatre. Let your Instagram followers get to know the people behind the brand and in doing so, let themselves become closer to the brand as a whole.

Don’t Forget That Link!

One of the best benefits of Instagram Stories is also one of the most under-utilized. They let you add a link to every story “frame”, so don’t forget to take advantage of that to drive users toward your landing page or otherwise encourage them to take the action you want them to take.

Need Help with B2B Marketing on Instagram?

As you can see, Instagram Stories is like its own little self-contained ecosystem. Knowing how to navigate it and do it right the first time is incredibly important. Fortunately, Workdom is here to help. We know how to weave amazing Instagram Stories for B2B marketing that set your brand, product and service apart, while encouraging other businesses to pay attention and engage with you.

Reach out to our senior advertising executives today to learn how to leverage Instagram Stories for your B2B marketing strategy to grow your brand using the incredible popularity of this powerful marketing channel.

Proven SaaS Social Media Marketing Strategies that Work

September 19, 2020 by Workdom Marketing Specialist

If you’re marketing a Software as a Service product, you might be inclined to approach it like any other traditional software marketing plan. But SaaS is a different kind of beast and your marketing strategies should change accordingly.

Fortunately, we’ve laid out exactly what you should do in order to get traction and adoption of your SaaS product – particularly through social media and paid advertising. Let’s take a closer look:

Offer a Free Trial

There’s nothing more enticing to users who are interested in learning more about your product than by offering a free trial. Announcing this on your paid ads, as well as in the strategies below will help more prospective customers get to know what your SaaS is all about, how it works, and how it can help them unlike your competitors. Be sure to collect their email address so that you can engage them via follow-up messages and encourage them to take the next step by becoming a regular user.

You’ve Got the Data – Now Put it to Use

One of the biggest things that separates SaaS from traditional software products is the sheer amount of data you’re collecting. As a SaaS, you’ve got all kinds of valuable information about your prospects and how they use (or plan to use) your product.

Don’t hesitate to survey your customers or others in the industry and put that information together in a freely shareable report. Then make sure it gets out on social media and related networks. Not only will it position your SaaS as a name to know when it comes to that particular need or feature, but it also positions your brand as a credible expert in that niche.

The more you create charts, infographics and other visually digestive details, the more shareable your statistics and findings become, and thus, the more they get shared and commented on.

Host a Live Q & A on Social Media

This is another great method to share your expertise. More and more, live videos are becoming popular on Facebook and similar social media platforms. This is the perfect time for businesses to step up and host a live Q & A. Not just with your existing customers or fans, but also in collaboration with others.

Spread the word across your networks, email lists, connections and generate enthusiasm for the event. Then, record the Q & A and share a link to the recording on your website and social media for those who may have missed the live event.

The more you do these, the more popular they can become, creating an opportunity for your company to answer pre-sales questions from users who may be interested, but have concerns that need to be addressed first.

Share How You Give Back to the World

Align your business with a mission or a cause that you deeply support or respect. Many companies do this for a variety of movements that people of all backgrounds can agree with — such as anti-bullying or environmental care.

Oftentimes, SaaS companies can spread the word about how they’re helping to create change, such as volunteering for a week or donating a portion of sales to an organization that champions their cause.

This not only presents a more human side to what is ordinarily viewed as a more robotic and technical enterprise, but also shows people that your startup is not just another nameless face in the crowd (as is what happens all too often with SaaS companies in ultra-competitive markets). Plus, you’ll be making concrete change toward a cause that many others support, and your efforts will not just be noticed but applauded.

Of course, it should go without saying that you do this purely for altruistic reasons and not to gloat about it on social media. You can turn this into a challenge for your followers as well by encouraging them to take action as well, such as donating or sharing your cause.

Stand Out and Get Noticed with Customized Strategies for Your Unique Needs

These strategies, although powerful enough in their own right to help your SaaS stand out on social media, are by no means the only ones out there that you should be doing.

In fact, because every SaaS company is different, it makes sense to connect with a marketing team that can get to know your unique angle, who you help most with your service, and how your software solves their biggest problems. Fortunately, that’s why Workdom is here!

Our on-demand marketing talents span the entire spectrum of strategies and services — from social media to paid advertising to organic SEO and much more. If your SaaS is struggling to get noticed from among the din of “me too” competitors out there, reach out to our senior advertising executives and let’s work together to formulate a plan and a customized strategy that leverages your best strengths and shares them with the world.