Excellent communication marketing strategies with Eden Gelt: Consumer loyalty was until recently something a brand achieved by offering quality product and slick marketing. Now, companies are building trust by being loyal to their customer base. Taking Responsibility of Branding During the Pandemic: These days we all must take a level of responsibility in whatever we do. Whether it is self-isolating with symptoms, wearing a mask in public places or just washing your hands frequently. These actions are the new norm. And top brands are taking the same level of responsibility in order to maintain consumer trust. Find additional information at https://www.vrbo.com/728252.
Enhanced Budget: Word-of-mouth marketing will increase your marketing budget, after all, your customers are doing your marketing for you! Have you ever seen a free Starbucks day online? It is picked up by the media, talked about amongst your target market and goes viral across social platforms. The buzz surrounding free can get millions of impressions for less than a paid ad. The goodwill created by delivering this experience will be tenfold.
Free is one of the most powerful tools available for customer acquisition if done correctly. By offering a free sample, businesses get customers to try a product without putting up a price barrier, while the customer gets a ‘free’ item while not having to gamble a portion of their budget on a product they may not even like. Knowing this, brands should happily eat the costs associated with free. For more social media and brand communication tips – follow Communication Strategist Edan Gelt and her recent blog series – edangelt.com/blog.
Once you are set up on your desired platforms and posting, the next step is to build trust and create relationships with your audience. A great way to do this is to actively engage with them. When a customer shares a positive experience, go further than saying a generic “thank you”, give a personalised open-ended response. People love it when a brand takes the time to have a conversation with them – one on one. Even if it’s a fun and playful conversation, people will remember your brand more for how you made them feel. For more social media and brand communication tips? See additional info at Edan Gelt.
Are you a beauty services provider like a salon or med spa? Create a video of one of your amenities or products and walk through the journey of the client experience. You can do this by speaking about what you’re featuring, capturing the service or even provide a compilation of photographic results. Are you in food services or do you own a restaurant? Mouth-watering food! Feature a favorite dish being prepared over an open fire or paired with wine favorites. Review the measures you’re taking to keep them safe when they choose in-restaurant dining (ventilation, seating spacing, capacity, etc.).
Turn on the message app in GMB – it may be painful to answer sometimes, but this is a great way to capture leads. By engaging in messaging this gives you the power to talk to your audience in real time. These conversations are what can help your business stand out because it shows you are a real person rather than a bot or a corporate conglomerate company, that personal touch goes a long way. Don’t let the fact of being ‘live’ scare you away from messaging through your GMB. There are settings that allow an automated response so if you don’t want to be monitoring your messaging 24/7 this initial response will give your customers the response they want while you can get back to them with their exact answer the next day or during business hours.
Engage: It is no longer enough to just have a social media page and presence; you need to jump into your customers’ conversations and understand what they value and give it to them. Create a concise social media strategy and curate your content, including company updates and trends, to maximize engagement on your platforms to establish yourself as an industry leader. Use specific hashtags and maybe even develop your own hashtag to group your content and make it easier for people to find.
Creating a Google My Business (GMB) listing is the first and most important step to local search success. GMB offers the strongest brand impact for businesses or individuals seeking exposure locally. In fact, approximately 90% of organic searches come from Google and it complements a brand’s existing website, shows in search results and maps, and communicates with third-party platforms using Google Maps API. You need to either create a listing or ensure you have a Google business page setup. If your business is established (usually founded several years ago), it’s likely Google already has a GMB listing and you just need to claim it. Ensure your listing clearly includes what your business does, where it is, and how consumers can quickly and efficiently acquire the goods and/or services you offer. See even more details on https://medium.com/@edangelt.
Once you’ve decided what you’re going to feature during your segments – consider what is the most important thing you will be sharing about your business/service/product and say it right at the beginning of your video. For example – today, I’m going to walk you through a HydraFacial or I’m going to tell you about the new tenant law passed during the pandemic. Or, let me tell you about our fantastic chicken alfredo, water ride, marketing tip, new product, etc. Then take them on 1 or 2-minute journey. CONSISTENCY IS KEY! Once you’ve made your first video or VLOG (fancier term), you’re on your way but you can’t stop now. You need to generate content consistently. This can be several times per week, once per week, or even once per month. Just stick with it.
TripAdvisor is great for brick and mortar physical locations as a way to attract tourists or local community members looking for places to visit. This is a great platform for bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. SlideShare is a strong option for business to business marketing and offers the opportunity to embed your YouTube video in your SlideShare deck. Vimeo is similar to YouTube in platform but also differs in that it is more creatively focused and often features higher caliber videos. This is a great place to engage with other creatives or business professionals that focus on video content.