But how do you ensure you stay at the forefront of their minds? By creating high-value content and posting regularly of course!

Increase brand awareness and visibility

The core of brand building on social media largely involves identifying key topics around your product or services and posting regular updates through text, images and videos. It takes time to get it right, but eventually you will find what kind of content resonates with your audience. Once you figure it out, make sure to stay active on all your social media accounts and post at times when your audience is most active, as it can improve your brand’s visibility.

Build brand loyalty and credibility

Does your brand’s personality shine through your social media posts? Quality content in the form of well-branded social media posts is a driving factor in attracting new customers and building brand loyalty. With regular posting, you provide your followers with information that is valuable to them and in turn, increases the likelihood of them seeking further information by visiting your company’s website and purchasing from you.

De-corporatize your brand
Social media platforms are a place to connect with each other in a friendly manner. No matter whether you are a large corporation or a startup, it’s important to have a conversational, friendly, caural and non-corporate approach. The truth is that consumers don’t connect with brands in the same way they connect with people, so humanising your brand to come through naturally is the key to success. The stories you tell and the entertaining content you share (memes, videos, humourous content, behind-the scenes images, and more) make your audience see the human side of your business, helping them connect far better with your brand.

If you want your business to stay top-of-mind to your audience, you need to post regularly. It’s as simple as that. Regular posting makes your brand more memorable – after all, when a buyer needs a service or product similar to what you are offering, you want them to think of your brand first!

The post How regular posting can help your brand even if organic is dead appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

Before diving into how you can leverage this channel, you need to understand what influencer marketing is all about.

What does Influencer Marketing mean?

The practice of working with influencers to promote your brand is called influencer marketing. Influencers are trusted individuals with high visibility and a large, dedicated following on social media, who can influence their audience to take a desired action.

How to find influencers for your business?

As a brand, finding the right influencers is key to the success of your campaign on social media. The truth is that there is no secret formula that works for everyone, so take time to research and begin building a list of relevant influencers. To help you narrow down your search, make sure the influencers have an audience that aligns with your target audience and have the power to motivate consumers because of their perceived authority and elevated social status.

How to set up a budget?

Knowing the different types of influencers will help you plan your budget and strategy. Here are the different influencer types your brand can partner up with:

• Celebrities (>1 million followers)
• Mega influencers (500k-1m followers)
• Macro influencers (100k – 500k followers)
• Micro influencers (10k – 100k followers)
• Nano influencers (1000 – 10k followers)

As a rule of thumb, the amount you are willing to spend on your influencer marketing campaign will determine the type of influencer you can work with, the type of content (text post, lifestyle photo, video) and the size of the campaign (single or multiple posts). The goal isn’t to work with every influencer out there or the one that has the most followers, but the ones that can make an impact.

How to build an influencer marketing strategy?

A really simple way to make sure you are always working towards the right objective is to:

1. Define your goals (generate leads, gain more followers and engagement, promote company launch, increase click-throughs, etc)
2. Choose a campaign type (product placement, giveaway, social media takeover, discount code, event, long-term partnership, etc)
3. Have clear guidelines for the audience you want to reach and the desired action
4. Identify the best influencers and set expectations
5. Track the performance of your partnership (traffic, engagement, conversions or other metrics)

Do you want to take your influencer marketing campaigns to the next level? Contact our Social Media Management Team and we will pair you with the right influencers for the maximum return on your investment.

The post Influencer Marketing appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

If you relate to this then guess what? You are in the right place!

Here our digital marketing agency shares with you 4 of our tested and proven methods you can implement to take advantage of the trends for 2021 and help your business grow.

#1: Design Facebook Ads

The best ads should feel less like ads and more like regular newsfeed content but still have the ability to catch the user’s eye. Delivering content that is not screaming “BUY” but more like “Look how cool this is… you can be too if you buy it” has far greater effect.

How can you do this ? Well keep reading because the next 3 tips will get you there.

#2: Relax Your Creatives, Style and Grammar

By saying “relax your creatives” we don’t mean start taking blurry pictures with your phone. 

We mean make a shift from any rigid guidelines you’ve been using. Change your settings and go lifestyle instead of catalogue-style creatives. Overall the images you are using on your social media must have a fresh design and be light. Once your ads/posts look less like an ad and more like user generated content, then users will start interacting with your brand more.

Change the way you talk (write) to your audience. No matter what type of company you are, talk like you are trying to explain your new product or service to a friend. Relaxed and casual captions make users feel like they are reading a simple post from a friend which makes them more receptive to your ad. 

#3: Brand Accountability

The last few years have been crazy in every aspect.

Politics, human rights, racism, sexism, a global pandemic, conspiracy theories and the list goes on. People (your consumers) have started taking actions for what they believe in more than ever before.

Social media platforms have became the medium for people to do this, not just watch funny cat videos, share memes or stalk their ex’s and that is exactly what they expect their favorite brands to do too.

They want to see your brand taking a stand for things that matter. It’s not about what you are selling. It’s about who they are giving their money to. Chances are, they can find exactly what they are looking for from another store. Promote your culture, what you believe in, what your brand is all about.

Turn your customers into fans by actively and genuinely taking a stand and making your brand synonymous with a cause.

#4: Humanize your Brand

Anonymous brands are a thing of the past. Transparency and authenticity are the marketing strategies for 2021. 

Building a culture and providing small, raw glimpses of who the people are behind the brand will set you apart from the competition. Not because your competitors can’t do it, but because no one can be just like you or your employees. 

So show off yourselves and your best traits, let your personality shine and capture people’s hearts. 

Social media is designed to be social and help people connect with people. Brands that are personified experience increased customer loyalty – customers become fans, friends and supporters.

So where do I Start ?

How to implement all the above?

Start by creating original content, relax the creatives and your captions – stop the “sterilized” look but keep it professional. Personify your website and use it to promote a cause you believe in. Keep your brand “look” consistent across all your media and ads for credibility and quick and easy brand recognition.

After all it’s social media… your content has to feel relaxed and friendly to reach its full potential.

The post 4 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2021 appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

However, it is even possible that you have been “shadow-banned.” Accounts that have been shadow-banned are put in a state of invisibility. To put it another way, they transform into a “ghost” where no one can see them. In this article, we are going to go over what shadow banning is and how to say whether you have been shadow-banned.

More About Shadow Banning

When it comes to growing a social media following, you depend on hashtags and interaction to broaden your following and scope. So, it is understandably disappointing when the content abruptly vanishes from the internet. You could have been shadow-banned if you notice fewer likes and comments on your posts, or if those hashtags do not exist for you.

Shadow-banning makes sense from some social media platforms’ perspective. For example, Instagram uses shadow banning to weed out accounts that do not follow their terms. Some people use unethical methods to grow their Instagram followers, such as artificial robots or dozens of hashtags that have little to do with their content. In this case, Instagram can ban certain accounts so that users can continue to receive legitimate and beneficial posts and content.

Although Instagram does not publicly confess to shadow banning, in February it issued a statement addressing the issue of users’ content not turning up with those hashtags. Their comment at least acknowledges that the hashtag conundrum exists, but many assume that it is Instagram’s way of implying shadow banning without explicitly admitting it.

What is Shadow Banning?  

Shadow-banning is the practice of blocking a user’s posts on social media platforms when the user is unaware of the action. If you have been shadow-banned on social media accounts, your content is going to only feature in the feeds of people who already follow and know you.

In short, when your posts, content, or activities are not visible on a platform, but you have not got a formal ban or notice, this is known as shadow banning. It is a means for spammers to keep spamming when no one else in the network (or outside of it) notices.

Other social media users are not going to be affected by spam and malware because they are not going to be able to see it. Since the spammer is unaware that they have been blocked, they are not going to instantly begin looking for ways to bypass the shadow-ban.

All of this can seem strange or shady. There is no way to tell for sure whether or not a platform or service has shadow-banned you, and several platforms and applications reject that they shadow ban. If you suspect you have been shadow-banned, it is a possibility that a change in the platform’s search or news feed algorithm is to blame. And, since social media firms own the formulas, it is not in their best interests to make anything about the public. Regardless of if you were restricted on purpose or by mistake, the result is the same; no one can read what you have written.

Which Social Media Platforms Shadow Ban?

Since the practice of shadow banning is not completely advertised openly, there is no way to get a complete list of platforms that shadow-ban users.

Even so, shadow banning has been mentioned on platforms and apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok in the past under some circumstances. According to respondents to the survey, there are four forms of shadow-bans:

• A username or hashtag that does not appear in search results
• A drop in the number of people who are following you on Social media.
• Features and functions (such as likes and comments) are disabled.
• A temporary prohibition that is be lifted later.

How to Avoid Getting Shadow Banned on Social Media 

Different social media platforms have different views about what types of breaches warrant a shadow-ban. That being said, there are some observable general patterns worth mentioning. If you wish to avoid a shadow-ban, follow these tips:

• Observe the Terms of Service at all times and stick to them.
• Follow and observe power users on the social media platform that are in your sector or category (look at what content they share and how they share it)
• Repeatedly posting links or copy-pasted content is not a good idea.
• If you are not sure if a piece of material is acceptable, do not share it.
• Treat people with decency and dignity.
• Do not use hashtags that are not allowed or have previously been banned.
• Posting on illegal subjects should be avoided.

The Bottom Line About Shadow Banning  

You may be completely unaware that you are being shadow-banned. Although, you are going to continue to suspect it over time in many cases. To safeguard yourself, make sure that whatever you write does not violate the social media platform’s or app’s terms of service and the conditions of the platform. Further, aim to stop spamming posts or reposting “copy and paste“ content, starting online arguments and fights with other social media platform users, trolling other users, and sharing offensive or inappropriate content.

A shadow-ban can be aggravating, especially if you do not believe you deserve it. Maybe you disagree with the social media platform’s algorithm on what is and is not acceptable, or perhaps you thought you were having a productive conversation with other online users and, the platform’s algorithm mistook you for a troll.

The most effective way to avoid a shadow-ban is to recruit the services of experts who are well equipped to avoid being shadow-banned in the first place. Social Media Management will avoid the stress that comes from this very aggravating situation.

However, the advice in this guide should help you from getting shadow-banned in the future, allowing the material to gain further attention. If you have any other comments or questions about shadow banning, please let us know in the comments below.

The post How to tell if you are shadow-banned on Social Media appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

There are numerous free or low-cost tips and tricks you can utilize to promote your business and pull in new customers. The internet is a gold mine when it comes to marketing platforms, and the cool thing is does not cost you an arm and a leg. You just need to know the right places to go and to look. In the early startup stages, you might not have loads of money to throw around in promotion but there are still effective ways to get your name out there.

12 Cost-Effective Ways to Promote Your Business 

Create a Quality Website

Having an attractive website does not need to cost you a lot of cash. Using some basic computer skills, tools, and knowledge, you can create a stellar site. There are easy templates you can use where all you need to do is upload your images and the text.

Keep your website simple. It does not need to be over the top and flashy. An about page, contact page, home page, and a gallery to showcase some of your best work, goods, and services can do the trick. A website that is properly set up can have more customers and prospects visiting your site and browsing. It can help your rankings in the search engine results that result following someone’s entry into the search bar on popular sites like Google and Bing.

Use Free Internet Listings

There are many websites locally and internationally, such as Google, that have free business listings. Ensure you market your business on as many free local listings as you can get your hands. Craigslist and Yelp are other platforms that have free listings. Depending on the type of business you have, you can use these sites to promote the products and services offered.

There are other trusted directories such as TripAdvisor and HomeAdvisor that you use in some industries, so customers can see you as reputable and worthy of their business and time.

Having a Logo or Tagline That Is Catchy

This is a simple yet creative way to get your business out there. A creative catchphrase that customers and other people can relate to enhances your business and helps to give it a personalized touch and bring in more clientele.

Start a Blog!

A blog is a more direct way to connect and communicate with your consumers and helps to give your business a recognized name through followers across the globe. This must be a consistent thing where you keep people updated on things that are going on in your business, upcoming events, new products and services, and sales.

With blogging, you can reach out to a pool of persons. It is not only those who are ready to make a purchase, but also those who still need a little more convincing. You can try something called blogger outreach. This is a process where you try to put the business’ product or service in the eyes of influential bloggers and journalists through email. This is so they can talk about your business to their fanbase and send them right over to you or your website, which again, must be polished.

Try Speaking at Events

These events do not have to be elaborate or have some world-famous guest speakers. You might not have a huge fanbase or following on Twitter or Instagram, but you can consider speaking at events, regardless of the industry you are in. Invitations to speak and share your expertise may come along. You must be ready to take advantage of them. Do not just show up at the event. Take part in the proceedings.

The aim here is to get consumers interested. Local events, such as conferences with roughly 50 people can do a great deal for businesses and it can work for you too. You can try online forums, talks, summits, etc. Put yourself out there to a wide variety of people across many countries. Just like that, you can have no customers pouring in.

Get Reviewed 

As simple as it may sound, one of the biggest boosters you can get as an upcoming business is a positive rating, comment, or review. This shows customers and persons browsing that you can deliver tremendous services and that you are doing all that you say you are going to do.

Persons are often skeptical about new businesses that are just making their rounds in the industry but having a few good ratings can be the turning point for your business and have you bringing more clients in.

This rating or review can be from one of your friends or just a satisfied customer. Also, if that review came from someone influential, that alone could have you seeing new faces coming into your store, your DMs buzzing with orders and requests, and your phone lines ringing off the hook.

Go Door to Door 

This one might be a little old school but it still works. You can have flyers, posters, and postcards that are well-designed and hand-delivered, which can save you big time on postal charges. Hundreds of postcards can be handed out throughout the day, depending on how much time can be dedicated to walking the neighborhood.

You can do some research on the area and reach out to your target audience to get those persons who are most interested in your goods, products, or services. If no one is home you can leave the postcard at the door or in the mailbox.

Networking

Make friends with other small business owners and not just those in your area. Reach out to others who are more likely to support your business as you support theirs. Promote your business with others in their circles. You can buy, use, and recommend their products and services and they can reciprocate.

Socialize and get to know other vendors and business owners at various events such as fairs, pop-up shops, and other events that business people participate in. This can go as far having as them as an outlet where you can send over a few of your products and have them displayed and sold there.

Create an E-mail List

If your new customers and past customers are willing, you can collect and use their email addresses to send out specials, promotions, and educate them about new products and services that you may have. You can even include writings from your blog, tips and tricks, stories, or an email newsletter about your business.

Creating the list is another way that can have you keep in touch with your client base regardless of its size without spending a dime.

Attend Craft Fairs

This depends on the type of business you have, but craft fairs are very low-cost ways for you to sell your products or promote your list of services. While it can be long and frustrating as people do not always buy what you are selling or you are in a difficult location, it is still worth the effort.

You can take advantage of local craft fairs as they often have lower rates for local vendors and are a good way to get your business name floating in the community and on the streets.

Use Community Bulletin Boards

Banks, grocery stores, and other local organizations and businesses have bulletin boards where small businesses, tutors, and other services can post their business cards, flyers, posters, and other advertisements. You can make use of these bulletin boards to get your name and brand out there. These establishments see thousands of people daily your information is bound the catch a few eyes.

Use Social Media

For businesses that are new and upcoming, asking friends are family members how to promote your business is a good way to start. Social media is a very powerful tool that can help your business get there. With the help of a few friends, family members, and that one popular/influential person you know, your goods, products, services, and promotions can spread like wildfire on social media. This can result in persons from different locations reaching out to you for products and services, which can see your profits skyrocketing.

You must also become an active person on as many social media platforms as possible, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok. You must remain relevant with the jokes, content, and trends, and be able to use them to your advantage to build your followers and persons viewing your page or account. Who knows? Your next customer may be on someone’s timeline, so a retweet cannot hurt.

For a business that requires a lot of active Social Media and a strategic method in which to enhance awareness, consideration and conversions, then recruiting the services of a proven Social Media department with a digital agency can be tremendously beneficial.

Conclusion

Most of the methods listed above are either free or at low cost, and they are all decent ways to get your business some publicity. You can try them all, as they can only see your business become even more successful.

The post Free ways to promote your business if you are just starting out appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

For those unfamiliar Facebook remarketing refers to the act of following your audience around the internet, through the use of website cookies and lines of code. Facebook remarketing is hugely effective as wherever your leads go they are being shown highly targeted offers for the holiday, product or services they have been researching. 

While a naïve user might attribute the shoes they were looking for popping up as advertisements to fate, a marketer knows that it was Facebook remarketing. Not only does remarketing to audiences ensure highly relevant ads it also allows for the opportunity to offer discount codes to a unique audience that might need that extra push. 

What is Facebook remarketing

Generally, the most effective audience you have to remarket is users who have visited your website.  Users who have visited your website are often highly interested in the product or service you have to offer and will visit your website for three main reasons: 

• To learn more about you 
• To get in touch 
• To make a purchase 

Regardless of the size of the purchase, a buying decision can take more time than one website visit.  But by continually reminding them about your brand through Facebook remarketing you are able to build trust with your audience leading them to purchase from you over the competition. 

What are the capabilities 

Because Facebook remarketing allows you to target already engaged users the probability of generating more conversions, is 70% more likely.  If you have set up a Facebook and Instagram shop by utilizing the remarketing features you would also be able to target using dynamic ads. Meaning the creative of the ad will change for each user depending on what products they were looking for on your website.  

If you have the questions “What is Facebook remarketing? “Here is a real example,  User A is interested in purchasing organic hand sanitizers online after checking out a few websites to see which one is best. The user has to go to work and is unable to make the purchase.  When the User returns from work they decide to go on Facebook where she gets an ad for the product she was looking for earlier with a 10% off discount. The user then decides to purchase the product. 

4 Ways to use Facebook to remarket

1. Obtain followers with remarketing lists

Similar to Google Ads, Quality score metric, Facebook has a similar metric called relevancy score.  This is based on a number of factors but ads with higher relevance will generate cheaper clicks and have better reach overall. 

Engagement is a big factor when it comes to your relevancy score so you don’t want to target an uninterested user with your ads. You can use marketing ads. Use the page likes objective to target users who visited your website or engaged with your page but haven’t liked it, to generate super-engaged page followers.     

1. Target those who have already liked your page

With your recently acquired super followers who are primed to engage with your page and content, it’s time to start building your relevance score. By Increasing your relevant score you’ll then be gifted with more reach for less ad spend by Facebook. Targeting those who have already liked your page is a foolproof way to increase your relevancy score. 

1. Think strategically when creating ad schedules

As with any campaign, you must keep in mind that you are not only targeting numbers on a screen, there are real people seeing your ad, and this might lead to some unforeseen results you would not be able to understand by just looking at the numbers. When remarketing you need to be cautious of fatiguing your audience, showing them the same image and same offer on repeat for months at a time will likely only result in worse ad performance over time.  

Think strategically when setting up your campaign on the buying life of your audience, your goal and how aggressive you want your offer to be. Promotions that you are only running for a short time, for example, Black Friday, can be very aggressive such as 50% off whereas ongoing promotions should be more realistic with the offer given. 

1. Layer Lookalike audiences

Lookalike audiences give you the power to duplicate a relevant audience and expand your reach to an entirely new audience that is just as relevant. This is an incredibly useful way to expand your audience and find untargeted users. There is no better way to generate an audiences list with high relevance than by cloning your remarketing list.  These are people who have already taken the action you design and Facebook is finding users with very similar characteristics and interests to them. 

Choosing the right Facebook remarketing specialist for you and your business is one of the most important decisions you can make when it comes to your success in digital marketing. Choose the experts with experience running hundreds of remarketing campaigns already. Let’s Talk!

The post Who should use Facebook remarketing appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

Instagram is an amazing social media platform with enormous power for businesses and individuals. Instagram is home to millions of content creators who all have an opportunity to promote their business, and with our guide, it has never been easier.  

Although with more and more users joining Instagram to promote their business, it can be difficult to get noticed, but not anymore with these crucial Instagram marketing secrets. 

Schedule your content

Having a consistent posting schedule on Instagram is vital. When creating content a stable schedule is one of the things that attract people back to your content. Utilising third-party apps can be a great time saver tool that helps you keep to a consistent schedule and even analyse your posts. You can plan your future posts, complete with hashtags and captions, saving you time and giving you the opportunity to interact more with your audience.

Strategic Hashtags

Hashtags are a pivotal element in getting more reach for your brand’s posts and message. Selecting the best hashtags for your post is vital, sites such as rite tag can give you detailed reports about what’s currently trending and recommend whether or not it’s right for your post. Another useful method is to localise hashtags or create hashtags that directly relate to your post. Niche hashtags have been proven to work alongside some of the most popular hashtags. 

Make use of Instagram Live

A  ‘Live’ feature has been added to almost every social media app since it’s creation, and it’s easy to see why. A number of international businesses use Instagram live, to great benefit. It allows you to get a better your connection with your followers by interacting with them live, it also lets you educate your audience or keep them in the loop about any new regarding your brand. 

Post Behind the Scenes for Better Connectivity

Though Instagram is known for brands and individuals posting the “perfect” shot, there is also room to get a little more personal with behind-the-scenes content. This can be formed of ‘the making of’ shot or a shot of your company culture. These images will help people feel closer to your brand, therefore generating a strong following of loyal brand enthusiasts. 

Utilize Paid Ads campaigns

Back in 2015 Instagram announced the use of ads on their platform. At the time not a lot of businesses were taking advantage of the new way to reach their audience. Even today there are still businesses who are skeptical of Instagram ads and prefer to stick to the traditional platforms of Facebook or LinkedIn.  AS they use the same advertising platform as Facebook “Business Manager”, Instagram allows for highly targeted ads, letting you reach a precise audience. Although you will have to page for your ads it’s well worth it and can have a fantastic improvement on your ROI.   

Optimize content with eye catching images and copy

Like most social media platforms you must fight for the attention of your audience with 100’s of other competitor brands who also want to appear in the newsfeed. Instagram is no different, it’s all about getting your followers to stop on your most and engage with it. There are a few tricks with how you can accomplish that, such as infusing a clear focal point, choosing high-quality images with bright colours or try even utilising different formations such as video or multiple images.  Try out these methods to get more engagement from your audience. 

Utilize the most effective features

Over the years Instagram has had 100’s of updates and with these updates, they have removed and added features like a revolving door. But that can sometimes leave its users lost not knowing which are the most effective or important features they should be using. Along with Instagram live we mentioned here is a complete list of features on Instagram you should be using for your business: 

• IGTV
• Stories 
• Shoppable tags in stories and posts
• Hyperlink username and hashtags 
• Your favourite filters
• Geo-tagged content

Similar to any other social media platform, it’s all about finding the right features for you. If you believe the right audience is more likely to see your brands posts by utilizing one or all of these secrets then you need to start implementing it into your Social Media marketing plan!   If you need help getting your Instagram marking efforts ready, contact the experts today! Let’s Talk! 

The post Crucial Instagram Marketing Secrets appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

Every marketer tries to use Facebook ads for Black Friday sales, so how do you get your ads to stand out above the competition?  In this article, you’ll discover new ways to improve your Facebook ads strategy and learn how to use them to elevate your Black Friday sales. 

Holiday sales

Widely regarded as one of the most popular times for promotions the holiday period can be quite lucrative for most businesses when it comes to promotions and sales. It all begins with Black Friday towards the end of November and in a non-stop rollercoaster of Holidays topped off by the New Year.  Many big brands can end up spending millions on advertising during this period driving the cost up for everyone else. The vast amount of ad spends means that a good return on investment is even more difficult to achieve.  But you don’t have a reason to sweat, keep reading to find out how to use Facebook ads for Black Friday sales. 

Decide what placements you’ll be using

As you may or may not be aware Facebook ads function very similar to an auction house, your ads are compared to all the other ads targeting a similar audience and Facebook shows the best performing ad the most.  Now in most cases, this wouldn’t be an issue there is plenty of space for Facebook to show all advertisers. However, during the holiday period, this becomes much more competitive.  

Now to combat the lack of space in the standard placements it’s time to think outside the box. In total Facebook offers 16 different types of placements, this also includes placements on Instagram and it’s audience network. If you’re used to advertising on news feeds there are a lot more opportunities via the other placements. 

Try using all placements, to begin with, but be sure to carefully monitor your results to ensure there aren’t any draining your budget without the appropriate results.  Our expert advice is to use Instagram Stories if you don’t already, they can be very profitable when done right but don’t forget to optimize your image sizes appropriately.     

Utilise Facebook’s targeting capabilities 

Custom audiences and retargeting are your friends, don’t let the fear of the unknown scare you off big profits.  The aim here is to target you “warm” audiences (people who have interacted with your brand). During the holiday period, you do not want to waste your delicate advertising budget on audiences who may not be interested in your products or services.  

Segment your audience by using Facebooks, custom audience capabilities, you can import lists of customer emails, or target those who have visited your website, mobile app, Instagram page or even users who have interacted with your Facebook page.   Any of the mentioned audiences will fit snuggly into the “warm” audiences described and are guaranteed to be familiar with your brand’s products or services. Additionally, you can use demographic targeting on your custom audiences for optimal results, use custom audiences to elevate your sales with Facebook ads.   

Promote a compelling offer 

Regardless of how good you set up your ads without a compelling offer, it will be overlooked by audiences, for a better deal elsewhere.  To truly stand out over the competition during Black Friday, you need a compelling offer. Your special offer needs to be good enough to catch the eye of the audience while still being profitable.  For Black Friday we recommend a minimum offer of 20% off for maximum results, but if you’re still looking to give further incentive try adding a free product or service into the offer. Add something low cost but gives good value to your customers, a good example if your selling sunglasses is to add in a free protective case or cleaning cloth.  Shipping can be another overlooked cost and many consumers would appreciate free shipping included in your offer. 

Check results regularly

Facebook ads for Black Friday sales have an extremely short window to be effective. Although traditionally a single day Black Friday, has morphed into a weekend in recent years, nonetheless you need to be monitoring results daily.  Being on top of the performance of your campaigns is essential. Pause ad sets that aren’t working and adding budget to those that are performing successfully should all be part of your plan when using Facebook ads for Black Friday sales.      

Facebook advertising give unique advantages when it comes to Black Friday promotions.  Although it may be a risky move due to its high costs, if utilising Facebook ads correctly during black Friday your ROI will be unmatched. 

Don’t go in blind talk to an expert on Facebook ads today! Let’s Talk!

The post Elevate Black Friday Sales with Facebook Ads appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

However, the trend of using social media to promote your business has become so commonplace that it’s become nearly impossible to stand out on the conventional social media platforms. In this situation, one must think outside the box to stand out. In this article, there will be no mention of popular social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. It’s all about the most underrated social media marketing platforms, what you can expect from each one and how to utilise each platform effectively.        

Quora

While it may be a surprise to Quora on this list since it’s essentially a Q&A site it can be an exceptionally useful tool when wanting to establish authority. Answering questions from the public about your products and services is an excellent strategy for brand managers to get the word out. Quora can also be incredibly useful when wanting to learn more about what fans of your brand are interested in through their questions. With over 190 million users, Quora can be an excellent tool to build your brands’ trust. The users on this platform are often seeking information so will have much less trouble keeping them engaged leaving it much easier to share more information increasing your brand’s influence. 

Pinterest

A well established social media platform than never had the opportunity to break into the top four top social media marketing platforms. Often overlooked Pintreses 250 million active users is nothing to joke about. Pinterest is an entirely visually platform, create super well-designed, vibrant images to stand out on this platform. Pinterest can have such an influencer over its users that according to reports 87% of Pinterest users have brought a product because of Pinterest. Once you set up your business account on Pinterest here are a few essentials you must keep in mind. A nice bio, profile picture and well-planned banner based on your brand’s image is a great start. When using Pinterest similar to other social media platforms we’ll mention it’s vital that you don’t adopt an overt selling approach, find a way to market your products discreetly.    

Reddit

Not commonly associated with marketing Reddit can be an excellent platform for building community relations. Similar to Quora it’s a customer service channel, used to gather community feedback for products and services. A more discrete marketing approach on Reddit is essential as site users can dislike traditional marketing plays and “Call out” companies that try to promote their products and services in the traditional way. The most common use of Reddit from cooperations is through AMAs “Ask me Anything” sessions. Where actors will talk about their latest films or companies will field questions about their latest product. Even though AMAs answers must feel genuine and not overly promotional as it could receive a backlash. Overall Reddit’s 300 million users each with an average visit of 15 minutes is a great platform to interact with your audience, however, proceed with caution to avoid a backlash.           

Twitch

A surprising addition to the list however if your audience is on Twitch it can be an excellent way to spread your message, by either having a Twitch channel of your own or by running sponsored streams. For those unaware of the premise of Twitch, it’s similar to broadcast TV different content is available on each channel and users to have to tune in to watch it live, although it is also recorded. The platform began as a way for the game to interact with one another however it has evolved into much more than that. While still heavily gaming influenced it has evolved to also include other areas in turn it has also expanded its audience. If your audience is suited to Twitch take full advantage of the most popular streaming service in the world. 

Tik Tok

If you haven’t heard of this popular app by now you must be living under a rock. Exploding onto the scene late 2019 and continuing to grow in popularity during 2020 Tik Tok is quickly becoming a major player in the social media marketing industry. In less than 2 years it has a global audience of 500 million users. It’s still in its early stages so the rules are still being written and most effective strategies still being formed. One thing that is for certain is users are looking for snappy entertaining videos, before embarking on Tik Tok ads you must be prepared to show off your brands lighter side. Unlike other platforms, if you want to run paid ads on there is some upfront cost with uncertain results, however, with well thought out organic content there is no need for a paid investment. For inspiration on how a traditional business can utilise Tik Tok check out The Washington Post or Yahoo’s page. 

Like any online marketing campaign, it’s all about finding the right audience. If you believe the right audience for your business is on one of these platforms but need help getting your marking efforts ready, contact the experts today! Let’s Talk! 

The post Social Media marketing platforms you might have overlooked appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.

Influencer marketing has quickly become one of the most popular methods to help increase your brand awareness and trust. Influencers allow you to reach a unique, niche audience that would otherwise not be exposed to your brand. There are enormous benefits to running a successful influencer marketing campaign and it can often be just as important as Facebook and Instagram campaign management. However, it can be a time-consuming and complicated campaign to set up if going in blind.

An influencer campaign may not be suitable for every brand but it has proven results in certain industries and can even average a return on investment of $6.95 per $1 invested if utilised correctly.

Create an influencer outreach campaign that works

The key to a successful influencer outreach campaign is building a relationship after you have contacted your influencer. 

A quality relationship with your influencer generally involves mutual benefit. It grows your reach organically while the influencer also receives something in return. 

An influencer marketing campaign may be successful for your competitors, however, without careful consideration into what you want to achieve with your campaign, you may as well be throwing your marketing budget away. 

If you do not target the right influencers with the audience you want you’ll quickly run through your budget with a poorly executed campaign and won’t get the desired results. Avoid wasting your marketing budget by following our steps on developing a winning outreach influencer outreach plan. 

Get to know your influencers

Before you begin reaching out to influencers, your priority should be evaluating what you want to achieve from your campaign and what you want your influencers to accomplish. Develop a firm understanding of your campaign and discuss which KPIs you wish to measure to evaluate your success. Ask yourself at the end of your campaign, what will success look like?  

Following this step, it’s vital to research your influencers, use influencer marketing platforms to get an idea of the key figures related to your brand. 

Ideally, they should be involved in your field, if this is the case their followers would also be interested in your content. Growing a relationship with an influencer who is uninterested in your industry is a waste of time for all parties involved.

Do the research through various influencer marketing platforms learn the industry they’re in, the engagement rates, how many followers they have, only then can you evaluate whether you have chosen the right influencer.     

Make contact 

After conducting your research, you will now have the ideal influencer for your brand in your mind. Next comes the outreaching, much like forming any new relationship you need to get to know them plus they need to get to know you. 

It’s time to start stalking them (not literally of course). Get on their radar by engaging with their content, likes shares comments across multiple platforms. When developing your influencer outreach plan you mustn’t forget they’re human. Be nice, be supportive, they’re not robots. 

Liking and following them will not only familiarise your name with them but you’ll also get to know them better before making first content. This also means you’ll be able to personalise your first message, in the next stage.        

Touchdown 

Once you’ve gotten to know your influencer and feel comfortable contenting them, it’s time to tailor a personal message. 

It’s essential to send a personalised message, you’re trying to build a relationship, similar to online dating you won’t stand out unless your message is unique and personal. Our advice is to let them know why you chose them, use your research to show you know a little bit about them and finally be genuine. Don’t try to hide your end goal, influencers are busy people and know you aren’t contacting them to become best friends, tell them what you expect from them and what you’ll give in return.   

The platform you contact them on will also play a role, email, Instagram or LinkedIn are all viable options. Ultimately it will depend on your industry as to which format gets the best response rate. Using an influencer marking platform is also a choice, however, some may limit direct contact. Instead, it asks you to provide a brief of what you want. Although influencer outreach platforms are acceptable options, you’ll lose some of the personalisation and customisation.         

Overlap your audience 

To truly establish your brand with your target audience, the ideal solution is to find influencers whose audience overlaps. This way you can have multiple touchpoints with your target audience, forming a trusting relationship between your brand and the audience. 

If a consumer sees their favourite YouTuber and then their favourite Instagram model promoting the same brand, it’s more likely to become a trustworthy brand in their mind.   

Our advice is once you get to know one influencer ask them to introduce you to their friends, by having a friend on your side you’ve already got one foot in the door. You’re more likely to be trustworthy when being introduced by a fellow influencer. Use an influencer to harness relationships with other influencers. 

Segmentation 

Influencers themselves are generally categorised into different levels, depending on how many followers they each have. At each level, you will have different engagement levels in addition to varying costs. 

The top-level consists of celebrity influencers, these are your traditional movie stars, athletes or singers they are recognisable across most industries and have the largest reach. This comes at a substantially higher cost than lower-level influencers. Additionally, top-level celebrities generally have lower engagement rates than smaller influencers. 

The next categories consist of the top 5%, influencers in this category receive over 250k monthly visits. Similarly, influencers in the top 10% have between 25,000 and 250,000 monthly visitors.   

The final category of influencers is those with under 25,000 monthly views. These influencers are widely considered the most effective due to their low costs and high engagement rates. With these smaller influencers, you can also be sure of the audience you are targeting. In our mind, this is the ideal level to target with your influencer outreach campaign, although it may also depend on the location of your audience.    

Get your influencers on board

The ideal scenario when reaching out to influencers is to get them as dedicated to the brand as you are. There are several ways to do this either through affiliate programs, sponsored content, with compensation through products or currency or with brand ambassador programmes. Each influencer will have different preferences, our advice is to find a custom solution that works for both your brand and the influencer. It’s up to you and your influencer to determine the best compensation model for your objectives. It’s also important to thank the influencer for their involvement, once again they are people, not robots.  

It’s all about building the right relationship with the influencer you work with, free customised products, exclusive events or inviting them to product launches are great ways to get your influencers on board. A pen with your logo on it may not be enough to help you stand out from the crowd.    

Following these steps in your influencer outreach will help you nurture the relationship, into a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship for all.  

Overall, while not as easy as other campaigns an influencer outreach campaign when utilised effectively can be extremely prosperous. If you’re struggling to get started with your influencer outreach campaign, contact the experts today! Let’s Talk!

The post Developing an influencer outreach plan appeared first on Yoshiro Digital.