Content is King: Different Media and How to Use Them for Your Business in 2021

Content is King when it comes to growing your business online. Here are a few different formats you can use and how to do it!

If your business is not online, you should make sure you get there as soon as you can. Having an online presence is absolutely crucial for growing your brand or business in today’s age. That being said, there are a lot of ways you can market and scale your business online, but having great content is the cornerstone of all of them. 

There are a vast amount of ways to put content online for your audience to view. Social media is one of the very best ways to market and put that content out. Each different format such as video, live streams, single images, carousels, etc has ways to most effectively be used and reach your audience in a meaningful way. Here a few formats you can use and how:

Single Images

These are great as a universal way to connect with your audience. As they say, “a picture speaks a thousand words”. This is true for single images as well. Many advertisements online are single images, and if done right, can convey a powerful message to your audience. This converts to social engagement such as likes and shares, organically spreading the content your brand puts out. Single images are also cheap, so they can be a great tool for smaller accounts that cannot afford a bunch of video and more expensive options. I love using single images. They are effective, practical, and oftentimes great works of art!

Video

Much like images, videos are one of the most powerful ways to connect with your audience that there are. You can tell an entire story through imagery, sound, and text in your videos. I find videos effective in connecting with an audience because you can address their emotions and provide some sort of emotional trigger in the video. For example, the commercial online that reach you emotionally are usually the most effective. The videos usually show a person that you can relate to having a problem, then how the business that is posting the video can solve that problem for them. Since you already feel like you can relate to the person having the problem, you then are interested inthe product because it was able to solve that other person’s problem, so why not yours? If you are a skilled videographer or editor, videos can be one of your most powerful tools. Honestly, even if you aren’t that good, video can still be one of your most powerful tools. People love user generated content, and your video that you might think isn’t all that good could be the one that launches your business or brand to the top of your market!

Live Streams or Lives

As you grow your audience of followers online, it may be an effective tool for your brand to use live streams to share content directly with them. The benefits of having a good audience with a live stream include being able to nurture your audience more by being able to answer questions directly and having a more personal connection. You also get the advantage of being able to charge for certain webinars/live streams to raise money. It is important to have a decent-sized audience if you want to live stream and have anyone watching, but you can also promote the event and get more people to sign on and see what you have to offer. I think live streams are extremely effective for brands that have an established presence online, and I also think companies should make it a goal to have enough followers online to be able to do a live stream. You can always record a live stream as well, then use it as a video or a webinar in the future.

Carousels

Another powerful way of providing useful content and effective digital media is the carousel. This is a collection of images and, as of recently, videos in a sort of clickable slide show. You can put up to 10 images and videos in a single carousel, each with its own link if needed. The carousel is great because you can get a lot of information into a small area that people can click through and browse right from your page. It is important to note, carousels are bits of media that are used on Facebook. Usually, carousels are Facebook advertisements, and they are effective shopping advertisements because you can show multiple products and variants in a single ad. They are also very effective in educating your audience. Carousels act almost as slide shows, and you can put a new bit of information on each slide to promote engagement and click-through while offering useful and helpful information for your audience. If your brand uses Instagram (hint: you should be) you can use carousels for your organic posts as well. They are also highly effective in educating your audience here. I love carousels because they are a powerful way to get so many different messages out in a quick, efficient way.

Stories

Stories are a great way to promote a business’s or brand’s social media profile. You can use them on many different platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. They are great for reaching a lot of people quickly because they are short clips and are easily digestible. Eye-catching story posts can be highly effective in brand awareness. Be sure to have a good hook and something to get your audience’s attention right as they see your post. This will create a better click-through rate to your profile on whichever platform you are using at the time. Stories are great for giving your audience nice bits of information or media that they are interested in as well. This builds brand trust and will keep your brand top-of-mind as well. Be sure to have useful content in your stories to keep a high engagement rate. I like using stories because they are small and easy to keep attention with, as well as powerful in spreading a message quickly. 

Blogs

Blogs are usually text documents that businesses or individuals put online for their audiences in order to educate, inform, or entertain them. This is an example of a blog that is intended to educate (and hopefully entertain a little!) Blogs are very powerful ways of building an audience over time by offering useful information that resonates with the audience. The more people read from you, your brand, or your business, the better they feel they get to know you. (and they do!) They are great for educating an audience because you can fit as much information as you want into a blog. As long as your blog brings value to a reader, they will continue to read it, so content is king here as well. Blogs can be written in many different manners, so find what you are most comfortable with, and be confident as you write. They don’t have to be perfect, and if you are writing as a personal blog, nobody expects them to be. I love blogs because they allow you to show your audience your personality while educating, informing, and entertaining your audience. I also find blogging to be one of the most effective audience-building tools over the long term.

In the Digital Age that is today, having an online presence is absolutely critical for your business or brand. Being able to properly use each different type of media and connect with your audience on a deeper level is also a huge part of growing a business in an effective manner. By providing value to your customer through mixed media online, you can really connect with them and become the person or brand they turn to when they need you. You can grow your brand to extraordinary levels and live the life you dream of through great media, content, and value!

It is imperative to be online during these times, and these are some of the best practices in growing your business in an effective and powerful way. Hiring a digital consultant may also be a highly effective resource for you as you grow. Contact me at soissondigitalmarketing.com and let’s talk about your goals and how I can help you achieve them. 

To your success!

-Mark

Seven things you should do to grow your business in 2023

Seven things you should do to grow your business online in 2023

1.  Set up a digital presence with a website.

growing a business online with a personalized website

With more and more people turning to the internet as a resource in this digital age, it is imperative to have an online presence. If you want your company to be able to grow and reach your goals, your digital presence will be an integral tool in doing so. By having a website at the bare minimum, you can at least be an option for consumers to find online. The vast majority of people today use the internet to find their next product or service to consume. Sites like Amazon, Ebay, and even Facebook have marketplaces for businesses and customers to exchange goods and services. 

2. Set up a Facebook page for your business. 

growing a business online using facebook marketing

By having a Facebook page, you can connect with the over 1.7 Billion users worldwide. You can use your page to connect on a deeper level with your audience through sharing posts and digital media that resonates with them. Your audience will grow organically over time with quality and useful information, giving you an advantage over your competition via a loyal fanbase of customers.  A Facebook business manager and ads manager also gives you the tools to advertise through paid ads. With this tool, you can get your product or service in front of millions of potential customers for only a small amount of money. 

3. Learn about basic SEO

growing a business online using seo. a lady sitting outside on her laptop next to a shop.

When people have a problem they want to solve, they usually turn to the internet to find the answer. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is an extremely important and powerful tool for getting your company found online. By performing some basic tasks on your site, you can improve your search engine results placement, optimally making it to the top spot on search results for your desired keywords. If you can get your site to the top spot, or at least top 3-4, you can save an immense amount of money in advertising because you will gain tons of organic (unpaid) traffic through the results. There are a few different factors that need to be taken into account when optimizing your site for the search engines, such as page speed, keyword density, and user experience. 

4. Set up basic email marketing

growing a business online with email marketing

Another powerful tool in growing your business online, is email marketing. A well thought out and planned email campaign can take a company to a completely new level in business. The average return on investment in 2020 for an email campaign is over 40 to 1. Nearly 80% of businesses actually rely on email as the main form of communication between company and customer, so it only makes sense to use email to market your product or services. 9 out of 10 marketing specialists use email marketing to share content organically.  (oberlo.com) 

Email marketing is also a fantastic way to let your audience not only get to know you, but also learn more about your company and its mission. 

5. Network

networking for business in 2021

Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful forms of advertising available. With today’s digital age, people will not only talk about products or services that have impacted them in some way, but will also share information about them online. A healthy network of people in your industry is a great way to problem solve, and potentially get more business through referrals. Since running a business is a very complicated endeavor, knowing experts that can do many of the difficult tasks that are “out of your wheelhouse”,  can be an extremely powerful resource. They can not only help you with their services, but could also be able to teach you how to do the task yourself in some cases. In business, it truly is about who you know, and networking is the only way to meet the people that you can connect with on a professional level. Sites like LinkedIn and Facebook are great resources for professional networking. There are a vast amount of professional groups that you can join on Facebook and LinkedIn to grow your network.

6. Put out useful content

large crowd at concert gathering content

The content you put out to your audience defines your business. Potential clients or customers then read that content looking for a solution to some sort of problem they have, whether that is wanting to be entertained or something more complex that you have the answer to. By putting out useful content, you are able to connect with your audience and build a much better level of trust around your product or service. Your useful content is what will establish your position as a professional in your industry. By putting out a consistent stream of effective and useful content that solves a problem, people will begin to flock to your business for your solutions! Content is truly king when it comes to growing your business online. Useful content also helps immensely as one of the cornerstones of SEO. Search engines crawl sites for keywords, high-quality content, and a clear, effective message. By having great content that fits these requirements, (and a few other things) you can have a strong position in the quest for free digital traffic.

7. Get to know your target audience

social media target audience father and daugher

The most important part of any type of business is helping others. The most effective way you can do this is by solving a problem for them. The only way to help someone with a problem is to find out what that problem is first. So, through engaging and well-written content, you can connect with your target audience to find their pain points, or problems. Getting to know your target audience will also allow you to connect with them on a deeper level, gaining more trust as time goes on, and eventually turning that into more business. Engaging content will get your target audience to comment and respond to your message, giving you more and more insight into who they are and how you can best help them. Many marketers and businesses like to use interactive posts like polls to learn more about their potential audience through their responses. They can be a lot of fun, and if done right, can help you build an extensive email list that you can use to market to even more people! 

While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it is a decent start for those looking to get a little more traction while growing a business. It is imperative to be online during these times, and these are some of the best practices in growing your business in an effective and powerful way. Hiring a digital consultant may also be a highly effective resource for you as you grow. Contact me at soissondigitalmarketing.com and let’s talk about your goals and how I can help you achieve them. 

To your success!