5 Growing Trends To Push Your Business Forward

Content Marketing to Attract and Engage Prospects

Content marketing is nothing new, but it's evolving.

Small business owners have gone from simple blogging to more complicated strategies involving infographics, ebooks and more. You do not have to go all out like that, but you should be providing your audience some value through the content you post.

People want to be educated. They want answers to questions. 

Satisfy their need with content, and you'll win their attention. Hold their attention with consistently excellent material, and you can gain their repeat business.

70% of people say they would instead learn about a company through articles than ads. For this reason, around 90% of companies that advertise online use content marketing currently. Most are interested in shifting funds from traditional ads to content, where they can find better returns.

You must create in-depth, engaging content with a strong visual element to attract prospects. Reach out more people by learning about the content that they want to consume and giving them more of that.

If you stay in front of your prospects through constant content posting, you will increase the odds of being first-in-mind anytime someone requires your services.

When you can balance your services and expertise with things your audience wants to learn about, you can hit a marketing sweet spot. You will find more significant returns on social media engagement, lead generation and web traffic.

Video Continues to Dominate

You might not be into Facebook Live yet, but you should probably be! Recent data shows that people are 10x more likely to comment on a Facebook Live video than otherwise.

Even if Facebook Live doesn't work for your business, incorporating video into your marketing is vital. Consider that 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos each week, on average. Video holds attention and communicates messages more effectively than text or still images alone.

Remember that there are over 2 billion active Facebook users in the worldwide. This means that approximately 1 billion people watch one hour of video a week. That’s a huge embedded audience to explore!

Research indicates that 79% percent of consumers surveyed would rather watch a video to learn about a new product then read about it. Also, “64% of consumers are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it.”  People are not only watching a video. They are also remembering what they see and buying things afterward!

Small business owners can start by answering common questions customers have — either Live or as a prerecorded release. Existing content can be re-purposed into short, informative videos and uploaded directly to social media.

Facebook Advertising To Reach Prospects

Facebook ads have become quite sophisticated. They are finally at a point where even marketers for small businesses can target effectively while gaining valuable audience insights.

The Facebook platform has 1.3 billion active daily users. The audiences are there, and others are in on the game. Without your own Facebook ad presence, your competitors are staying in front of your customers when you are not looking. The average cost-per-click on Facebook is just $1.72.  Advertising on Facebook is a cost-effective way to reach your prospects where they spend their time. You can put your message about your company in front of high-value prospects, even among particular demographics.

When you combine video and Facebook Ads, you start to multiply the impact. New data highlight the fact that social video generates much more shares than text and images combined.

Using paid media, specifically Facebook Ads has quickly become a must. They help to amplify your brand and product messages to your customer and prospects. Even if your ad does not become a runaway viral ad, it can still likely generate more engagement, awareness, and likes for your brand online.

Instagram & Influencers Drive Engagement

When it comes to constant engagement, Instagram is the number one social channel out there. According to a study, Instagram’s engagement rate is 45% greater than Facebook and 40% greater than Twitter. Engagement means that over 75% of users will take an action on an advertisement posted in their feed.

The key here is to let your customers do as much posting as you do. 77% of consumers are more convinced by user-generated photos of a product rather than professional images. Crowd-sourced your content. Ask loyal customers for pictures of them using your product. People love the attention. You also get to save on professional photography, so it’s a win-win for all.

Instagram Influencers are now growing more powerful. “Influencers” refers to users with lots of followers and tons of engagement from fans. There are all types of influencers. These include subject matter experts who post photos and videos related to their expertise.

Small businesses can tap into these influencers at a relatively low cost. 

Businesses Not Optimized For Mobile Will Be Left Behind

Digital devices have entirely changed how your customers' shopping behavior. With 2/3 of the world’s population connected by mobile devices. People now are spending more time browsing on mobile compared to desktop.

According to data collected by SimilarWeb.com, 36.46% of Google searches come from a desktop in 2017. In contrast, 63.54% comes from mobile. Mobile use is expected to grow further in 2018, likely surpassing the 70% mark by the end of the year. You must optimize for mobile.

What does being “mobile optimized” mean in 2018? Look at your search results appearance. Get found online. Check how your page appears on mobile search. Reviews and accurate information about your business matter. For example, 50% of local mobile searches lead to store visits, so it is critical to have precise information on your business hours and location.

Also, people are searching for what they want at the moment at which they want it. Let’s say a tourist is walking in downtown Chicago. He searches for ‘best pizza.’ How will he compare the quality of competing restaurants within walking distance?

Usually, they'll look to reviews. 90% of people search for reviews of business before visiting.

The quality and frequency of reviews matter. Make sure to ask your customers for reviews as part of your regular business routine.

Moreover, ensure the information from Google is plentiful and accurate. Start by using Schema markup on your contacts page. Make sure you have specific, updated directions to your business listed. Include your hours of operation.

Monitor and optimize your business for mobile use. You will keep getting business — rather than scaring business away.