Can Blogging Help My Business?

Can Blogging Help My Business?
Can Blogging Help My Business?

Can Blogging Help My Business?

If you think your business will flourish without blogging, think again. Incorporating a blog on your website is a powerful way to drive business success.

Before I dive into the reasons you should start a blog, here are a few of my favorite statistics that will get you pumped up about blogging!

  • Over 409 million people view more than 21 billion blog pages monthly.
  • Small businesses with blogs receive 126% more lead growth than small businesses that do not blog. (Source: ThinkCreative)
  • 6 out of 10 US consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.

I could keep going, but you get the idea. Unfortunately, the statistics alone aren’t always enough to encourage a business owner to start blogging. If you don’t have a blog for your brand yet, the reasons why probably sound a little something like this:

  • I wouldn’t know where to begin!
  • I don’t have anything business-related to blog about!
  • I don’t have time!

If these reasons resonate with you, take a deep breath and hear me out. Starting a blog is not that difficult, and once you take that first step, the benefits of brand blogging will make your hard work totally worth it!

Here are five ways blogging can help your business…

 

1. Increase Website Traffic

One obvious way blogging can drive traffic to your site is through SEO (search engine optimization), which is the process of crafting content so that it improves your Google search ranking. With a business blog, you can regularly strengthen your SEO success through the effective use of keywords and frequent updates (which prompt search engine bots to crawl and index your site more frequently).

Ranking higher than your competitors in Google means that your target audience will see your business first! When someone performs a Google search and lands on a web page, they’re expecting the said page to provide useful and compelling content. Whether your blog provides tutorials, entertaining stories, or product and service information, the users that search for solutions and land on your blog will set aside time to read it.

So, with blogging, not only does your website traffic increase but so does the average time users spend on your site.

 

2. Establish Credibility

Any smart business owner knows you can’t just talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk. You can claim to be an industry expert all day long, but does your website actively prove that you really know what you’re doing? By sharing valuable info about products and services in your niche, you’re strengthening your brand. When you shed light on solutions to customers’ pain points, you earn their trust.

One company blog that oozes credibility is the Whole Foods blog, Whole Story. This blog enhances the company’s brand identity, addressing its target customer base that’s interested in healthy, organic options. Whole Story is a powerful example of a brand using a blog to provide value while promoting their own products.

 

3. Humanize Your Brand

A brand is the promise, the big idea, the expectations that reside in each customer’s mind about a product, service, or company. Branding is about making an emotional connection. ~ Alina Wheeler

In many of my blog posts, I touch on consumers’ desire for a personal relationship and human connection with their favorite brands. From social media to email marketing, multiple forms of digital marketing allow space to humanize your brand.

However, blogging gives you a bigger opportunity to add a personal touch. Social media platforms are great for short, quick bursts of ideas, information, and entertainment. But blogging gives you the opportunity to dive deep into a subject and really show readers your enthusiasm!

A blog can make a business more transparent and further express a brand’s personality in ways that might not be as obvious on other platforms.

The more “human” you’re perceived by your customers, the more loyal they will be to your brand.

 

4. Results That Last

So, you write a blog post, make it live, and share it on social media. Your post gets your brand a little bit of audience engagement, and soon you’re on to writing your next post. Is your old post still relevant? Sure is! Does it still serve a purpose? Absolutely!

You see, months or even years after a blog post is published, it can continue to attract new leads to convert.

Hubspot says that more than 90% of their blog’s leads came from old posts. Why would older posts perform better than new posts? It’s simple. Gradually, new posts become old posts that grow in search ranking through views and shares.

Here’s an example. I searched “how to pitch a business idea” on Google.

The top 4 results are from 2013, 2018, 2009, and 2017, and you don’t make it to the top of Google by not being relevant.

Blogging is a gift that keeps on giving!

 

Start Blogging Now to Elevate Your Brand’s Success!

Clearly, blogging has awesome benefits. If you’ve realized you need to start blogging but don’t know where to begin, our seasoned and versatile content creators are happy to help!

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Emoji Marketing: 3 Brands That Did it Right

Emoji Marketing - 3 Brands That Did It Right
Emoji Marketing - 3 Brands That Did It Right

Emoji Marketing: 3 Brands That Did it Right

Happy World Emoji Day!

Yep, you read that right. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’re already aware of today’s “holiday.” It’s a day to celebrate the tiny cartoon images on our devices that most of us use every day! Emojis have been in our lives for a long time. Beginning as components of chatroom conversations in the ’90s as emoticons, emojis have reshaped the way we communicate.

“Yes, they are cute and fun and kind of addictive, but they also improve our capacity to make our intended meaning known.”  ~  Psychology Today

Whether or not you’re a fan of these little digital icons, there’s no denying that more and more successful brands are jumping on board with emoji marketing. And the brands that are doing it right present their emojis in ways that are both impressive and memorable.

If your business hasn’t jumped on the emoji marketing bandwagon yet, keep reading for examples of brands that pulled it off flawlessly.

Emoji Marketing - Deadpool Emoji Billboard Campaign

Deadpool’s Emoji Billboard

Hilarious + Creative = Genius! Capturing the attention of fans, three simple emojis were used to spell out “Deadpool” to promote the new movie. This marketing campaign reportedly played a role in Deadpool breaking box office records for an R-rated movie. An emoji that appears to be smiling poo is not something you see on a billboard every day. This campaign is proof that doing the unexpected can totally pay off!

Emoji Marketing - WWF Endangered Emoji Campaign

WWF’s #EndangeredEmoji Twitter Campaign

In 2015, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) developed the #EndangeredEmoji campaign with the goal to save animals from extinction. Targeting Millennials by using a social media platform and alternative communication methods proved to be a great idea. A fresh audience flocked to this emoji campaign, leading to 559,000 mentions and 59,000 sign-ups during the first month of the launch.

Emoji Marketing - McDonald's Good Times Emoji Campaign

McDonald’s “Good Times” Emoji Marketing Campaign

McDonald’s produced a simple and lighthearted campaign to tell a short story using only emojis. They start by acknowledging a potentially bad day and showing empathy. They follow up with humor and the suggestion that visiting their business will turn your bad day around.

Final Thoughts on Emoji Marketing

Final Thoughts

As businesses evolve alongside their customers, using these new technologies is vital for connecting emotionally with their target audiences.

However, for every successful emoji marketing campaign, there have been other, less-than-successful attempts made. So, before you decide to incorporate emojis into your marketing campaigns, make sure they flow with your overall marketing strategy.

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4 Essential Digital Marketing Elements Your Business Needs

  • June 11, 2018

4 Essential Digital Marketing Elements Your Business Needs

1. Branding

This is so important because it shows your customers how you’re going to accommodate them. Your brand is your business name, logo, tagline, personality, and more! Most popular brands evolve by adjusting to the times. This allows them to meet the ever-changing needs and expectations of the clients and customers. If nothing else, you need a brand name, a target audience, and an idea of how your brand personality is going to connect with your target audience.

Starbucks Logo 1971 - 4 Essential Digital Marketing Elements Your Business Needs

(1971)

Starbucks Logo 2022 - 4 Essential Digital Marketing Elements Your Business Needs

(2022)

This is a good example of brand evolution. Starbucks is continuously updating their brand and services, presenting a fresh take on a company we’ve known for decades.

2. Website

If you’re a newbie, you probably don’t have a huge website budget yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an awesome website. Ideally, your site should be simple and easy to navigate. Fast load times are also vital, or you might be losing people before they even see your site!

You will also want to make sure that your website is mobile-optimized, meaning that if someone wants to visit your site from a phone or tablet, they’ll still get a great browsing experience.

3. Content

Content covers all the things. Anything that educates your customers about your business is content. Potential clients are going to visit your website to see if and how your content is relates to them and their needs. The best content should be non-intrusive and inspire your customers to come to you.

4. Advertising

A strategically planned-out ad can help your business grow substantially. And the best part? You don’t need a ton of money to get started! Advertising is key – don’t forget it!

If you’re just getting started, my suggestion to you is remarketing to people who have already visited your website. They’ve already shown interest, and all you need to do is seal the deal! Digital advertising is a great way to drive traffic to your site and convert prospects into customers.

There you have it! Four essential digital marketing elements that every business needs to have in order to set you up for success!

If you wish to have more traffic, leads or sales, then it’s time we talk!

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Do I Need a Business Website in 2023?

Do I Need a Business Website

Do I Need a Business Website in 2023?

Do I need a website for my business? 

I find it baffling how many businesses do not have a website in 2023. Whether it’s a simple splash page or an elaborate, feature-filled site and a blog, your business needs a professional website. Business owners have a lot of reasons for not having a business website. Most often, I hear the following:

  • I just can’t afford a website right now.
  • I have a Facebook business page, so I don’t need a website.
  • I don’t have the time or skill to invest in a website.

According to a recent article from Business Know-How, one of the top reasons startup businesses fail is that they have no online presence.

If your business is not on the Internet, then your business will be out of business.
~ Bill Gates

 

Do You Need a Dedicated Business Website? Yes! Here’s Why.

 

1. Your Customers Expect You to Be Online

This fact alone is reason enough for you to create a website. 60% of consumers perform a local search on a search engine like Google to find the products and services they need before ever stepping foot into a store.

If you don’t have a business website, how will these consumers find you in a Google search? How will you get any new business? The only thing worse than not being found by a potential customer is when that potential customer finds your competitor instead.

And your customers have high standards. They have no desire to visit your single-page website that hasn’t been updated since 2004. Here are a few things consumers are looking for in a business website:

Mobile Optimization

  • 52.2% of online traffic was generated through mobile devices in 2018. (Statista)
  • 53% of mobile websites are abandoned by the visitor if the site takes longer than three seconds to load. (Google, 2018)
  • 85% of consumers think that a company’s mobile website should look as good or better than the desktop site. (Sweor)

 

Modern Website Design

  • 38% of consumers will stop engaging with a website if the design is unattractive. (Hubspot)
  • 75% of consumers judge a company’s credibility based on its website’s overall design. (Invision)

 

Positive User Experience

  • 88% of consumers say they won’t return to a website after a bad user experience.
  • Upon visiting the homepage of your site, 86% of consumers want to see product and service information, 64% expect to see contact information, and 52% want to know more about your business.

You don’t need anything complicated. You don’t need to overthink it. You just need a few pages with basic, up-to-date information that your audience is looking for.

 

2. You Can Control the Narrative

The increasingly advanced features on social media platforms are prompting many business owners to utilize a Facebook business page as their primary online presence. In all fairness, social media does make it easy to connect with prospects, and Facebook now has 80 million business pages across the platform.

Reviews and comments on social media feel great, but you can’t control what others say. Shouldn’t you have control over the stories being told about you? A business website serves as an official online presence so that you can share your real story instead of depending on others to speak for you.

 

3. Other Reasons You Need a Business Website, Not Just a Facebook Page

 

You Have Control Over the Overall Experience

A professionally designed business website is the place for you to share your company culture, values, and services. A website can be customized, whereas Facebook only allows you to swap out your profile and cover photo. You can have the most amazing cover photo in the world, but when all is said and done, a Facebook page looks and operates like a Facebook page.

You Make the Rules

If you’re using a social media platform as your primary online presence, you’re at the mercy of that social media platform. Algorithms and rules change constantly and unpredictably. Just a few months ago, Facebook changed its algorithm to prioritize posts from friends over posts from businesses in user feeds. When you have a website, you control the content and the message.

My suggestion? Don’t choose one over the other. If you want to thrive, you’ll have a business website AND social media platforms that work together. Use your Facebook business page to build relationships with your target audience, and then convert them to website visitors, which you can then nurture into loyal customers.

It’s Not That Hard, and It’s Not That Expensive.

You don’t need to be a tech guru to get and maintain a business website. Most digital marketing agencies offer basic, budget-friendly, starter websites. HighClick Media even offers training for business owners who want to learn to make updates to their sites at their leisure.

 

Change Your Mindset

When you spend marketing dollars on a professional website design, you’re not getting a disposable product in return. A website is a gift that keeps on giving. A strategically designed, well-optimized business website offers a better return on investment than any other form of advertising. With a website, your business can be discovered online by your target audience 24/7.

Why Should You Consider HighClick Media to Design Your Business Website?

  • We take time to fully understand your business goals and customer needs. We analyze your industry and competitors to ensure your website meets your specific needs.
  • We’re your partner, so we’ll advise you along the way.
  • Your new website will act as a new salesperson.
  • We’ll support you. Even after your website goes live, we’re here to answer any questions you may have.
  • We’ll teach you. If you want full control of your website, we’ll train you on how to make certain changes and updates yourself.
  • Our website builders keep search engine optimization in mind.
  • We regularly update the client during the web design process.

 

Need Help Creating Your Business Website?

Let’s have a conversation!

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How Can I Use Instagram to Drive Website Traffic?

  • August 9, 2018

How Can I Use Instagram to Drive Website Traffic?

All the Cool Kids Use Instagram!

Instagram is a social media networking app that allows you to share content in the form of photos and videos. In recent years, the mobile photography craze has made Instagram highly successful, with the platform reaching 1 billion active monthly users in June.

And to the mystery business owner reading my blog: If you don’t even have a business Insta yet, you’re seriously missing out!

With a smart strategy in place, social media platforms can assist you in building a dedicated following, strengthening your brand, and, YES, driving tons of new traffic to your website! Take a look at my 4 proven ways to use Instagram to drive website traffic.

 

1. Create the Perfect Bio & Include a Call to Action

Who are you and what do you do for your audience? This is the question your bio should answer. Your words should be powerful and compelling. The goal is to attract your audience and what your brand is and how it your product or service benefits them.

One of my favorite business bios belongs to Airbnb:

Their bio quickly explains their services in a playful way, and the brand encourages audience participation by inviting followers to share their photos.

Most importantly, there is a Call to Action. “Book from our feed: abnb.co/instagram” links visitors to their website to take the next step. You’ll definitely want to link your website to your bio because this particular social platform prevents links in photo captions from being clickable.

 

2. Be Consistent

“How often should I be posting to my Instagram?” It’s such a common question, but there is no right or wrong answer. As long as you’re being consistent, you’re doing it right. Don’t post ten times on Monday, zero Tuesday and Wednesday, once on Thursday, and then nothing for a week! Find your balance. Don’t flood your followers’ news feeds. Space your content out without falling off the map. Having a consistent presence builds trust and keeps your brand fresh in your followers’ minds.

 

3. Incorporate Hashtags & Location Tags

Posts with at least one hashtag attain 12.6% more engagement, while posts with a location tag gain 79% more engagement. On the flip side, overusing hashtags and using irrelevant hashtags are subject to penalties. Three to five hashtags is a solid range to use. Make sure your hashtags are relevant to your brand and don’t use the same hashtags for every post.

 

4. Share Useful Content

At first glance, Instagram is a place for pretty pictures, but let’s not forget how important compelling content is for every component of your digital strategy.

Showcase your products and services. If you’re a boutique owner, give your audience styling tips based on your clothing and accessories. Or let’s say you’re a chef. Share pictures of your beautiful meals and direct visitors to your website for recipes.

The best thing you can do on Instagram is to provide value to your followers so they’ll be compelled to visit your website. What makes your business stand out?

How to Use Instagram to Drive Website Traffic

If you’re looking for more Instagram marketing tips, our experts can help you strategically grow your account. Contact us today so that we can produce the results that you need to drastically increase your website traffic.

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Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Agency

  • August 28, 2018

Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Agency

“I had no trouble hiring a digital agency for my business. We jumped right in and there were no issues at all!”  ~  No One Ever

So, your business has grown to the point where you realized you need outside help, and it’s time to make moves! You’re ready to hire a digital marketing agency to help tell your story.

If you’ve been reading our blog, you already understand the importance of professional website design and a smart marketing strategy. It can be pretty easy to get wrapped up in the enthusiasm and awe an agency can offer, especially if this is your first time.

However, if you aren’t careful when making your selection, you might find yourself disappointed by an agency that overpromises but underdelivers.

 

Answer These Questions Before Reaching Out to a Digital Marketing Agency

 

What Set of Skills Do We Need?

This is a good question to start with, because if the answer is “Nothing” then why are you even reading this blog, silly? If you’re considering hiring an agency, you’ve obviously come to the conclusion that your current set of skills isn’t cutting it for the goals you want to reach.

Consider your digital marketing strengths and weaknesses to determine which services you really need. As liberating as it might feel to shout out “EVERYTHING!” it’s not very practical or cost-effective to dive into everything right off the bat.

 

What Are Our Goals?

When determining your company’s goals, specificity is key. “Generating leads” is not a specific goal, but “generating 20 new leads a month through SEO and content marketing” is.

The more you specify your goals, the better chance you have of finding an agency that will deliver.

And if you don’t know what your goals are, that’s okay too. A good agency is essentially a good partner, and they’ll be able to help you elucidate your goals after initial meetings.

 

What Are Our Priorities?

Time to put on your thinking cap and brainstorm ALL THE THINGS! There are things that need to be done, no doubt, but what, when, and where? Get your team together and throw your magical ideas around like confetti!

Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Agency

Once you put these ideas in writing, you’ll likely start to notice themes. Grouping your goals into these themes will help you truly identify what needs to be done.

Maybe you have several goals related to social media marketing or a lot of goals related to website updates. Pull three to five themes out of your list, arrange them in order of importance, and start from there!

 

What Will Happen If We Don’t Make a Change?

Nothing changes if nothing changes!

Realizing that you need to do something different, then making a choice not to do it comes with consequences. Will you continue to drop in ranking if you’re not staying on top of your SEO? Will you continue to lose leads if you don’t optimize your website?

Consider the effect that inaction would cause your brand, and decide whether or not it’s feasible both short and long-term.

 

How Much Time Can We Spend with a Digital Marketing Agency?

This is a question full of questions that need to be answered in order to find the right agency.

Are you willing and able to communicate with your agency? Are you available for regular calls and meetings to ensure that your business and your agency are on the same page? Is your leadership team willing to be available if need be?

It’s vital to consider how much time you have to invest in your relationship with your agency so that you can be straight up with them about how much of your time they can have. Make sure you’re able to help them understand what is doable for you.

 

What Are Our Relationship Goals?

Each of our clients is unique. Some want steady communication, while some prefer monthly check-ins. Some clients want to give final approval on all decisions, and some simply want their agency to tell them what is happening and then go for it. Knowing where you are on that spectrum allows you to communicate that at the start of your new relationship. Help the agency help you!

 

Ready, Set, Go!

Seems easy enough, right? Answering these questions before you reach out to an agency can mean the difference between success and failure. Any agency is as helpful as you allow them to be. Arm yourself with the knowledge needed to attain your specific goals and your agency will help you get there in the most efficient way.

High Click Media is a full-service digital marketing and web design agency. We help grow businesses of all shapes and sizes by implementing comprehensive marketing solutions.

Whether you’re looking for a website redesign, social media marketing, or brand development, HighClick can help! Call us at 252.814.2150 or drop us a line today!

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8-Step Digital Marketing Process for Optimum Success

8-Step Digital Marketing Process for Optimum Success
  • January 9, 2019

8-Step Digital Marketing Process for Optimum Success

 

What Is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is tough to define. Truthfully, there are a number of ways to define it, and none of them are wrong.

Digital marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and their websites to connect with current and prospective customers. (HubSpot)

 

Common Questions I’m Asked By Potential Digital Marketing Clients:

  • When will I notice a return on investment?
  • Are you almost done updating my SEO?
  • When will this marketing project be finished?

What do all these questions have in common? They all demonstrate a dilemma based on the potential client’s mindset.

All too frequently, people try to fit digital marketing into a neat little box with a defined beginning and end, but that’s not how this works. Digital marketing is not a project; it’s an ongoing process. At HighClick, we go through an 8-step process for each and every client, and today’s your lucky day! I’m going to share our process with you.

 

Digital Marketing Process

 

Step 1: Probe

The first step in the process involves a bit of detective work. We conduct a thorough analysis based on the area you need assistance with. This process allows us to identify your brand’s strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities.

If you’re a business owner attempting to tackle Digital Marketing on your own, you may be tempted to skip the first step. Don’t do it!

No doubt you know your business better than anyone, and you probably already have a general idea of your brand’s strengths and weaknesses. But, when you dig deeper you’ll find that your original list of strengths and weaknesses was just the tip of the iceberg. Being thorough is key.

 

Step 2: Strategize

After the initial analysis, it’s time to come up with a plan. We create a custom set of actions to help you achieve your brand goals through carefully selected online marketing channels.

Business owners, I cannot emphasize the importance of having a strategy enough. You can create and distribute all the content your heart desires, but if the content has no rhyme or reason, it does your brand no good. Think of it like this – we all know those people that talk just to hear themselves talk. If you don’t have a strategy, that’s how consumers will view your brand.

Without strategy, content is just stuff, and the world has enough stuff.
~ Arjun Basu, writer

 

Step 3: Build

Now that the strategy is in place, we’re ready to use our plan of action as an instruction manual to build your website, campaign, blog post, etc.

For my business owners who want to do the building themselves, go for it! You may find that the building stage is fairly easy, but there’s still so much to do.

 

Step 4: Optimize

If you build it, they will come… right? Wrong. 

It’s not enough just to build; We’ve gotta optimize! In the optimization phase, we strive to get big results without logging an outrageous amount of unnecessary hours. The ability to do more with less is what optimization is all about! And it’s a wonderful thing.

From search engine optimization to using industry-relevant hashtags to designing a website that is web and mobile-friendly, this step cannot be grazed over.

My advice to business owners: leave optimization to the experts. If implemented incorrectly, trying to take this on yourself could hurt rather than help your brand.

 

Step 5: Publish

What are we going to do with all this compelling content now that it’s optimized? We’re gonna publish it!

Review your strategy to get an idea of which pieces of content go where.

 

Step 6: Promote

After we’ve published the content, website, etc., the next step is to promote!

There are endless ways to promote a digital campaign. To name a few: syndication across relevant platforms, guest blogging, PPC, audience engagement, influencer partnership, press releases, and paid social media advertising.

Just make sure that you’re promoting effectively. Different outlets are viewed by different audiences, so learn where your audience is and plan accordingly.

 

Step 7: Track

One of the beautiful things about digital campaigns is the ability to track results and measure success. We never want to invest time, energy, and money in a campaign that isn’t generating conversions.

We use a wide variety of methods to track our clients’ campaigns. It all depends on the type of campaign, where it’s published, and what the goal is.

It’s not unusual for business owners to dabble in all things digital marketing to determine what sticks, and if you’ve got that kind of cash, I say go for it! But, if your marketing budget is limited in any way, ask for guidance and recommendations from a trusted digital agency. Doing this will put you ahead of the game, and prevent unnecessary tracking efforts.

 

Step 8: Refine

After we analyze your results, we make the necessary adjustments to your marketing campaign, and begin the digital marketing process all over again! Each time we cycle through the process, we learn more about your brand and your target audience, gearing us up to make the next cycle even better.

Do you need help implementing a digital marketing process for your business? Let’s talk about it!

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5 Marketing Lessons We Learned from the Fyre Festival Fiasco

  • February 5, 2019

5 Marketing Lessons We Learned from the Fyre Festival Fiasco

5 Marketing Lessons We Learned from the Fyre Festival Fiasco

If you’ve paid any attention to social media or your favorite streaming apps within the last month, you’ve probably heard about 2017’s now-infamous Fyre Festival. The story of Fyre, the “festival” that never actually happened, is so fascinating that it became the subject of recent Netflix and Hulu documentaries, released within just days of one another. If you’re part of the tiny percentage of people who aren’t aware of this twisted tale, here’s the rundown:

 

The Fyre Festival Fraud

The festival, founded by Billy MacFarland and Ja Rule, was shamelessly promoted across social media by A-list supermodels and Instagram influencers (including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Emily Ratajowski), as an exclusive, luxurious experience spanning multiple days on a private Bahamian island. The promos and Instagram ads were mesmerizing and suspiciously vague, using the brand hashtag #fyrefestival. Ticket prices ranged from $1,500 to over $100,000 for the “cultural experience of the decade,” and included airfare, gourmet meals, and luxury accommodations.

Upon arriving, festival-goers were disappointed to discover that the “luxury villas” were actually disaster relief tents, the “culinary experience” was actually cold cheese sandwiches, the “branded jet experience” was actually a commercial 747, and the artists scheduled to perform were actually… nowhere to be found. Fyre Festival organizers, who were unreachable for help or clarity, released a vague statement that the festival had been canceled, and a plethora of lawsuits was filed against the organizers and other parties involved. The chaos was chronicled by furious attendees, whose videos and photos spread like wildfire across social media platforms, making national news. Talk about trouble in paradise.

 

5 Digital Marketing Lessons We Learned from the Fyre Festival Fiasco

From a digital marketing standpoint, Fyre Festival demonstrates how powerful, and ultimately, detrimental, digital marketing (social media marketing and Instagram influencer marketing in particular) can be without a proper strategy in place. Although the festival was a disaster, it serves as an important lesson to brands and marketers alike, and we’re discussing what we learned below.

 

1. Never Underestimate the Power of Experiential Marketing.

Millennials prefer to spend their money on experiences over material things – and they are willing to pay extra for it. In fact, many brands already recognize this and are turning to experiential marketing to try to connect. Basically, this encompasses setting up opportunities for interaction, but with the brand and with other consumers, often through special events.

– Understanding the Research on Millennial Shopping Behaviors | Angela Woo

Tickets to Fyre Festival promised more than a live music event. Promos for the festival heavily focused on providing an experience, implying that, if only for three days, attendees would live the same lifestyle as the celebrities in the SMM promos. From traveling to an exclusive destination on a private jet to partying on a yacht with supermodels to having the chance to win an actual buried treasure, Fyre Festival marketed the event as an organic, magical experience for its target audience.

 

2. If You Make Big Promises, You Have to Hold Up Your End of the Deal.

Rule of thumb: don’t overpromise and underdeliver, or you risk ruining your brand’s reputation. Organizers of the event regularly referred to the Fyre Festival as “an experience that exceeds all expectations.” Fyre’s audience consumed these promises for months on end, truly believing that the event would exceed their already high expectations. We already know what happened when Fyre failed to deliver, to say the least. Now, everyone associates the Fyre brand with fear, dishonesty, and chaos. RIP Fyre.

 

3. Influencer Marketing Comes with a Price.

Festival organizers launched an influencer marketing campaign featuring over 400 widely-known social media brands and influencers, aka “Fyre Starters,” to share photos or videos to spark discussion about the event. Within the first 2 days of their Instagram marketing campaign, the promoted Instagram posts attained 300 million impressions. Impressive, right? But let’s not get carried away. This marketing strategy was anything but strategic, and here are the cold, hard facts:

  • Kendall Jenner snagged a sweet $250K for a single post promoting the event.
  • Billy MacFarland spent millions on marketing and endorsements from famous celebrities and Instagram users, using up a majority of the budget.
  • This careless spending left little to no budget for proper infrastructure, staff, and artists.

Now, this is not to say that influencer marketing isn’t effective – it obviously is. But successful influencer marketing all boils down to implementing a specific digital marketing strategy and doing what you say you’re going to do.

 

4. Don’t Play the Blame Game.

Once the crap hit the fan, Ja Rule took to Twitter to apologize for the frenzy. Claiming that he was working to refund everyone’s money, he still had to emphasize that the failure of a festival was “NOT MY FAULT.”

 

Meanwhile, Billy McFarland issued an apology of his own to Rolling Stone:

We launched this festival marketing campaign. Our festival became a real thing and took [on] a life of it’s own. Our next step was to book the talent and actually make the music festival, and that’s when a lot of reality and roadblocks hit. We were a little naive in thinking for the first time we could do this ourselves.

One surefire way to destroy brand trust and loyalty is to deny responsibility for an issue that’s clearly your fault. Successful brands are accountable for their actions, acknowledge their shortcomings, and don’t rest until they make things right.

 

5. Just Be Honest.

Transparency has been a popular term in marketing lately, and for good reason. Customers only want to cultivate relationships with brands they can trust; Brands that are honest, transparent, and authentic. Every brand makes mistakes, and accidents happen. However, deliberately misleading your target audience to make a quick buck will ultimately leave you broke as a joke – because if consumers can’t trust you, they’re not going to support your brand.

McFarland admitted to launching Fyre’s multimillion-dollar marketing campaign before the actual event organization was even a thought. Fyre organizers knew that they were in too deep long before the scheduled date of the event, but they made no effort to warn their ticket holders.

Final Thoughts

Fyre Festival’s marketing campaign was, albeit short-lived, a massive success. It was the product, not the marketing, that didn’t deliver. As of right now, the only influencer who has made an apology is Bella Hadid, Ja Rule is still desperately trying to defend himself on social media, thousands of Bahamian festival workers remain unpaid, and Billy MacFarland is in jail.

The Fyre Festival turned out to be a total trainwreck, built on fraudulent activity and lies, but one truth remains – social media is a powerful component of the digital marketing game.

Curious as to how you can utilize social media marketing (SMM) to elevate your brand? Our expert team creates honest, authentic, and transparent campaign strategies to make your brand the best it can be! To set up a free consultation, reach out to us today!

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5 Questions That Lead to Mind-Blowing Marketing Campaigns

5 Questions That Lead to Mind-Blowing Marketing Campaigns
  • April 1, 2019

5 Questions That Lead to Mind-Blowing Marketing Campaigns

There are endless ways to create brand awareness for your product or service through marketing campaigns: email marketing, social media marketing, SEO… and a whole lot more.

But such a wide variety of choices can become overwhelming. Which marketing strategies do you apply, and how are you supposed to determine what your campaign involves? Where do you begin? Choosing the appropriate outlet to promote your campaign prevents you from missing the opportunity to connect with your target audience.

It’s stressful, I know. Whether you run a large corporation or you’re a small business owner, you make important decisions daily. If adding one more thing to the list makes you want to run for the hills:

1) You’re not alone.

2) Relax.

The groundwork for your successful marketing campaign is only a few questions away. Asking yourself these questions will help you identify five fundamental components of your campaign right out of the gate.

 

Successful Marketing Campaigns Start with These 5 Questions

 

Who Are You Trying to Reach, and Why?

It all comes down to who you want to talk to and how the products or services your brand provides can benefit them. Your target customers want solutions and a reason to care, and it’s up to you to give them one! No pressure. 😉

But seriously, answering these questions is going to play a vital role in not only what you say, but how you say it.

So before you move forward with any part of the marketing process, determine your target audience and what this audience can absorb from your marketing campaign. You cannot create and carry out successful campaigns without doing this step first and foremost. Identifying and understanding your audience is always the first step in the right direction.

 

What Is Your Campaign Goal?

If your first thought was “make more money!”… same. Seriously, that’s the same goal for everyone. We need to be more specific than that! The answer may not be as obvious as you think!

Ultimately, yes, your campaign will ideally lead to an increased ROI. But, try to think of campaigns as stepping stones – each individual campaign should elevate you to the next level within your overall strategy.

HighClick Media’s parent company, DataGroup Technologies, offers IT services, for example. Many of DataGroup’s campaigns revolve around the benefits of our services to intrigue potential customers.

The motivation behind creating a marketing campaign in the first place determines how the content you release will be consumed by your target audience.

 

How Do You Want to Convey Your Message?

So, now that you’ve decided who you want to talk to and what you want to say, it’s time to pinpoint the most efficient ways to communicate with your audience.

In what ways will your potential customers best respond to your message? Are they active on Instagram, or do they still not understand the purpose of hashtags? Do they prefer emailing or texting?

Deciding how you communicate is where your brand will really benefit from having a creative marketing team in the mix. Digital marketing provides an endless selection of marketing channels, and more are created all the time.

My advice to you: Don’t risk missing your mark because you made a quick decision due to feeling overwhelmed. Let the industry experts help you create a solid marketing plan.

 

How Can You Make Your Brand’s Campaign Stand Out?

Once you’ve identified your target audience, goals, and platform for your campaign, the next step is making that campaign pop!

In 2023, consumers are constantly being force-fed information 24/7. Even if you decide to “unplug” and go on a digital detox, you likely won’t leave your house without crossing paths with at least one advertisement of some sort, digital or traditional.

But don’t stress. This also means that your campaign has a ton of flexibility and potential!

Digital marketing is NOT one-size-fits-all. Brainstorm and get creative with your campaign! The sky’s the limit!

 

What Will You Do to Pull This Off?

Brilliant ideas remain only ideas if you don’t have the finances to carry them out. I strongly suggest you determine your marketing budget before you get too deep into planning your campaigns.

After you’ve determined your budget, it’s a good time to start looking at the details. What bells and whistles does your budget allow for? Where will you put your marketing dollars to ensure that the audience will remember your brand?

So, are you ready to launch a mind-blowing marketing campaign yet? If not, it’s all good – we’ve got you! Reach out to us and one of our campaign experts will contact you to chat about your marketing goals. We’ll help you make your marketing efforts a success!

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How to Make Your Social Media Stand Out

  • July 9, 2019

How to Make Your Social Media Stand Out

With so many people on social media, it can be a lot to take in all at once. But the best part about social media is that you can take it one post at a time!

Trying to change your entire feed can be time-consuming, so you must have a plan in place before you start shaking things up. So, whether you’re new to social media or you’re simply trying to improve your online presence, here are some tips to turn your social feed into a must-see!

 

Theme

Creating a consistent and eye-catching theme is extremely important when trying to increase your social media presence. You want your overall aesthetic to make viewers want to follow you based on the impression you create.

The first and most important step in picking a theme for your business’s social media is to decide what it is that you’re trying to sell or promote. Are you offering specific services? A wide range of products? No matter how well you edit your images, what truly matters is what you post about.

 

Be Your Brand

Being your brand simply means keeping a consistent voice with every post. Regardless of how many social media platforms you have or how many people you have posting on them, you want to sound as if only one person is speaking.

The last thing you want is multiple tones and voices in your content. This inconsistency in your brand identity will make it harder for your brand to be effective and identified. Some examples of brand voice characteristics are quirky, authentic, and passionate!

How to Make Your Social Media Stand Out

Post Consistently

When trying to use social media for business alongside your personal account, it can be easy to forget to post on your business account.

Let’s be honest: nobody has gotten multitasking down to a science! But one of the worst things you can do for your brand awareness is to “ghost” your followers on social media. Having an inconsistent online presence is actually worse than having no presence at all.

We like to mix it up a little bit. Roland Schitt, Schitt's Creek - How to Make Your Social Media Stand Out

Mix Up Your Content

Looking to add a little extra oomph to your social media marketing? Try to mix up your content by utilizing different content formats and techniques. Don’t just post plain images back-to-back – incorporate videos! Some of our favorite apps to spice things up on our social media are:

Picture Perfect

Picture Perfect

When choosing what images to include in your social media feed, try to pick ones that are clear and high-quality. If you’re trying to figure out how to make your social media stand out, this is a great place to start!

Utilizing puzzle feeds and grid images can make your small business really stand out on social media. The most important thing to remember before posting an image is to make sure that it accurately reflects your business. Having a great feed that’s completely irrelevant to your business is counterproductive! Always make sure that you’re representing your brand well.

If your visuals don’t fit into your brand directly, you can utilize your caption to tie it all together.

 

Creating Captions

Your images should be clear and your captions should be captivating. Captions are your chance to really engage with your online audience and build genuine relationships with them. Looking for ways to write engage-worthy captions? Try these steps!

1. Decide What Message You’re Trying to Convey

The entire point of an Instagram caption is to tell the message that your image is trying to say. For example, if your business is hosting a giveaway, your caption should include all the details your customers need to know to participate.

2. Include a Call to Action

If you want your customers to click on the link in your bio, you need to give them this direction. They’re much less likely to take action if you don’t give them the directive to do so!

To achieve a good call to action (CTA), you must be clear about what it is you want them to do. For example, “Click the link in our bio” or any simple variation of that. CTAs are everywhere: blog posts, watching videos, downloading freebies, and so on.

Jim Carrey typing furiously on a computer keyboard - How to Make Your Social Media Stand Out

3. Don’t Write a Novel

You don’t need to write a book to write a good caption, and you don’t need to just write a one-liner either. Finding that sweet spot right in the middle is crucial to any caption!

The best way to achieve this is to break your caption into small paragraphs. Seeing one giant block of text will make your audience shy away from reading your caption. But short, easy-to-read captions are definitely engage-worthy!

Stay Tuned! Joey Graceffa - How to Make Your Social Media Stand Out

Establish Recurring Posts

One consistent way to make sure your social media awareness increases is to establish a set of recurring posts. The goal here is to create something that keeps your online audience engaged and coming back for more!

Recurring posts can be anything from weekly live streams of Q&As to sharing tips and tricks, giveaways, and more.

You can post these on any of your preferred social media networks, but we prefer to do these on Instagram. This approach is the best way to showcase your creativity and your expertise to your audience.

Sharing is caring. American Grit - How to Make Your Social Media Stand Out

Share Your Story

Make your brand relatable! Authenticity is key when representing your brand. Don’t fabricate your story – just share it!

When trying to decide how to tell your story, think about what you relate to, and ask yourself these questions:

  • What are you passionate about?
  • What drives you to keep working on your business?

Finding the answers to these questions (and more) is exactly what’s going to make your customers connect with you.

When writing your mission statement, keep your story simple. Younger consumers are interested in reading a lengthy story – it’s too much to keep up with! They want something uncomplicated and easy to follow. Try to keep in mind that the more complicated your story is, the less likely people can connect with it.

The structure of your story should have a defined beginning, middle, and end. Don’t just throw it all together.

Your mission statement is a story that represents your brand – so make it a good one! Give your customers a reason to get involved with your business. The main reason customers get involved with a business is that the business is providing a solution that they need.

 

Social Media Strategy

Do you really need a strategy for your social media?

YES!

Here’s why!

Having a strategy in place makes it easier for you to know what kind of post you should do each day. Whether it be an infographic or a #TipTuesday, go ahead and have your content planned ahead of time!

By doing this, you have time to let your creativity shine! Not only does preplanning your content help free up time in your day, but also helps get your team in sync.

Having your team on the same page helps keep your brand voice consistent.

Should you hire a social media manager?

ABSOLUTELY!

Creating consistent, creative, and captivating content takes time and experience. When you hire a digital marketing agency, you’re hiring someone to study your brand and help your online audience identify your business easily.

With social media marketing, your feed must stay up-to-date, visually pleasing, and engaging. All of which can take a lot of time and focus.

When you partner with HighClick Media, you’ll find that we do WAY more than just social media! We are a full-service digital marketing agency, offering website design, search engine optimization, PPC, and more! Our mission is to help grow businesses just like yours!

So, are you ready to make your social media account stand out? If so, what are you waiting for? Reach out to us today, and one of our social media experts will be happy to chat with you about your social media goals! We’ll elevate your feed to new heights!

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