Marketing is expensive. It takes time. As new technology and platforms emerge daily, it’s difficult to keep up. At Abovo, we get it. It’s not easy; however, it’s what we do best. At Abovo we value the idea of sharing knowledge. We’ve had incredible learning experiences with our clients and we want our tips, tricks and knowledge to be yours. In this document you’ll find our rules and guidelines we abide by. These rules have helped our clients see success, make more money and create more meaningful relationships. We hope this document is helpful to you in some way.
1. GET (INTENTIONALLY) SOCIAL
Whether you are a small or big business, social media platforms are a major resource for promoting your brand. Most platforms are easy to use and offer paid advertising options to help gain momentum and create brand exposure. At Abovo, we tell clients that simply because these social media platforms are out there (and are mostly free), it does not mean you have to be on (all) of them. To use social media’s power properly, you need to know the platforms your potential consumers are using, the ones that work best for your business and curate the type of content your customers wants to consumer. Our rule: Quality is always greater than quantity. In fact, this rule applies to every piece of marketing and advertising.
FACEBOOK
Monthly active users: 2.06 billion
WHATSAPP
Registered users: 1.3 billion
Owned by Facebook.
TWITTER
Monthly active users: 328 million
LINKEDIN
Registered users: >400 million
INSTAGRAM
Registered users: 700 million
Owned by Facebook.
YOUTUBE
Over 1.5 billion visitors per month. Second largest search engine behind Google.
Owned by Google.
PINTEREST
Registered users: 200 million
SNAPCHAT
Registered users: 255 million
Fastest growing social media platform.
2. DO NOT CLICK “BOOST POST”
If you’re a business owner reading this, you probably re-read to make sure you read correctly. As of December 2016, Facebook reported over 1.79 billion active users (Zephoria Digital Marketing, 2016). Unless you’re boosting a post and targeting ages and locations, your post is being sent to everyone, no matter their age, their shopping behaviors or even their location. You would never make a decision to place an ad in a newspaper across the world or in magazines that aren’t read by your type of customer. So, don’t boost a post. Even if you are boosting a post and setting criteria such as age and location, there is more you are missing out on. Through Facebook’s Advertising Manager (free) you are able to create these same posts while also targeting shopping behaviors, locations, income level and many more behaviors and demographics. This special targeting is unavailable to those clicking “boost post.”
ABOVO TIP: Work with a marketing company to help purchase your ads and create campaigns for successful and layered advertising.
3. CREATE ACCURATE CONTENT
Heightening your company’s position in search results such as Google, does not come from creating content. It comes from creating accurate content. Do not spend time creating content simply to get things on your website. Make sure you are spending time writing or creating media assets (photos, videos, blogs for example) that people are likely to search for and want to consume.
ABOVO TIP: Spend time finding keywords people are searching for in your business’ industry. And then create content around those ideas/phrases.
4. MAKE (SMALL) CHANGES TO YOUR WEBSITE OFTEN
Rules number 3 and 4 complement each other and must be deployed in pairs. When you have spent time creating great and accurate content, do not forget about it. Google, and other search engines, are designed to check websites often for new content and to ensure your “old” content is updated and accurate. It takes only minutes to update your site and will make an incredible difference to guarantee you’re front-in-line in your potential customer’s search results.
ABOVO TIP: Use your favorite to-do-list or calendar app to set calendar notifications to schedule making routine changes. Set multiple throughout a week or month. A few minutes a day multiple times a month goes a long way.
5. LAYER YOUR MARKETING
There are hundreds of media products used by consumers every day. It is not possible to create marketing or buy advertising to be on each one; but (slowly) work to have great content on as many as you can (as long as they are intentional and follow rule #1 above!). Some are free, some cost money and many are able to use the same media or advertising assets you already own. Spend time researching which mediums and platforms are being used by your potential consumers to see the effort it would take to be present on them.
ABOVO TIP: Work with a marketing company to identify what social media platforms consumers are using in your area, how they’re using them and what types of content they are looking for.
6. INVOLVE AND ENGAGE YOUR CONSUMERS
(The “Millennials and Gen. Z are taking over rule”) In an age where millennials (and the generation younger than them: Gen. Z) are becoming the USA’s most powerful and influential consumer, it has never been a more important time to involve and engage your consumers. According to Forbes.com, there are 80 million millennials in the USA which represents more than 25% of our population. A 2015 consumer study released by Elite Daily, helped brands across the country highlight the shopping and buying behaviors of this powerful generation.
“According to the study 62% of millennials say if a brand engaged with them on social media, they are more likely to become a loyal consumer. This is a very important number and statistic to marketing companies and brands as the study also found that 60% of millennials said that they are often or always loyal to brands they currently purchase (Elite Daily, 2015). The oldest members of this group are only in their 30s and establishing a relationship with them now, results in a relationship that will last their buying-lifetime. The sooner you build a relationship and connection with this generation, the better.”
7. MARKETING MAKES A DIFFERENCE
If there is one rule we hope resonates, it’s the simple fact marketing makes a difference. The heart of your business’ success lies with marketing. Every business needs consumers. They not only drive sales; they promote your products and services to their friends and family.
“Marketing is the introduction of your service and product. It is the introduction to showing your community and the world why your company does what it does. Your business might have the best products, services and people, but without marketing, no one will know.”
YOUR BUSINESS IS READY FOR BOLD MARKETING. LET US HELP YOU.
Andrew J. Young
701-532-0576
teamabovo.com
SOURCES:
Zephoria Digital Marketing. “The top 20 valuable Facebook statistics.” Retrieved December 2016
Forbes.com. “2016 is the year of the millennial customer.” Retrieved December 2016.
Forbes.com. “10 new findings about the millennial consumer.” Retrieved December 2016.
Elite Daily. “Millennial consumer survey.” Retrieved December 2016.
Socialbarrrel.com. “The most powerful social media platforms.” Retrieved December 2016.
Smallbiztrends.com. “Popular social media sites.” Retrieved December 2016 from:
