Online Content
Powerful, Far-reaching and Opportunistic
Do you know your online reach? A website is an essential vehicle to market your business and build your online presence. It’s the foundation upon which everything else is based. Not only does it need to make a lasting impression, it must also reflect your values and give credibility to your products or services. Developing consistent, engaging and relevant content should be the driving force for websites and all online content.
Our team has years of experience developing content for websites. Working closely with website developers, SEO experts, and graphic designers, we can create content that brings your business to life, sharing your stories and creating loyal followers.
So you’ve built your website hoping to attract your ideal client base. But without a strategy around how to drive traffic to the address, there’s little point in having a website at all. This is where social media comes into play.
Social media is about building relationships, both social and professional. It’s an opportunity to share ideas and experiences, as well as participate in discussions.
By being active on social media, companies have the opportunity to be part of the conversation. Positive news and attributes of the business can be communicated to a wider audience. Social media also provides a platform where issues can be quickly addressed, away from your website. Effective use of social media can dramatically raise your positioning and credibility.
Your choice of social media channels will depend largely on where your audience hangs out. For instance if you’re looking to build business relationships online or develop a referral base, then Linkedin and Twitter is the right platform for you. As we have seen in recent world events, social media (especially Twitter) has fed media organisations and enabled a greater exposure for individuals. Ironically, the same medium can help to turn the tide of public opinion.
If you’re directly looking for clients or wanting to engage with existing consumers in the community then a social media program utilising Facebook and Instagram will achieve this. If you have a younger audience predominantly under 20 then Snapchat may be the right platform for your business.
Video channels such as youtube have become important to communicate messages for businesses as the platform reaches audiences across all sectors. People are time poor. Prioritising visuals – photographs, video, animation – will engage a wider audience than just articles. Well executed and articulated messages authentically delivered can be very powerful.
Every business should have a social media brand guide for internal use. Consistent branding across personal profiles belonging to business owners and managers will bolster your corporate reputation.
For instance, a professionally written business profile on Linkedin that showcases your area of expertise and thought leadership in your field is a must, especially for those looking to build business relationships and strengthen their brand. A profile summary which reads like a resume is fine for recruiters but not to build a brand profile. This should be consistent across all employees.
As part of the overall social media strategy for company use, Backtobasics has written hundreds of Linkedin profiles for CEOs and business development staff.
Direct Mail Campaigns
This tried and true method of marketing has been modernised for today’s electronic age where everything can be transmitted in an instant. Businesses very creative with electronic blogs, newsletters, video presentations and the like. While these can be very creative and fresh, unless they are in line with the needs of the customers they will be instantly dismissed.
Regardless, Direct Marketing is still the most effective way to reach your target client base, mainly because you can control who receives your content. The key to a successful campaign is making the information relevant to the receiver. Mass direct marketing campaigns work best for low risk, product-driven industries where the investment for the end user is small or there’s definable benefit for the receiver.
Businesses such as professional services are traditionally built on relationships and principles of trust, expertise, service and value. Smaller targeted and personalised campaigns work best to reinforce these values.
Many direct mail campaigns fail to hit those important trigger points that will drive the customer to act now. Let’s face it. We all need a reason to do something. Identifying that reason will motivate your customers to respond.
Developing the right strategy for a direct mail campaign, together with the messages, content and form is where Backtobasics can provide the most value. We’ve worked with a variety of industries to develop cost-effective direct mail campaigns with successful results.
