No matter the context, negative coverage about your business should be limited. However, catching criticism online might seem unavoidable for any businesses. Google reviews are the most important public figure to those who might be interested in your product. But sometimes they are not very thorough and vary in temperament. Nonetheless, they help customers make purchasing decisions.

Receiving negative feedback online is the same as in life; it’s painful at first, but if constructive can help us improve. The first step to dealing with a bad review is to care, and chances are that if you’re reading this, you already do. 

The two types of negative reviews

1. The spiteful

These are the grumpy reviews that are surprisingly customary in business. These are good indicators of your mistakes.

These reviews can be summed up as:

• I went by the store, but it was closed (at 1am probably)
• Staff was rude (bad day)

2. The memorable

This reviewer often takes the form of a constructive critic, they are good indicators of your shortcomings. The main difference between this and the other is that more care is put into the review. People are rational and often very considerate of business needs. For these types of reviews, seek reconciliation, the reviewer will be more understanding. 

3 steps on how to deal with negative reviews online

Step 1: Care

React professionally and be polite

Responding to the situation is crucial, but don’t rush into your response. It’s easy to take things personally even after you’ve had time to review and evaluate the comment. 

Research their complaint and take the time to really see things from the reviewer’s perspective.  Ask yourself:

• What exactly is the reviewer’s concern? What’s the severity of it?
• Is it a mild inconvenience or a major risk?
• Is there anyway we can solve their concern?
• How can we compensate them for the inconvenience?  

Show the reviewer that their opinion matters to you, after you have publicly addressed their concerns, take the issue off-line by providing an email address so together you can find a solution.

Having a conversation with them about these things shows that you care about the well-being of your customers, and respectfully asking them to remove the review, is far more effective once you’ve acknowledged their original complaint.

Step 2: Evaluate 

There is good in a bad review

A study by Harvard Business found that 95% of people see a flawless review page as being fabricated by the company, and understand a few negative reviews. 

If the bad review will not hurt your business, leave it. Negative reviews can benefit your business, often other customers will reply if the complaint is unreasonable and defend your services. If you only have glorious reviews, it will give the customers the impression that they are all manufactured. Having a few negative reviews can contribute to building trust, instead of diminishing it. 

Step 3: Adapt

Make it apparent

If you notice a specific review page that is giving you grief, consider campaigning for it. Encourage more and better reviews to dilute the others, and remind your customers that you have an open door communication policy, and that their needs matter to you.

It’s important, beyond reputation, to have the ability to adapt to negative reviews. What will double your return is the ability to show that you listen to other people’s challenges surrounding your business. Anything that is perceived to be broken (long wait times, for example) can be perceived as fixed (by adding more employees, or quality assurance). 

Takeaway

When monitoring reviews, think about your own experience as a customer. A few negative reviews are often summed up as just a bad experience because they can often be vague and they can easily be dismissed if there are other reviews to contradict them. 

If anything, these review sites should be used as a tool to help you monitor your business to better understand the needs of your customers. 

So where are you stuck?

Some business owners might say that only certain coverage is worth reacting to, but we challenge that belief. More eyes and ears on the internet will help keep you in the consumer’s mind. Check out our services to learn how we can help you listen and adapt to your clients’ needs.

In today’s day and age social media for any business is a must, but it can sometimes be overlooked.

With these quick tips – which you should you use right now –  you will have the basis covered to have a great social media presence.

Number 3 helps you get ahead.

5 social media advice for small business owners

1. Find your audience

Think about where your audience would expect to find you; or more importantly, would want to find you and with that start researching the various platforms to find your potential audience.

It’s really easy to get caught up in accounts that your business doesn’t really need. For example, Instagram might be soaring in popularity, but are you able to maintain consistent photographic content? Are you reaching the right audience with it? If not, you might want to try other platforms that are not image driven, like Facebook or Twitter.

2. Make sure you’re on the right platform

Users access social media platforms on various devices, either on laptops, phones and even TV. All have different formats, before you dive into a platform, know the purpose and tone of your brand and the different formats the platform can be accessed.

Not only should you be aware of the different platform formats, you should know what social platform your target audience is active on. If your audience is millennial, consider being on Instagram and Snapchat. If you want to reach out to other business owners, consider having a LinkedIn or Facebook page.

3. Get Comfortable

This is something to invest time into. Make sure you know your platform inside and out and know what the content you post should look like. Brand consistency is key on social media.

If you are new to social media, pace yourself and only start out on one platform before getting active on other ones. This will give you the chance to:

• become familiar with how to write for social media,
• how to engage with followers,
• and get comfortable with your visual identity.

Once you have the basics covered, you can then try other platforms that align with your business and your goals.

4. Aim to Grow

Now that you’ve really got everything under control, your next objective should be to grow your following.

This part is a little more grueling and difficult to define for each business and industry. Make sure that each of your posts have reason to be read, spoken to, and shared every time. Welcome new followers and take the opportunity to make social an enjoyable experience every time someone visits your profile.

5. Check on it!

If you use Hootsuite, or something similar, you follow a routine. You schedule your weekly posts and forget it, but this could cost you.

It’s important to monitor your accounts to see:

• how your followers are engaging with your content,
• what are your top performance posts, and
• what type of comments you are getting.

You need this data to be able to adapt and meet the needs of your followers.

So don’t be afraid to engage with your audience, and get a bit personal with the profile. Respond to live events, keep up with trends and be spontaneous. Monitor what other profiles similar to yours are doing and try new things.

Ready to start your social media presence?

That’s exactly what we’re here for. Sussex takes on social media planning and consultations from anywhere in Canada just hit CONTACT, and we’ll set you up and keep you updated.

To learn more about our services and offers.

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In a previous post we questioned if email is dead. Since it’s not, we want to share a few tips to increase open and click-through rates through personalization.

What is email personalization?

Personalization in email marketing is creating an email campaign that is designed and tailored for a specific subscriber or a group in your distribution list. To personalize these emails, different segments of your audience needs to be created in order to provide them with timely and relevant content.

Segmentation can be by age, gender, location, and interest. But to create these segments you need data. You can collect this data by different means including newsletter subscription, product purchased, log in to a platform, app download, eBook download, etc.

Email personalization can be very basic, using the subscriber’s name, to very complex, changing the content in the body of the email to meet the need of that one reader.

Personalizing email campaigns has been proven to increase engagement rates and return on investment. The one reason we advocate email marketing is because of the possibilities to optimize the content to the need of the reader, which is rather difficult to do with social media, where everyone gets the same message.

Tips to personalized marketing email

1. Subject lines

A personalized subject line will entice subscribers to open the email. Use their name and avoid reusing generic headlines. This way your email stands out from the rest.

Some companies will use emojis to grab attention, but the best way to stand out is by using their name with a unique subject.

2. From field

The name in the from field in an email is the most dominant element that is displayed in your readers’ inbox. They will decide whether to open an email or not depending on the sender.  

In this case, do not use a “do not reply” or “no-reply” in the from field. Instead, it should be your company’s name or the name of an employee who sends the email (i.e., Jane from X Company).

Using the company name creates a sense of trust and your email doesn’t come across as spam.  

3. Email copy

Once the subscriber has opened the email, ensure that the content is relevant to them.

The email can be personalized by gender, location, services, or interest, and you can choose parts of the email to be personalized, including:

• salutation
  • ex. Hello Jane
• types of products
  • ex. books, clothing, service, etc.
• imagery
  • ex. dynamic images, gif, static images, or video
• call to action
  • ex. See my offers
• birthdate
  • ex. Happy birthday, Jane

4. Re-engagement emails

When a customer has engaged with you, but didn’t complete the user journey, use email personalization and automation for re-engagement.

You can use this tactic for when a costumer browed your website and didn’t complete a purchase or to inactive users by soliciting their feedback.

With personalization and automation, you can send your customer product recommendation based on a complete or abandoned purchase or browsing history. This technique is great for retailer and e-commerce sites as these emails can be created in real time.

Summary

Email personalization is great method to deliver audience-specific content. It improves user experience and journeys. The costumer feels valued as you take the time to tailor content that is timely and relevant to their interest.

Contact us for a consultation on how to optimize your communications strategy with email marketing.

What is a brand hashtag?

A brand hashtag works the same as a regular hashtag. The difference is that they are used on social media to signify that a post is associated with a brand, product or company.

They are unique to a business and they are found in the bio section on the user profile of the company social media account. Followers are invited to engage with the company by using the brand hashtag.

Why is a brand hashtag important?

There are many benefits of using a branding hashtag.

1. Brand hashtags make your brand more searchable on social media platforms

The primary function of a hashtag is to have your content appear in the search results of that hashtag. People will use various hashtags on their posts to reach a broader audience. Other times, hashtags will be created for a specific campaign so that all the posts associated with a topic can appear in the hashtag search.

In the case of branding hashtags, they are used in conjunction with thematic hashtags to not only have your posts appear in multiple searches, but also so that all the posts associated with your brand will appear under the search for that hashtag.

2. Brand hashtags are great for analytics

With a branding hashtag, you can track who is engaging with your brand and track its performance. Therefore, it is important to have a unique hashtag, so that the analytics only reflect content related to your brand and not other topics. It is very important that your audience knows the exact spelling of the hashtag so that it can be accurately tracked.

3. Brand hashtags can also be used across platforms

Many organizations are active on several platforms. When your brand hashtag is used across different channels, it becomes more recognizable to your audience because it’s being seen and marketed everywhere.

Tips to create your own brand hashtag

Your brand hashtag can be your company name, slogan, or tag line. That way you can ensure its uniqueness.

If your business name or the hashtag you want to use is common:

1. Conduct a search on all social media platforms to make that it’s not being used.
2. Keep it short to a maximum of three words, that way it’s easy to remember.
3. Avoid complex and long words to ensure correct spelling.  
4. Test it to eliminate any risks or problems. Write it out, say it out loud, ask your team members and a small group of your followers to review it before implementation.
5. When you are satisfied, promote the hashtag on all your social media accounts.   

Whether you’re new, or an expert in digital marketing and want to create quality content without breaking your bank account, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of free software that you can use to start producing the best graphics, right away.

Free digital marketing tools

If you shoot and edit videos, and animation:

• Davinci Resolve
• OpenToonz
• Blender
• Animaker

If you draw or design:

• GIMP
• PAINT.NET
• Inkscape
• Canva
• Scribus

If you create infographics:

• Venngage
• Pictochart

If you build websites:

• Wix
• Blogger
• Weebly
• WordPress

If you need fonts:

• Goole Fonts
• DaFont

If you need stock photos:

• Pexels
• Unspalsh
• Pixabay
• Burst

If you need logos:

• LogoMakr
• DesignEvo

If you need music:

• HookSounds
• Bensound
• AudioJungle 

Contact us to explore the solutions we have for you!  

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! 

Well, there are many formulas in online advertising that marketers should know.

We have compiled the 5 basic formulas with examples that will help you determine how well your campaigns are performing.

1. Click through Rate (CTR) 

CTR is used to calculate the overall performance of a campaign.

The higher the rate is the more successful the campaign is.          

Formula

CTR = (number of clicks / number of views) x 100 

Example

In a campaign, if your ad was seen 4,000 times and received 100 clicks, the CRT would be 2.5%, since (100/4,000) x 100 = 2.5%.

2. Cost per Click (CPC)         

CPC model is used when an advertiser pays for each click instead of impressions.

If you chose the CPC model for a campaign, to know how much it will cost, you have to think about the amount you would like to pay for each click.

Formula

CPC = cost to an advertiser * number of clicks

CPC = cost to an advertiser / number of clicks     

Example

In a campaign, if you receive 60 clicks and the CPC is $3, the total cost is $180.

If you don’t know how much the CPC is, take the total cost divided by the number of clicks. Let’s say the total cost was $180 and the total click was 60, the CPC will be $3.

3. Return on Investment (ROI)       

The ROI is to understand the success of a campaign. You have to know the monetary benefit against the money invested.            

Formula

ROI = (total revenue – total cost) / total cost       

Example

If you spent $1,000 on an ad and it generated $5,000 in sales, the ROI would be $4, since (5,000-1,000)/1,000 = $4. This means for every dollar spent, the campaign generated $4.

4. Conversion Rate (CR)      

This model is used if the goal of a campaign is to only generate revenue.               

Formula

CR = (number of conversion / number of clicks) x 100      

Example

In a campaign you had 60 conversions from 1,000 clicks, your conversions rate would be 6%, since 60 / 1,000 x 100 = 6.

5. Cost per Mille (CPM)       

The cost per thousand impressions is used by companies who want to create brand awareness. 

Formula

CPM = (cost to an advertiser / impression) x 1000              

Example

If an ad received 5,000 impressions and the advertiser decided to pay $30 for the campaign, the CPM would be $6 since (30/5,000) x 1,000 = 6.

If you found this cheat sheet useful, leave a comment below, save and share.

The cost effectiveness, the ability to simply track marketing campaign measurements, and the ability to target ideal consumers are just a few reasons as to why digital marketing has been beneficial for many businesses.

Who is responsible for digital marketing?

Everyone in the organization has a role to play in providing input on digital marketing efforts. It comes from the product owners who want to market a service, to having an intern fact check the information, to having the content edited and approved. It’s important to get feedback from those who are not part of your communications team as they can provide insight and new perspectives.

The main responsibilities come down to these three roles

Digital Marketing Manager: is responsible for all marketing and brand awareness. They provide oversight to ensure consistency and that campaign goals are aligned with the organization’s strategic plan and objectives.

Digital Content Marketer: is responsible for creating content for all digital platforms including blog entries, webpages, landing pages, video, and social media. They also manage the editorial calendar to ensure that content is published on a regular basis.

Social Media Manager: is responsible for the online presence of the organization. They are the online “voice” of the organization and they have a thorough understanding of the company. It’s their role to continuously research best practices, create, and adapt social media strategies to ensure better online engagement. They are also responsible for keeping the social media publication schedule for all platforms and ensures the visual identity of the company is consistent across these channels.

5 best strategies for digital marketing

We have listed five digital marketing best practices that will help you improve your efforts.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Websites and blogs must continuously optimize to have been raking in search engines. Understanding the search habits and the type of traffic that brings visitors to your website is key. This analysis will help optimize your website, social media campaigns, blogs, and ads.

2. Get personal with customers

Advertise products that will allow your consumers to make quick decisions by leveraging marketing analytics to understand their preference. Running campaigns with the right personalized information will allow clients to connect more easily with your product or service and eliminate the competition.

3. Host webinars

One of the best methods to engage with potential consumers is to host free webinars. Potential clients can preview the services offered in a no-commitment environment. When hosting a webinar treat it like you would a formal event by:

• creating a webpage,
• including an invitation in your newsletter,
• creating an event hashtag so participants can engage during the live session, and
• recording the session, it can later be used as promotional material or as a resource. 

4. Social media

This is one of the best platforms to reach consumers, close to half of the world’s populations have a social media account of some sort. These platforms help businesses build their brand and provide clients the opportunity to engage directly with the companies.

5. Mobile marketing

Marketing content should translate and render well across all devices. When creating and designing your campaigns it’s important to keep mobile in mind, as 50% of all searches begin on a mobile device.

Let’s take Facebook, for example. Over the years the platform has evolved and offer various featured. It behaves like a website (Facebook Notes and its fan page layout), an online store, crowdfunding, and instant messaging to name a few.

If this one platform offers all these services, the one questions that keeps coming to our mind is:

Is email dead?

To put it simply, no, it’s far from it.

Email marketing is very much relevant because:

• Nearly every company/device relies on email services for everyday communications.
• Social media services require email to sign up, although you can use your phone number.
• Social media content is momentary, email remains until the reader removes it from their inbox.
• 61% of consumers want to be contacted by brands via email.
• Email marketing is inexpensive, return on investment on email is highest of all marketing channels.
• Many individuals refuse to be on social media, but everyone has an email address.

Fun facts about email

• The first email was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, a computer engineer
• Today there are 3.7 billion global email users, and counting
• 250 billion emails are sent daily

Why do we question if email is dead? Well, it has a few shortcomings.

Not keeping up with trends: While other platforms have evolved email has remained the same. It now needs to be more creative and keep up with industry standard and best practices.

Segmentation: Everyone from our list is different, we must segment to know what they want, and otherwise open rates will be low. Segmentation can be geographic (country, city), demography (age, gender).

Maintenance: Readers change their email addresses, it’s important to maintain our distribution list and remove those who do not interact with our content.

Not sending enough: The more you send the more readers engage.

Email might be an older technology, but it still works. Contact us to see how we can help you revamp and optimize your email marketing efforts.

Contact us to explore the solutions we have for you!  

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