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Five Things Your Competitors Know About Authentic Online Marketing

authentic online marketing
authentic online marketing

Authentic: We hear this word often in business, not only when it comes to online marketing.

  • Build authentic relationships.
  • Create authentic marketing messages.
  • Send authentic letters or notes.

The reason we hear this word throughout all facets of our business is because authenticity stretches across every person in your company.

But how can brands show their audience that they are authentic without coming on too…inauthentic?

Let’s see what consumers think about authenticity and brands online.

  • 86% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support.
  • 81% of surveyed consumers said that they need to be able to trust the brand in order to buy from them.
  • 66% of consumers think transparency is one of the most attractive qualities in a brand.
  • 77% of consumers buy from brands who share the same values as they do.
  • 79% of people say that user generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions.

These numbers are astounding. And for a business owner like yourself – they should impact how you position your brand online.

What Exactly is Authenticity?

Webster defines authentic as “not false or imitation: real, actual” – which sounds simple enough. But how do we translate this throughout your online marketing.

Here’s Five Things Your Competitors are Doing that You Should be Too!

Do you watch your competitors online marketing and wonder why yours is falling on flat ears? Keep reading.

1.      PEOPLE Are the Heartbeat of Their Business

online marketing employees

One of the best ways to build authentic marketing campaigns online is to show the backbone of your business, your employees.

Your employees not only serve your customers but they are the difference in a thriving business and one that well, isn’t thriving.

Likewise, consumers want to support businesses that care and support their employees. Pulling down the sheet to show the back-bone of your business and integrating your employees throughout your marketing messages builds authenticity online.

2.      Understand How to Serve Your Audience

Authentic online marketing stems from the understanding of your audience. Answer these questions before creating content online:

  • Who is your audience?
  • What do they like/dislike?
  • When they make purchased, what do they value the most?
  • When it comes to your brand, what means the most to them?

By identifying what matters to your audience your brand can build authentic, relevant content that inspires, educates and helps your audience.

3.      Humanize Your Tone of Voice

Do you know what drives a consumer mad online? Seeing the same generic, bot responses to any questions that are posted to their brand.

Allow your social media managers to craft responses that are both authentic and human. Not only does this humanize your brand on social media – it builds great customer service and leaves a lasting impression.

Automated, generic responses are one of the most inauthentic things your brand can do online.

4.      Consistent Content Creation & Publishing

Whether you content is on social media, YouTube, blog content or Podcasts – having consistency builds authenticity online.

Why?

The content your brand creates and publishes should serve your audience. But, if you go MIA for a few weeks, it leaves “some not-so-good tastes” in your consumer’s mouths.

Your audience follows you on these channels because they are interested in your brand. When you provide inconsistent content for them, it shows where your priorities are.

5.      Support Non-Profit Causes

Does your business support non-profit organizations? This is a great way to build authentic messaging and get your audience involved.

Consumers want to feel that they are doing good when they spend their money. Showing them how you support different causes and organizations is just one way they know your brand is one they want to support.

However, inviting them to support the organization with you builds a human connection with your audience that drives an authentic approach.

Cut Through the Noise

When it comes to cutting through the noise in today’s online marketing arena – be authentic. Transparent companies that are considerate, compassionate and honest with their consumers build authentic online marketing campaigns.

Brands that are authentic in everything that they do seeps into their marketing messages online.

About Backstage Digital

Backstage Digital is a digital marketing agency specializing in lead generation for their clients. We create custom digital marketing campaigns that generate results for our clients. More importantly, our clients have a 24/7 dashboard to review the ROI of all digital marketing campaigns. Contact us to learn more.

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How Med Spas Can Increase Revenue with Social Media Advertising

medspa marketing

How Med Spas Can Increase Revenue with Social Media Advertising

medspa marketing

Are you a med spa owner struggling to create social media advertising campaigns that actually…work?

Did you know that you are not alone? 62% of small business owners say Facebook Ads miss their targets.

Launching ad campaigns on social media that are effective are imperative to generating revenue. While impressions, engagement and awareness help boost your business – driving toward conversions is where you will see the power of social media advertising for your business.

The good news is that it’s time to stop gambling with social media ads. We are here to help! Keep reading for helpful ways to elevate your social media advertising campaigns.

Consider Your Audience

social media audience insights  Social media advertising is not just Facebook ads. Youtube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, for example, are just a few social media platforms you can run successful campaigns for your business.

As a medspa, you should direct your marketing dollars primarily on Facebook and Instagram to reach your audience in and around your business.

By researching your audience on social media, you can learn more about how to communicate with them through your ads. Conducting audience insights prior to launching a campaign helps you target your ads, generate effective ad copy and graphics to meet the needs of your prospects.

Always start here so you aren’t gambling with the WHO of your social media advertising campaigns.

Focus on Guiding Your Prospects through Your Funnel

I know, I said the word – FUNNEL. Don’t stop here, keep reading. This is certainly important to translating your social media ad campaigns to actual revenue.

Often, med spas will go straight for the sale (conversion) on their social media ad campaigns. You might get lucky a few times and convert some very cold prospects – however, let’s look at a real-world example.

As a medspa owner, you likely run into people you can serve at networking events or social gatherings, for instance. You might introduce yourself and then begin a conversation. Right after introductions you aren’t likely to blurt out your current special on Botox injections (unless they ask, of course).

Likewise, this is why you don’t do this on social media either.

Running cold ad campaigns on social media is not just a one-step process. Warming up your prospects, building trust and then promoting an offer will lead to higher quality conversions.

Pro Tip: Don’t focus on boosting posts

. Create an offer, generate interest and retarget for optimal, high-quality conversions.

Test, Test, Test

One of the main differences between a successful ad campaign and an unsuccessful campaign is testing. Above all, testing your ad campaigns drives more conversions on social media advertising.

What should you test on your ad campaigns? From a high level, you always want to test the following on your ad campaigns:

    • Ad Creative
    • Ad Copy
    • Audience Targeting
    • Objectives

Did you know that over 160 million businesses use Facebook every month to communicate with their customers? Now more than ever, testing your campaigns and audiences is essential to cutting through the noise of your audience’s newsfeed.

Setting aside a budget for testing allows you to better analyze your data in order to launch campaigns that convert as well as scale those campaigns.

About Backstage Digital

Are you tired of gambling with social media advertising? Our team can help bring conversions to your ad campaigns. Backstage Digital is a digital marketing agency in The Woodlands, TX. Our team specializes in working with med spas across the US to grow their business. In addition, we know the importance of working with a transparent digital marketing agency and offer our clients a cutting-edge solution. If you are interested in partnering with us, click here to send our team a message!Laun

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7 Ways to Ignite Your Business with Digital Marketing

digital marketing ideas houston

7 Ways to Ignite Your Business with Digital Marketing

Digital marketing can sometimes feel overwhelming because there can be so many moving parts for your business. We are here to help! Below we have outlined 7 ways to use digital marketing to ignite your business.

1. Engage on Social Media Platforms as Your Business

Did you know that many forget about this important aspect of social media marketing? So many times, a business jumps on their Instagram page to make a post and then closes the platform until it is time for the next post.

Take a few minutes before you post your content to interact with individuals in your feed, find new prospects through searching hashtags and responding to any comments or DMs on your profile.

Not only will this help humanize your brand, Instagram loves it when you hang out on their platform vs. just hopping on to post and hopping off.

Sort your Instagram following to those you’ve least interacted with and make an effort to build a relationship through social media with those individuals!

2. Launch an Email List Building Strategy

Does building an email list seem overwhelming? It doesn’t have to be! Start small and continue to provide value to your audience, while creating actionable ways to build your email marketing list. Below are some ways to increase your subscribers:

  • Include options on your website to subscribe
  • Create social media posts to promote your emails, exclusive email content helps increase subscriptions
  • Launch a promotion or a giveaway for those who signup for your email
  • Attend tradeshow events to grow your audience
  • Launch Social Media Advertising Campaigns that build your email list

Building your email list should be a top priority for your business. It is essential to have subscribers who want your content and are interested in what you are saying. Things can change quickly on digital channels that you do not control.

3. Keep Fresh Content on Your Website

Built your website years ago and have just let it sit since then? Guess what, that is not helping your business much at all. Having a monthly website strategy can help you play into search engine algorithms while also keeping your audience up to date on new services, staff changes and more!

 

Not sure what content to add to your website? Consider launching a blog and strive to create one blog post a month!

4. Plan, Plan, Plan

We like to call this “putting pen to paper” and that is exactly what you should do. Take some time to brainstorm ways that you can leverage digital marketing channels that align with your business goals. Your plan should always start with goals, then outline exactly what steps you will take to meet those goals. 

If planning an entire year’s digital marketing efforts feels overwhelming, start with a quarterly plan, and begin executing.

5. Create a Marketing Funnel

Want to supercharge your business? Create a marketing funnel that continuously brings new prospects into your business. A funnel does the heavy lifting with automatic emails or SMS messages from those who opt-in to your offer.

Be sure to market your funnel across several different channels like Google Adwords, Social media ads and on your website!

6. Generate Lead Magnets

A lead magnet is something that you create and giveaway for free in exchange for contact information. This could be an e-book, checklist, webinar, etc. This type of lead magnet is great for building out your pipeline as well as increasing your email subscribers.

Keep your lead magnet hyper-targeted to your ideal audience for higher conversion rates of the right prospect.

7. Think Long-Term and Short-Term Marketing

Certain digital marketing channels (like Google Adwords and Facebook Advertising) are short term and your ROI typically happens quicker. Long-term digital marketing channels include SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and organic social media content.

Most short term channels include monetary investment, but the payoff is quicker for your business. These will definitely generate short-term successes but are just as important as your long-term strategies that help your business continue to grow. The ROI for long-term marketing channels is a bit longer, but the wait and effort are worth it!

Invest time and resources into a multi-channel marketing approach to build a lasting business.

Digital marketing can ignite your business but only if a strategic approach is taken. If you are looking for ways to take your business to the next level, let our team help!

About Backstage Digital

Backstage Digital is a digital marketing agency serving small and medium sized businesses across the US. We specialize in SEO, PPC, Social media marketing, social media advertising and data analytics. We serve as the marketing arm for our clients and build strategies that meet business goals. Contact us to learn more.

  • 832-948-5930
  • info@backstagedigitalagency.com
  • 8000 Research Forest Drive
    Suite 115-341
    The Woodlands, TX 77382

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5 Great Questions to Ask a Digital Marketing Agency Before You Hire Them

5 Great Questions to Ask a Digital Marketing Agency Before You Hire Them

Written By Brittni Castilaw

When it comes to hiring a digital marketing agency partner, there are several things to consider. If you’ve interviewed a potential agency, you probably have certain questions you’d like answered. We’ve outlined a few to add to your list to ensure you find the right fit for your business.

How Long Has Your Digital Marketing Agency Been in Business?

Learn more about the agency’s background by asking about their history. While there isn’t a magic number of years that gives you a hard yes/no during your interviewing process – what you’re looking for is expertise in the digital marketing field.

Even agencies that are newer have the potential to bolster your business. Use this question to learn about the expertise of those who will be working on your project and what they can bring to the table.

What Type of Clients Does Your Digital Marketing Agency Work With?

Most often, digital marketing agencies work with specific niches. It is important to understand if this partner has experience in your business area. This can give you assurance they will be able to meet the objectives of your campaign.

This question also opens the conversation to allow the agency partner to expand on what type of results they have garnered for businesses like yours.

How Quickly Can Our Project Get Started?

There is likely lead time for most digital marketing projects. This will depend heavily on what type of project (website, SEO, Social Media, Etc.), how quickly contracts are signed and access is given to the agency. Lead time could be 1-2 days or a couple of months.

Understanding the timeline helps keep everyone on the same page and under the same expectation. Digital marketing agencies work with several clients so understanding how your project aligns with their timeline is important when deciding.

Do you have any case studies?

We like to call it “the proof is in the pudding” – because that is exactly what this is. Ask them for previous work results. You want to see that they have delivered results for their clients in the past.

This will build trust between you and the digital agency partner which is essential prior to jumping into a business relationship.

How Often will I see Results?

If an agency does not provide any type of reporting, this should be a red flag. Having monthly reporting should be the minimum. What’s better is when a client offers technology that delivers 24/7 digital marketing reporting for their clients.

Backstage Digital’s client dashboard giving you 24/7 access to your digital marketing results.

Transparency in your digital marketing spend is a factor when seeing results. Having a digital marketing agency partner that delivers results and timely reporting is an important factor. Learn more about how to track ROI for your digital marketing efforts here.

Digital marketing agency partners provide valuable strategies, deliver impeccable results and can serve as a right hand to your business. Selecting the best fit is essential to having a successful partnership. Contact us to see if we can help propel your business forward with digital marketing solution.

About Backstage Digital

Backstage Digital is a full service digital marketing agency based out The Woodlands, TX serving clients across the US. Our goal is to be an extension of your business while delivering leads utilizing online marketing channels like social media marketing, SEO, paid advertising (Google Adwords, YouTube and Social Media Advertising) and Content Marketing. If you are interested in partnering with our team, fill out the form here and we can jump on a quick call to see if we should work together.

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Should Your Business be on Social Media?

Businesses on social media

Is your audience made up of humans?

If you answered yes, then social media isn’t just an option for your business, it’s essential. However, being stretched across every social media channel to market your business isn’t what we recommend either.

Social media is a channel to communicate and educate your audience. It has extremely targeted capabilities to allow you to promote your content to those who are more likely to be interested in your products and services.

From Instagram to Pinterest to Facebook, choosing the right combination of outlets is important. Here’s what to consider:

Your Audience

Always consider your audience when choosing any marketing channel, digital or not. Certain social channels are great for reaching the 12-20 age group while others lean towards women 25-45. No social media channel will hit all of the groups, so always consider the best combination to target your efforts towards.

Bandwidth

If you are tackling your social media marketing alone – bandwidth is important. Being “present” across 15 social media channels, yet lacking consistency, powerful content or responses to comments hurts your brand more than helps it. Don’t stretch yourself thin when it comes to social media, devote the energy and resources needed to each individual channel to be successful.

Budget

The days of growing a social media audience for free are way back in our rear-view mirror. Facebook algorithms, privacy settings and changing audiences have made competing for eyeballs easier said than done.

Facebook, for example, looks at the quality of the content, the engagement after a short period and several other factors to decide if the post is worth showing to more people. Boosting posts and running ad campaigns are not only effective, they generate quality leads when done right.

The short answer to asking if your business should be present on social media is yes, but to impact your bottom line, you’ve got to be more than present on those channels. Social media gives brands a platform to tell their story, humanize their brand and engage with their audience to not only build a stronger brand, but build revenue across these platforms.

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Should you Outsource your Social Media?

social media outsourcing

I get this quite often, social media seems like such an easy channel to manage yourself or have a high schooler manage in the afternoons.

While anyone can log onto Facebook to make a post, social media marketing requires a strategic approach if you are going to translate it into dollars. Let’s be real, if it isn’t driving revenue, it’s a waste of your time.

Let’s dive in.

Reason 1: Strategy

If you have been managing your social media profiles without a documented strategy, this is working against you. When you choose to partner with a company for your social media marketing efforts, they will document a social strategy custom to your brand that will answer questions like below.

  • What is the competitive landscape like on social media?
  • Who are the influencers in your industry and how do we communicate with them?
  • What are our current messaging strategies across other marketing channels and how do we integrate them into social media?
  • What types of content work/don’t work?

Waking up every morning and asking yourself “what am I going to post on the company’s page today?” is not a strategy, it’s putting social media last – and in this day and time, that is more detrimental to your brand than you can imagine.

Reason 2: Time

Your time is valuable. Spending hours on social media posts and content might translate to your bottom line, if done right. But is that the highest use of your time? If you met with potential investors or high-dollar prospects instead, would that generate even more?

Everything we do is a trade-off of value versus our time. If your best use of time is managing and generating content for your social channels, then don’t stop doing it. However, many business owners or higher ups can generate more money spending their time in other areas.

Always live by the highest best use of your time, and when considering your social media marketing, it is no different.

Reason 3: Knowledge

I’ve been in digital marketing for years, and social media channels come and go – while others constantly evolve. Keeping up with the latest is important, but understanding which channels would make the biggest impact for your brand is essential.

Digital marketing agencies who provide social media marketing services live and breathe this world. From blogs to events, they are extremely knowledgeable in best practices, innovative strategies and can tailor social to meet your business goals.

Don’t be fooled by a high schools graduate who knows the “ins and outs” of Instagram, because the moment you ask them about Facebook’s advertising terms and conditions, they probably won’t have a clue. (Facebook owns Instagram, just to clarify)

Reason 4: Costs

If you are looking at increasing your social media activity, or it has just become too time consuming to handle, there are costs associated to whichever direction you take.

  1. In-house – hiring someone in-house sounds great, but the added costs of benefits, training and risks that come with them might not outweigh the reasons you chose to keep it in house. Also, if you have a small to medium sized business, a full-time employee might not have enough social media work to keep them busy for 40 hours a week.
  2. Do It Yourself – As a business owner, you might choose to manage it yourself because “it doesn’t cost you anything”. Sure, that might seem like the case but remember that your time is valuable and always play by the highest use scenario when choosing to DIY.
  3. Partnering – when you decide to partner with a social media agency, it’s like a burden has been lifted. You typically will have a monthly cost associated to this arrangement, but having the reassurance that you are working with a knowledgeable partner who can actually generate revenue for you allows you time to focus on your core business areas.

Reason 5: Revenue

The money that you can make using social media marketing will likely make you drop your jaw. After deciding that you want to partner with a digital marketing agency, be sure the strategy they deliver is in line with your business goals, aka revenue.

Don’t waste time inconsistently representing your brand on social media. Make a plan, work with a knowledgeable partner and see revenue, it’s that simple.