When businesses are interested in digital marketing, the biggest question we get asked is, “What do you do?” The question is easy to answer because we understand digital marketing, but for people who do not, it can be very confusing. Digital Ads are one of the many things that we do. There are lots of different types of digital ads and I am going to help explain them to you.
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Google Ads - Google display campaigns reach 80% of global internet users. Google ads can be seen on Yahoo!, Spotify, Home Depot website, and more.
​Examples: 

Facebook Ads - 67% of marketers find Facebook to be their most important social media channel since it has a large user-base. Facebook ads can be seen on Nike, Walmart, PayPal, Instagram and more.

Example:

​Instagram Ads - Instagram’s potential advertising reach is 849.3 million users. Instagram ads can be seen on The Weather Channel, Netflix, The New York Times, Facebook, and more.

YouTube Ads - Pre-roll (skippable) video ads on YouTube are the most effective ad format. YouTube ads can be seen on Google, too!
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Example:

Pinterest Ads - Advertisers can reach more than 169 million people on Pinterest. 

Example:

Text Blasts – Text blasts use phone numbers that customers have given you to share updates, coupons, or discounts directly to their phone.

Example:

Email Blasts - You can put more information into an email than other forms of digital marketing. You can share new business information, deals, coupons, new employees, etc.

​Example:

​As you can see, there are several different types of digital ads and they can all be beneficial to your business. Digital Marketing companies do A/B testing on different platforms that work best for your company and learn what your customers want to see. 

​I talk to people almost every day who are not interested in Digital Marketing. They think it does not work, they do not want to learn about it, or they think I am scamming them and say, “Please take me off your list.” I was very defeated in the beginning of this career because of these responses, but after talking to other people, I realized why, I think, this happens.
I have heard horror stories of people paying a company, signing a yearlong contract, and never hearing about how their ads did, where they went, or if they were ever done. Would that make you want to keep working with a marketing company? I will answer for you, no!
The problem is, not all marketing companies are like this. I see marketing companies constantly emailing, answering phone calls at all hours, and making sure to help their customers get the results they want. I am not saying that every ad you post will get 600 customers, but you should see what results they get. With our clients, we send out a monthly analytic page to show them how their ads did.

While typing this, I am aware that most of you are not sure how to learn if they are a good company to work with or not, so here is my advice.

• Call them and ask if you can speak to a few of their current clients
• Read their reviews (reminder: most people only write a review when their angry about something, so do not make this your only way of deciding.
• Ask, “Can I see what you are going to post before you post it?” – This requires them to reach out to you and holds them accountable to do what they said they would.
• Ask, “Who will be working with on a regular basis?” – Will you constantly be trying to work with someone new who may not know your goals, or will it always be the same person (or 2) who knows what you want to achieve?
• Make sure you can meet in person or do a video chat with them. This one is not necessary if it does not bother you to work with someone you don’t know, but for me, I would rather having a face to put with the people I work with.
• Ask about contracts. Are you locked into a yearlong one or do they have more flexible ones to your company? You typically do not see results until 3 to 6 months because you must learn what works for your business. (Ex. Videos, photos, blogs, live Q & As, etc. A/B testing is necessary for best results!)
• Ask, “What makes you different then someone else I can use?” – Maybe the company you are talking to specializes in Digital Marketing for small boutiques or pet stores, that could be a positive if you own one of those because they could already know what works best! You want to make sure they fit in with you and your business!

 
I hope these tips help you to find the best Digital Marketing company to work with because it can be such a big help to your business. 

I want you to think about your favorite brand. Is it a clothing brand? Is it a brand of food? What makes that your favorite? What sets it apart from others?

Now, I want you to think about your business. What is your brand and why is it important? What sets it apart from others?

 In previous blogs, I have talked about figuring out why people should buy from you instead of competitors. Today, I’m sharing ways to make sure you have a strong brand that people will remember after they’ve left your website or social media.

1. You must know why you do what you do! Is it because you have a huge passion for clothing or that you have always wanted to build stuff for cheaper than what you can buy it from chain stores?
2. You want to make sure your name and logo are recognizable. No one is going to forget about Coca-Cola or McDonalds and their logo can be spotted out by anyone, even kids! You want to make sure you pick it and then stick with it! It needs to be consistent on all platforms, so you can easily be found!
3. You want to focus on who your target audience is. You do not want to focus your brand on young kids/teens if you are selling home remodeling because they will not be the ones that make that decision! You want to make sure that you are focusing on the correct audience.
4. Figure out what benefits your brand offers. A smaller clothing store would be able to only sell 6 of an item, so that not everyone has the exact same top. This is a benefit, especially in a small town, because it lets people feel like they have their own sense of style.  
5. Show your brand personality. Are you a fun, younger brand? Share that with your followers! Show your behind-the-scenes on Instagram stories and be fun and open with all of your content.
6. Be your brands biggest supporter.  You want to make sure you are open and honest with your products or service. Host a Q&A where people can ask you questions about how things fit, how their made, speed of shipping, etc. You can also post reviews on your social media sites and websites that show how people felt about what they purchased. Remember to respond quickly to all comments on social media, especially negative. It looks way better for a business to respond back with, “I’m sorry your previous item showed up damaged. Please send us your information, so we can send you a new item!” than to not respond at all. Even if people see negative reviews, they will still purchase if they see that customers are being taken care of! 

      If you have ever done research on how to gain more followers or customers, you have come across the idea of doing a giveaway. I have seen lots of business doing them lately and they are getting lots of entries and gaining lots of new followers.

      Most businesses that I have seen doing them have been sharing a post on Instagram, giving multiple ways to gain entries, but requiring that you follow the business on Instagram and sharing the post on stories. This is such a good idea because it puts your business out in front of people who might not have ever seen it. The other good thing is that people who do not know your business are now following your page to enter the giveaway and most likely will not unfollow you when the giveaway is over.

      It can be difficult to come up with ideas for a giveaway, so I wanted to share what I think can be beneficial.

• An article of clothing – Whether you own a clothing store or have shirts made for your business, you can give them away.
• A gift card – this helps get people actually looking at what you sell and most people will end up spending more than what the gift card has on it.
• Something you make that is customizable – giveaway something that your clients can choose. If you sell shirts or cups that you can add anything to, allow them to get exactly what they want.
  • i.e. a shirt that says “best mom ever” or a cup that says “mom juice”
• A service – if you sell a service (i.e. landscaping, woodworking, dog grooming, etc.) you can giveaway one of that service. Whether it’s a free lawn mow, a custom built shelf, or free grooming.