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Where Should You Spend Your Marketing Budget in 2020

It’s a sad reality that the year 2020 has impacted many businesses in various industries such as retail, tourism, transportation, and many more. The community quarantine has definitely limited the freedom of consumers in purchasing only their needs. Fortunately, there is a way to keep your business afloat despite the ongoing pandemic. Due to this, for the year 2020, businesses should join the hype by focusing on marketing trends and safely investing in different brand strategies to keep your business going.

Here are some areas where you should spend your Marketing Budget in 2020. 

Compelling blog content

Many people rely on blogs if they need answers to their questions. The reason why it is important to post high-quality content is to be able to capture the attention of your website visitors. Your content serves as one of your most important marketing tools and it must not be overlooked. Just as well, the competition when it comes to blog posting is very high that’s why your content should always be compelling to stand out. It is also a must to regularly update blog posts on your website to reach more audience and increase your organic traffic.  

Social Media Marketing

It is known that throughout the pandemic, social media usage has skyrocketed with more people staying at home. With that, and with the majority of online users on social media, no doubt that your brand should be on social media too! Social media marketing helps in improving brand loyalty. Now more than ever, it is the perfect time to invest in a social platform that will help you reach your target consumers and simultaneously build stronger relationships with your consumers. Here are the following areas you need to consider on Social Media Marketing: compelling content, visually enticing images, and paid advertising.

Quality Product Description

Product descriptions play a huge role in your marketing tool. If it is a dry feature your target consumers will surely lose their interest in your product. Product descriptions have many functions than characterizing a product. This answers the questions of your target market about your product. Product descriptions should evoke the right emotion and showcase the ability of the product. It is a must to provide a budget for writing marketing descriptions.

Video Marketing

Video Marketing is the perfect way to raise brand awareness and reach audiences who have an interest similar to your brand. Consumers watch videos for their entertainment and want to be a part of their interaction with the brand. To make video marketing effective, always have an objective in mind on what you want to achieve and determine the type of video that you will publish.

One way to keep your business afloat this 2020 is to invest in your Marketing Budget digitally (and wisely), in order to reach more audience and raise brand awareness online. The specifics of your business depend on your marketing strategies and investment. iManila is equipped to help your business keep going and to boost your online presence no matter what the situation is. Leave a message and let’s discuss how we can help you with your digital marketing needs.

Why Businesses Need a Post-Pandemic Strategy

The coronavirus’ threat to global business hasn’t reached its full magnitude yet. For the next few weeks or months, organizations will begin to shift to a new virtual work reality. This is the birth of a new digital normal. The million-dollar question is, are you prepared to journey the new normal?

With today’s rapidly shifting business landscape, the strategies you use to run and man your business will need to reflect this shift. Here’s how to prepare your business plan for the “post-pandemic normal”.

Smart Financials

Businesses who have not embraced digital transformation yet will most likely not thrive for long. In these problematic times, change is imperative in order to survive. Take your time to re-assess your priorities especially on your digital initiatives. It is crucial that you think smart when it comes to your budget allocation. Remember, the most efficient and effective way to communicate today is through digital.

When this crisis eases, we will be welcomed by generally new digital expectations from consumers. Is there going to be a major surge? Or a gradual rise? Your cash reserves must be able to respond to these kinds of scenarios.

Right Tools

To mitigate the threat of the virus, many organizations have worked remotely. By the end of this, it is likely that some companies will continue to work virtually while some return to their offices. But how will you support them while they are at home? First, you must re-think your strategies and make them long-term.

You may choose to provide your employees with more consistent access to networks, portable equipment and other communication software. This way you can increase their productivity while at home and you may host more intimate and hassle-free online meetings or virtual collaborations without missing a single idea.

Efficient Staffing

This global pandemic has created a wall in everyone’s workforce. To address this gap, you must continually make efficient and smart staffing decisions quickly. In a workplace, there are three typical employees present:

  1. Employees who effectively run the business
  2. Passionate and experience-hungry employees
  3. Starters who need to be trained

Identify individuals who belong in these categories. Then, instill trust and a healthy virtual working environment. Only then will your team members move to constantly communicate, actively collaborate and align their actions to the company’s goals.

After this review, classify additional skills you will need for the future. These could be people who are experts on cloud deployments, operating microservices, etc. If you plan to add in people, you must ensure that you choose the one with experience and can quickly teach other teams with new tools.

Right Brand Permission

Try to assess, is your brand really a digital brand? According to the Yale School of Management, “Brand permission defines the limits of customers’ willingness to accept a familiar brand name in new marketplace situations.” You cannot just claim to be “digital” and expect people to easily accept it especially when you haven’t been digital-driven, historically. You must earn it right.

Brand permission is something to work on and must need time. It focuses on delivering impactful digital products and services—to attract the people you need.

Digital transformation has since been a thing for businesses. But the global pandemic has only pushed to make it rise to a whole new different level — and FAST. We are living in an entirely new digital-driven world. Businesses can no longer simply sit on their laurels or draw digital out of their lives. On your pool of choices, fishing the right ones will ensure you a good spot in this ever-changing and unpredictable world.

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Ready to transition your brand online? We will be happy to guide you through. Learn more about how we can help you here at https://imanila.ph/lets-talk/ or drop us an email at [email protected].

 

#iManila #DigitalAgency

Going Digital to Thrive in the “New Normal”

The coronavirus outbreak has made a huge impact in today’s economy. It has created a huge disturbance in different industries such as tourism, retail, transportation and on all other types of businesses big and small. For a business to keep going during this “New Normal” period is to consider going digital. If you have never had the chance to update your business online, now is the perfect time to brainstorm and to ramp up your digital operation in order to help your business thrive during the global pandemic. 

 

Here’s some reasons on why you should be going digital now!  

 Many consumers shop online 

 Many people have relied on online shopping not only to keep them safe but also SANE during this pandemic. The quarantine has not only kept people home but has forced them to purchase their needs through available applications and websites who have continued to keep their operations going despite not having a physical store open. Just look at the hundreds of businesses marketing their products on social media! Count the number of promotions you’ve seen on the latest delivery apps!  

Your competitors are probably online… since before the pandemic  

If your business doesn’t have a website yet, well guess what? Your competitor probably has one already and you’re missing out on potential customers who are looking for your product or service while at the safety of their own home. While you were sitting at home waiting for things to happen, your competitors were eagerly drafting up online strategies and working with digital agencies on how to move their operations online. So, if you haven’t considered coming up with a digital marketing strategy just yet – well, you should probably start now.  

Many people are working from home… and will likely continue to in the next few months 

Many businesses, just like ours, have implemented work from home setups for their employees since the beginning of March. In order to get tasks done, working remotely and online has been the only option in order to continue the workflow of employees. Going digital doesn’t only have to mean taking your business online, but also taking your work processes online. This means that you business also has to adapt to using efficient software and online tools that will help the productivity and collaboration among employees. Here’s some suggested business tools you can look into: https://imanila.ph/hosting/office-365/. 

 It’s the best way to conduct business during the pandemic 

 Like what we said, the coronavirus outbreak has made an enormous impact not just on businesses but also in the health, safety and welfare of all employees and consumers. At this time, employers cannot force their employees to go back to the office given the limited availability of public transportation and even to a certain extent, public healthcare. These past months, businesses have learned to survive by showing compassion not only to their employees, but to their customers as well.  

 

Going digital is one way to solve the many concerns of employers and employees throughout this global pandemic. As we continue to face these challenges, we can also see this as an opportunity to change and move forward in a different manner. Together, we can help you take your business online and keep your business going despite the circumstances. Here at iManila, we are equipped to keep your business moving forward no matter what the situation is. Reach us through https://imanila.ph/lets-talk/ or drop us an email at [email protected] for more information! Stay home and save a life!

4-ways-digital-marketing iManila

4 Ways Digital Marketing Can Help During the COVID-19 Pandemic

With the ongoing lockdown measures due to COVID-19, more people are staying at home. But what does it mean for marketers?

Traditional marketing platforms like billboards and street signs are now left unseen, with people staying at home, and away from the roads. On the other hand, a vast majority of those staying at home are spending more time online whether working remotely or reaching out to friends and family.

While we are in the middle of transforming into the “new” normal, take the time to assess and explore options to bring your business back up.

On our latest blog, let us share some insights on how you can utilize digital marketing during this time:

Reach out to your customers through Email Marketing

As one of the most cost-effective options to communicate with your audience, creating email campaigns can help you reach out to your existing clients. A simple reminder to let them know that you are here to serve and help them online can go a long way.

Update your Website FAQs

People are regularly searching for information online, now more than ever. Do not miss out on customers looking for your product. Update your website content to ensure that common client queries are on your website. Answering these questions and content to your website can give you an opportunity to rank higher on Google search engine results pages for keywords related to your business.

Communicate through Social Media

Utilize your social media platforms to interact, inform and share positive thoughts to your audience. Whether it is updating your business hours, taking online orders, or simply ensuring everyone’s safety, make use of your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or other social media platforms, to keep your customers updated.

Additionally, you can also explore running ads on Facebook or Instagram to generate awareness and grow your audience.

Consider running a Google Search Campaign

Running a Google Search Campaign is the best way to reach customers who are interested to purchase your product or service. This can be especially helpful for businesses producing essential goods to let your customers know that you are taking orders online and delivering directly.

Digital marketing never stops and can help reach your target consumers despite the lockdown.

Need a hand in reaching out to your audience through digital marketing? Talk to us today! Drop us a message at https://imanila.ph/lets-talk/

5 Things Businesses can do Online while on Community Quarantine

Business as usual? Just because the rest of the community is under quarantine due to the pandemic, doesn’t mean that your business online has to be idle.

 

Despite all of the negative things happening around us, there’s always a positive. Think of this time as a great opportunity to revamp your business online, especially if this is something that you somehow never found the time to do before. With a lot of people stuck at home and relying on the Internet to cover for their boredom – chances are your potential customers are out there searching the web or scrolling through social media! So on the positive side of things, there’s no better time to leave your mark online than right now!

 

Here are five things you can do for your business online while on community quarantine.

 

Update your website’s images and content

For businesses already with a fully-functional website, now is the perfect time to revamp and freshen up your site. Whether it’s changing the landing images or updating the captions to be more eye-catching, having an aesthetically pleasing website is vital in keeping your site visitors engaged enough to check out what you have to offer.

 

Write content for your website’s blog page etc.

Again, if you have a fully functional website, maybe now is the perfect time to produce relevant content to give potential customers reason to stay on your website longer. Writing content for your website’s blog is one way to do this. How can this help your website? The more relevant the blogs are to your possible customers, the bigger the chances they are to visit and constantly return to your website and to learn more about what your company has to offer. This is a way for you to soft sell your website. Remember that most people search for answers on the Internet, so having the right articles that answer their questions just might mean another customer for you.

 

Get a website

If you’re a business owner who has never had the time or the opportunity to create a website, then what better way to spend all your time at home than by conceptualizing the kind of website you want for your company? There are many reasons why having a website has been proven to be valuable to businesses. Credibility is definitely one of those reasons. For a startup business who wants to leave a good impression on their potential customers, having a website is the best place to start. If you own a business that allows customers to purchase your products or services online, then your own website can become a one-stop-shop for all of your customer’s needs.

 

Start a Facebook fan page for your business

In the Philippines, Facebook is undoubtedly the most used and subscribed social media site. This makes it a lucrative option especially when most of your potential customers are frequent users of the site. While a website is used by customers who actively search something on the web, having social media presence on Facebook is a way to reach out to them when they’re just passing the time scrolling through their feeds. Facebook fan pages can provide an easy way to communicate with your customers with just a single click of a button.

 

Explore other social media channels

While almost everyone uses Facebook nowadays, it’s not rare to see people using other forms of social media such as Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and even LinkedIn. Chances are your potential customers also use them. Knowing who you are targeting as a customer is important in deciding what other social media sites to branch out to. Each social media site differs in their approach to reaching out to their users. If you want to promote videos of your business, then maybe getting a YouTube Ad is for you. If you like to present the products beautifully, or if you’re trying to get influencers on board then maybe Instagram is your best bet. Remember that the more present you are online, the easier it is for your customer to find your brand.

 

While normal business operations may be down for the meantime due to the quarantine, digital marketing never stops. This is one of the biggest advantages of going digital – that it can bridge communication and information online without needing to be physically present. This works the same for businesses too. If you are just thinking of expanding your business online then there is no better time.

 

We know that doing this alone might seem intimidating, so getting an expert’s help can be a great way to get started. Let a partner agency guide you through the digital landscape to help you reach your business goals online. iManila is here to help you despite the pandemic. Our lines continue to remain open as we continue to help businesses stay online no matter the economic situation. Reach us through our website, and drop us a question. iManila: Improving Lives Through Technology. #iManila #DigitalAgency

What is up with Facebook in 2020?

The last 31 days of January 2020 has been heavily problematic for people around the world. With all the natural backlashes, war threats and virus outbreaks that claimed thousands of lives, it’s getting harder and harder for people to cope with every day. This may not be a lot to offer, but for Facebook, it’s a way to help people recover and re-connect. For businesses and brands, exciting and highly beneficial updates are on its way this 2020.

Home to around 2.2 billion users, Facebook, who also owns popular platforms Messenger and Instagram is no stranger to constant updates the way we’ve watched them implement changes in the past year. As marketers, it’s absolutely critical that we keep track and stay on top of these trends to stay relevant and to keep our audiences engaged.

  1. Lead Generation Tools in Messenger

This tool is out there but has been in beta-testing for quite some time. For businesses, your ads can now be clicked through and lead you to Messenger for faster inquiries and transactions. Messenger will simplify customers’ answers with automated questions in a direct, conversational way that brands can quickly jump into to continue the conversation and complete the conversion process. This will allow businesses to integrate their CRM provider to continue the conversation and track leads.

  1. Subscription Messaging Beta Update

The use of Subscription Messaging allows the brand to send non-promotional updates on a scheduled basis but unfortunately does not include advertisements, promotional content, solicitations, etc. On the new platform, Facebook’s Subscription Messaging is a big chance for businesses to send messages and provide their audiences with timely updates and information. This will help businesses to improve brand awareness and drive traffic to their websites which can lead to increased sales. This is a great way to promote your business on a more personal level compared to just having them be displayed in news feeds.

  1. Discover Tab Phase-Out

Launched just two years ago, Facebook has recently announced that they will be removing Messenger’s Discover Tab. This is in line with Messenger’s continuous overhaul which aims to simplify and declutter the app to focus on its core function – to connect people.

  1. Calibra

One of the major Facebook updates that will happen in 2020 is the launch of Calibra. A Facebook subsidiary, Calibra was designed to provide financial services under the digital wallet for the Libra network, a global cryptocurrency built on blockchain technology. This digital wallet is expected to be made available in Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp platforms, on top of its own app.

  1. New Navigation and Management Tools in Business Manager

This Facebook change is much more convenient in terms of improvements to Ads Manager and Business Manager that allow brands to build ads, manage Facebook assets and permission in an easier and faster way. This is useful for business owners who manage their business pages.

  1. Simplified Feed Formats

Because of the new Facebook design, primary text from seven are shorten to three lines for visibility and then prompted to click to view the entire text or post. Another major change is in terms of the aspect ratio of photos and videos from 2:3 to 4:5. These changes help to show more content in a span of one scroll.

  1. Refined Targeting Options

This year, privacy has been given attention as Facebook will trim down targeting ads to users in terms of demographics and buying behavior. This is part of an effort to lessen the pop-ups of third-party companies as it was known to track online behaviors outside of Facebook. It is great for individual privacy but a hassle for businesses that advertise on social media. To clear the confusion, Facebook will still target people based on their jobs and life events listed in user’s profiles as well as interaction on pages and posts.

  1. New Insights and eLearning Courses

Most businesses need a lot of improvement in terms of selling their brands to increase brand awareness and profitability. That’s why Facebook introduced free online courses for businesses to learn new marketing skills in presenting their brands. This is a great opportunity for marketers to learn how their consumers behave in order to help them grow their business.

Intimated by all these upcoming changes? Don’t fret! Having the right agency partner can help you navigate through this ever-changing digital landscape! Here at iManila, we believe in offering digital marketing services that will help you grow your business. Learn more about how we can help you here at https://imanila.ph/lets-talk/ or drop us an email at [email protected]. #iManila #DigitalAgency

iManila Lunar New Year 2020 Promo

Gong Xi Fa Cai! iManila, one of the country’s leading website development and digital marketing agencies, presents our Lunar New Year 2020 Promo! 

Get a 5-page WordPress Website for only P 38,888.00 (exclusive of VAT) plus the following inclusions:

  • One Year Free Web and Email Hosting
  • One Year Free US Domain
  • Choose from a variety of available website templates
  • Free use of up to 25 Stock Photos
  • Free One Page Content Writing up to 200 words
  • Free WordPress Training

This promo is perfect for businesses who need a catalog or informative type of website to showcase their products and services. These types of websites are also ideal for companies who are rushing to start their Digital Marketing campaigns by launching Google and Facebook Ads.

Boost your online presence and provide relevant content to your target market through a fully functional and well-designed website! If you’re ready, we can have your website up and running in 30 days!

Promo runs from January 24 to February 29, 2020. 

CONTACT US now to get this LIMITED TIME OFFER! 

 

5 Effective Strategies in Marketing to the Gen Z

Each year another Digital Marketing trend is being discovered and we have to keep up in order to maintain our brand awareness. It’s a fierce competition among brands in the digital world but we have stick to our core – which is to be organic while staying relevant and always adapting to the rapidly evolving digital marketing world.

When we open the internet, it’s hard to determine which trend is on the rise and which trends we need to keep up with especially since consumers’ interest and behavior are unpredictable. Hence, we present to you 5 effective strategies for 2020 that will help give your brands maximum exposure.

  1.       Artificial Intelligence

This 2020 is the year where artificial intelligence is the next right-hand in securing data. It may help global businesses and industries in the next decade but it’s taking the simple job of what humans usually provide. Using AI can help brands gather data to review consumer behavior and search patterns and provide what’s best to increase sales. Soon, AI will be the driving force you will see it in other services such as:

–          Basic Communication

–          Product Recommendations

–          Content Creation

–          Email Personalization

–          E-commerce transactions

  1.       Programmatic Advertising

With the help of Artificial Intelligence, Programmatic Advertising is also one of the big trends in terms of tracking because it is easier for the younger generation as they are more active online. Under Programmatic Advertising comes Real-time bidding. This type of automation is more efficient and typically gives higher conversions while lowering customer acquisition costs.

  1.       Chatbots

Chatbots will continue to be an important digital marketing trend this 2020. Chatbots are AI-based technology that provides instant messaging to customers in real-time at any time. This trend will continue as 80% of businesses use chatbots to connect. At the same time, research shows that 63% of respondents prefer messaging a chatbot when it comes to communicating with brands.

  1.       Conversational Marketing

With the use of Chatbots, we can say that customers prefer more conversations in a way that allows them to interact and connect with their favorite brands. Long before the traditional type of marketing, this type of marketing is available to multiple channels to create relationships between brands and customers because the goal of this trend is to enhance user experience that will provide higher engagement and long-term loyalty.

  1.       Video Marketing

Gone are the days when consumers are pleased to see marketing ads through images and GIFs. Thus, Video Marketing is making its way to increase brand awareness of any brands because customers want to experience first-hand product preview even just through a video. According to surveys, a higher percentage of consumers want to watch a video to get information in order to make online purchase decisions. And with the rise of YouTube, this paved the way to bring videos to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. One thing’s for sure, video marketing will be one of the most important trends in the next 5-10 years.

Want to know how your brand can reach Gen Z? Ask us how! Drop us an email at [email protected]. 

2020 Technological Trends You Should Know About

In the digital landscape, adaptation is equivalent to survival. 

Having a fast rate of adaptation and a strong foundation for SMAC (social, mobile, analytics, and cloud) are all necessary when working with digital technologies. As a business owner, having a workforce that can navigate digitally and are able to adapt to the changing landscapes is valuable. 

Moving into the new year, we will be faced with a lot of new technologies. 

The question is, as a business owner, are your products and services relevant even with all these technological trends? Having to be able to adapt to rapidly changing customer needs is of the utmost importance. Worry not for we have rounded up the latest trends in technology to watch out for this 2020. 

5G Network

Though LTE use is far from waning, the rise of the new 5G network is something to look forward to. Huawei says that 5G could “support 1,000-fold gains in capacity, connections for at least 100 billion devices and a 10 Gb/s individual user experience of extremely low latency and response times.” The rise of this new network means that network providers would have to ramp up their services and increase their bandwidth to lower the costs. 

Personal Profiling

With the integration of digital technology becoming more seamless in our everyday lives, data has been able to come up with information that goes beyond just a basic demographic check. Profiling allows examining how people interact with technology such as what social media apps they most frequently use, how they curate it, how often they use it, and what pictures or content do they post. 

For businesses, this is a huge opportunity to get to know your customers and really tap into the market. Knowing how to integrate and adapt to an individual preference is key. Consumer analytics is the priority and with the constant shift in technology, it has become more valuable than ever. 

Automation

Each year we get new technologies that further make our lives easier, and automation is to thank. It is aimed to augment people and combines software, machine learning, and various automation tools to deliver such results. In the coming years, it is to be expected that more advanced analysis can be put out due to the automation of data. 

It is automation that is to thank in welcoming cashier-less transactions from retail stores and further improving the assembly or production lines. Automation is also expected to displace jobs that needed human presence for better efficiency. 

Online Debit

With everything made easier and more seamless online, it is no wonder that cryptocurrency is becoming more credible as time goes by. Digital payment systems are foreseen to grow in use and traditional banking will also slowly lose its ground. Businesses can take advantage of this by having an array of payment options to make payment as convenient as possible to all types of clientele. 

Technology is changing every day and it is essential to make sure that your business is suited to ride the wave of change. Don’t be intimidated by all the technological jargon by letting a partner agency like iManila help you! With years of experience under our belt, you can trust us to give you the support and solutions you need to keep you up to date in this digital world. 

Drop us a message at [email protected] and let us help you! #iManila #DigitalMarketing