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How to Get the Most out of Social Media Advertising

It is undeniable that reaching a vast number of audiences would require excessive time and manpower if done traditionally. But in the digital world, a few clicks and a few bucks could go a long way and would pretty much save a lot of time. 

It’s no secret that advertising through social media is widely used today. According to the Forbes Council Post, we see an average of 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day.

It could be confusing to implement any digital advertisement most especially for the first time. Social media advertising offers a lot of options that will allow your brand to reach your targeted audience.

That’s why we’re here! This guide will help you understand how to maximize the resources you put in social media advertising to make sure you get what you’re paying for.

Tip #1 BE SPECIFIC WITH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

This is the most important part in making an advertisement – the people who are meant to see it. You should be specific on your market, including the age and gender.

Knowing your audience’s online activities is similar to knowing what platform to pour your marketing Dollars in when it comes to advertising. Knowing who your target audience is, is the first step for any company when it comes to developing an effective marketing strategy.

Tip #2 HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO SPEND IN MARKETING

Marketing budget recommendations is one of the difficult decisions that you have to do whether you are running a company or a small venture. Make sure you have a clear direction on how much marketing Dollars you are able and willing to spend and for how long. 

Tip #3 BE CONSISTENT

Customers acquired after running an ad will most likely not stick around for a long time. This is why being consistent in advertising through social media is important. You want to keep reminding your customers that your brand exists. 

Tip #4 PLAN AND MAKE A STRATEGY

In every ad you make for your business, you must incorporate a marketing mix of ideas and find what works best for your company. It is necessary to know your brand very well and plan your goals. Ask yourself, is it your plan to run an ad for a specific promotion? Or was it your intention to run ads with the objective of brand awareness? Is it your priority to get more leads? Take the time to ask yourself these questions to really be able to identify the best strategy when it comes to running your digital ads. 

If you need faster and more effective results, it’s always better to have options as some digital marketing strategies are better than others. That is why it is important to apply and read up more on effective Digital Advertising Strategies.

If you really want to grow your business, in this day and age, digital advertising is a must and as being said, social media is one of the leading platforms for this. If you don’t know where and how to start, don’t be afraid to ask for professional help. Entrust your business with a 25-year old company like iManila, a full-service digital marketing agency that can help take your business online, starting from your website development, and hosting requirements, to applications development, your technical support concerns as well as your digital marketing needs. Set your business for success in 2021 with iManila and let’s talk!.

 

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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/

A New Battle: Instagram vs Misinformation

The fight against misinformation has always been an uphill battle. This time, the battle sees itself on new ground: Instagram.

Instagram puts its foot down and tackles head-on the rampant issue about fake news.

That was the decision months ago when Instagram decided to add a tool that allowed its users to report posts that contain false information. The results? The posts are sent to the fact checkers of Instagram and from there they can be hidden from Instagram’s Explore page and hashtag page, the public spaces of the app.

We cannot blame the juggernaut photo app for taking this precaution. Other social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are plagued with fake news, conspiracy theories, and other forms of misinformation.

The Battle Plan

Facebook wants to be more serious about battling against fake news on Instagram. The photos app will add ‘false information’ labels to conceal the post in question. Should users still want to view the post they have to click ‘See Post’ to get there. These labels are set to appear not just in the main Instagram feed but also in Stories. It will also warn users who will try to share a post that has been previously debunked by fact-checkers.

Instagram is currently working on being much quicker in fanning out the flames of misinformation before they go viral. If they get signals that a post may be false, they cut down its distribution as their third-party fact-checkers attempt to review it. In short, Instagram urges its users to take a second guess with the flagged posts they see.

While this may seem like an incremental step into getting rid of misinformation completely, it may leave a lasting effect. In Instagram’s battle for misinformation, this tool may prove to be a double-edged sword.

Side 1: Less Hate, More Credibility

Information these days travels faster, whether true or false. The images that accompany this news, it makes these posts all the more convincing. As a result, a person’s perceptions can be easily manipulated with just a simple click of a post.

These effects can be destructive as people’s opinions can be largely shaped by what they see on their own feeds. Even if one person would agree with a post, it would be a source of affirmation for most users. Misinformation set to defame a certain person or brand can bring about hate be the one to set the course for its discourse. With the wrong intentions behind posting, any posts with claims can be destructive.

Facebook’s efforts to fight back against fake news materialized after they realized how Russia used social media in their favor to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. They estimated that around 70 million Americans could have seen the Russian propaganda ads. This reflects the potency of false information propaganda in swaying the opinions of the public.

With the enabled tools of Facebook and now Instagram aimed at flagging false information, while it is not a guarantee to eliminate all sources of misinformation, it can help in lessening its reach. This can warn people to be wary of the content and will lead them to seek for other more credible sources of information. This reinforces the path to better credibility in these social network systems.

Side 2: The Influencer Dilemma

This, however, begs the question on how this can affect the future of influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing, a kind of social media marketing, use endorsements and product mentions for individuals called influencers. These influencers often have a dedicated social following and are seen as experts in whatever niche they belong to. What enabled this marketing form to work is because of the high trust the followers of these influencers have, making their word gold.

Influencer marketing was never one to be stagnant as technology and trends constantly change. However, what will it mean for the landscape when posts by influencers can be flagged as false information? What will happen when these claims by esteemed influencers are deemed as misleading by fact-checkers? What if it’s the word of facts vs the word of influencers?

Though these still far stretch, with Facebook’s sworn dedication to combat fake news for itself and Instagram, anything impossible now could be possible eventually. This presses a challenge to influencers and marketers alike that low brow tactics aimed at promoting your product will not suffice. If you want your product to be credible for your customers (and now the fact-checkers), it must have a substantial basis.

Truce

For now, we can call it a truce.

It can be good with its fight for false information, but since this is relatively a new feature used on Instagram, we cannot be entirely sure of where it can lead the influencer market, which resides in this app. Technology is ever-evolving but it is a tool that helps improve how we work and live our lives. Having the right tools that strike the balance of satisfying the demands of both the users and businesses is essential to ensure the best experience for everybody, which is the goal at the end of the day.

Marketing your business on Instagram shouldn’t be as scary as riding headfirst into a battle. You don’t have to do it alone as there are digital marketing agencies fully equipped to help you, just like iManila.

Let iManila be your partner as we navigate new terrain, drop us a message at [email protected].

How Can Social Media Help My Business?

Being on social media has practically been the norm for everyone. Whether you’re going to work, having your lunch, or just taking a 5-minute break from work, social media is a habit that people cannot seem to let go. Different Social media platforms have become rampant in the last five to eights years that people are so accustomed to getting information and news through it rather than the traditional method of newspaper and television. With this in mind, it’s hard to deny that businesses nowadays are starting to invest more and more on building their online identity through social media.

But what exactly does social media provide to businesses? Why is it that many of these big brands are so eager to be successful online? If you’re curious to find answers on why your business should invest in social media, we’ve outlined here for you some benefits that you should consider.

Social Media Provides Online Identity Support

The online space is very wide. Social media is just a fraction of what the online world is all about. Obviously, websites are probably the number one investment that a business should consider to have that online identity. However, a website alone will not cut it and it’s no longer enough to just have a website. In fact, more and more brands are using social media to support their websites, which is especially why it’s better to support your online efforts with a social media calendar as well. Having your own social media page, especially on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn is a great anchor to boost your online identity. With so many people using these platforms as their source of information and lifestyle display, there’s no doubt that your business will reach as many people as possible and gain the sales that you’re hoping for.

Let the online world know about your branding and identity by posting relevant content. Make sure that you’re voicing out your identity with direct and creative captions. Don’t forget to be cohesive and in-sync with regards to your overall look on all of your social media profiles.

Social Media Produces a Wider Audience Reach

As mentioned, social media attracts a lot of people. It can be considered as a hub or a place where people gather to share thoughts and ideas. With over a billion monthly users, social media is your go-to place to promote your business online. Make sure you’re setting up the right ads and targeting the right people in order to reach more relevant customers for your brand. Remember to capitalize every online opportunity in order to boost your business identity online through social media.

Social Media Generates an Increase in ROI

Lastly, every businesses’ main goal is to have that increase in their ROI. As long as you have a solid foundation on your social media profiles, and that all of your communications plans are in-sync with each of them, you can expect your ROI to rise in no time. It’s only just a matter of time and on whether or not your services or products targeting the right market.

Looking to start your online journey through social media? iManila is here to help! With over 23 years of experience in the IT industry, we’ve helped countless clients establish their identity online. For more information, contact us at (02) 490-0000 or leave us a message at https://imanila.ph/lets-talk/.

Going Socials: Which KPI You Should Prioritize? Branding or Sales?

 

The social media hype for brands across the globe is real. Everyone’s jumping right into this seemingly unsinkable boat of social media and everyone’s like, let’s do this, this is the trend these days. However, before jumping into the boat of social you need to know these two things:

Is it for you?

The big question is, is social media fit for your business? Not all business is created with the same audience behavior? Some business especially B2B businesses have a highly ‘niche’ audience with a very discrimination taste for content. They respond differently and unpredictably at times. Lucky for the B2Cs as some groups of end-consumers behave in a predictive pattern. But with a high-end audience, social media isn’t always the Mecca of Digital Marketing. The key here is to determine if it is really fitting to your corporate goals.

Related Reading:  Online Duopoly: Facebook or Google?

How to Measure Success?

Now that your team has decided that social media can be an important channel to your digital growth, the next crucial step is not the content planning yet. Determining your KPI should be the next thing that your team needs to finalize. Without concrete goals and sets of Key Performing Indices, you cannot measure your initiative’s success. And if you’re battling the two sides of the coin whether to go for branding or with sales KPI, you really need to a have a perfect focus to ensure success when rolling out to social media. These two are different in some degree.

If your team is still confused about which KPI to use, you can refer to some considerations mentioned below.

  • Are you a start-up?

If social media happens to be your first digital initiative the most logical approach is branding over sales. You need to build a good brand awareness and brand recall before you make sales pitching over social media. No one wants to hear selling from a brand or a business that they barely know. And if we are talking about branding, building A FAN-BASE, CONTENT REACH and ENGAGEMENT are the best KPIs to go with.

Related Reading:  SMEs Guide to understanding their online market

  • Are you in dire need of lead acquisitions?

Some businesses live and breathe through leads. Well for most B2Bs – YES, this is the business’s bloodline. And leads, when well-nurtured becomes sales. This middle-ground is a little aggressive than branding but should be lesser than sales-driven methods. One must have a landing page inside a corporate website which will catch all of the referred traffic from social media. The landing page should be designed to be enticing enough to take an action either in the form of sign-ups of inquiries. The best KPIs for these is LINK CLIKS or WEB CLICKS.

  • Is your company already visible online?

If your company or your brand has been making buzz online, either on the search engines, display networks or in other channels like guest posting via blogs, turning to social media could be easier than the previous two.

For most companies who have established a good brand recall and reputation online, going for sales goals on social media is likely to happen.

Call-to-actions such as Buy Now, Book Now, Call Now, are the usual go-to CTAs by businesses. And KPI of CLICKS can be used to measure this.

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After finalizing your sets of KPIs, you can now proceed to the drawing board to kick start with your content planning.

iManila is a trusted provider of both web solutions and digital marketing services that surely covers small and medium businesses online marketing needs. Our lines are open 24/7 and our sales executives are available Mondays to Fridays to assist you with your web, IT, and digital marketing queries.

Emails: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]

Telephone numbers: (02) 490-0000, 01, 03 or at (02) 959-4807

Mobile number: (+63) 917-8476005

 

Social media trends that you should follow this 2017

As of January 2017, there have been over 3.77 billion active social media users around the world. This rate increases day by day and there’s no way we could stop it. Why douse a blazing fire when we could add more fuel to it?

More than being a virtual billboard of events, photos, promos, and updates, social media creates online connections that our business needs – connections that can eventually create engagement. These are the small gestures we do online such as liking, commenting, retweeting, responding to comments and messages. Not only do these actions create engagement but also pave the way for lifetime brand loyalty, as luck would have it.

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As social media continues to establish itself as a great avenue in achieving our online marketing goals, it is our duty to adapt with the constant changes it confers. Here, we have three of the most anticipated social media trends for us to consider applying this year.

  • Chatbots, talkbots, and chatterboxes

Social messaging is not new to us but in recent years, it has been repurposed to as a virtual customer care application for businesses. Often called as a chatbot, talkbot, or a chatterbox, this additional function of online chat is used by many netizens. And we can’t blame them. It works as if they are just sending a private message to one of their friends. It’s the easiest and quickest way for them to ask questions and raise their concerns without them going to a physical store or calling customer service only to be answered by a voice operator.

One prominent social messaging application today is Facebook Messenger. An instant, free, user-friendly and has distinct features that fit perfectly to be an online social messaging tool for every business. Through this, netizens exert less effort but get more prompt resolutions. Just imagine how the 1.15 billion daily active Facebook users will love your brand once you start utilizing this new social media trend.

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  • Virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) hyped the public when it was re-invented in 2014. From its first onset during the 1800s, VR has come a long way. Today, when you are using VR, you think and act as if you are on the very location of what you see. This developed technology offers an extraordinary medium for us, marketers. It pushes our marketing strategies to its limits. Making us think how could we use such technology that is hardly used by other brands. Moreover, it carries a lot of advantages that we shall consider it to give people a new and best experience they can’t get anywhere else.

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  • Videos and more videos

All things video will continue to take over the social media sphere this year. If almost everyone can watch a video and even capture one using our fingertips, our brand shall, too. You see, social media is more about psychology and sociology more than technology. It lets us show that our businesses have a personality, just like anybody. In this case, we better express how collaborative we are with our audience through the use of 360-degree videos, snaps, stories, live streams, and even the recorded videos. People love to see our human side through authentic content and we shall give it to them. We can use videos for live events, holidays, behind-the-scenes, interviews, contests, and a lot more. It offers a diverse opportunity and diverse business results either.

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Let’s not deny it, social media is proven to be the most powerful online medium more than anything else. The more inventive it gets, the more our brands should get by it. However, the main concern here is to provide the more personal interaction our market wants and needs in an instant. In case you’re having trouble crafting your marketing plan for your business, iManila is here to help you out. Contact us now and let’s catch on these trends together.

 

Reference: Forbes