Archive for the ‘Business Success’ Category
The Changing Face of Content Marketing
by Rahimah Sultan

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The content marketing environment continues to become more complex, focusing on customer experience and strategy.
To navigate this space, you must prioritize your content approach and optimization of your content methods.
Currently, the top 3 content marketing developments include a focus on being more human, targeting, and setting measuring goals that can be reviewed on a regular basis.
In order to achieve your goals, include strategy and planning in every decision in the content marketing process from beginning to promotion.
What do you need for content marketing success?
* Increased brand awareness
* Attraction of more traffic to your website
* Generation of leads
You can increase brand awareness through content marketing by:
1) Creating non-branded, searchable content to gain the attention of those who are not familiar with your brand and who are looking for more information on a relevant topic.
2) Publishing on other websites, with large readerships, that match your target audience.
3) Diversifying your content over blog posts, videos, podcasts, webinars, whitepapers, case studies, etc.
What are some of the best content marketing tools?
1. Marketing Hub
HubSpot’s Marketing Hub offers an array of tools and systems that grow along with your business, allowing you to scale seamlessly.
2. WordPress
WordPress is the most widely used CMS (content management system) in the world. It is best for blogging, creating portfolios, and publishing editorial content.
WordPress is an open-source CMS on which you can host and build websites. You can host your own site or use WordPress.com.
WordPress has plugin architecture and a template system you can use to customize any website to fit your business, blog, portfolio, or online store.
It’s a highly customizable platform that is widely used by bloggers.
3. Google Docs
Google Docs is a free, widely used and simple tool for editing and collaborating with content writers. If you can use word processor applications, Google Docs is for you.
4. Grammarly
Grammarly is used for editing and proofreading your content before publication. It works across multiple communication mediums, from email to documents to social media.
Their browser extension works with Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, and offers a free basic grammar and punctuation plan.
5. Yoast
This tool is one of the best SEO WordPress plugins, and it’s very easy to use.
6. Vidyard
Vidyard is a video marketing platform used to help you with hosting, sharing, and promoting video content on your website.
It’s best for creating B2B marketing videos, digital marketing, and content creation.
7. Loom
Loom is great for creating video presentations and tutorials. It’s versatile and user-friendly. You can use it to answer questions or explain complex topics that require a visual aid.
8. Google Analytics
This tool is for understanding your audience and tracking site metrics like how people found your site and observe visitor behavior.
This free tool is one of the most widely used platforms online, and the basic configuration is easy to use.
9. Google Optimize
This is best for A/B testing changes to your site’s pages.
10. TheStocks.IM
This is great for sourcing stock images and free photos. It aggregates multiple free photo sites into one place such as Unsplash and Pixabay.
Just type the topic or object you’re searching for into the search box, and it will pull up images across all the platforms it sources from.
11. Canva
You can design your own marketing materials using Canva. Its UI (user interface) is great for design beginners. You can pick a template to start or create your own design from scratch.
It’s great for all kinds of content marketing imagery, like blog cover photos, social media images, Twitter cover photos, and more.
12. Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is the gold standard for editing photographs and images, and designing custom materials. Use it to edit photographs, create Facebook images, blog cover photos, and screenshot tutorials.
These are just a few of the content marketing tools out there. Although there are many more, this list is a beginning.
For content marketing success you need to increase brand awareness, attract more traffic to your website, and you need to generate leads.
Knowing how to do this and having the tools to do so is only part of the process. Due to the changing face of content marketing, you must have a well-planned strategy for success.
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Email Marketing is Still Crucial
by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
You may think that, with the rise of social media marketing and digital technologies, marketers and businesses would shift away from email marketing.
That’s not the case. Email marketing is still a dependable tool. Research shows that, in the future, email will become some of the most widely used and popular communication platforms.
There is a range of effective and free email marketing tools that you can check out for organizing and scheduling your various marketing campaigns. Then decide what best suits your needs.
Why should you stick with email marketing?
Worldwide use of email is increasing because it allows you to:
1: Personalize
Email marketing allows for personalization. You can create customized content for your consumers based on their buying patterns, behaviors, and more. You can use automation software tools to see where your customers are in a sales funnel and create specific content for them.
2. Have Better Outcomes Than Most Other Marketing Channels
Email marketing delivers a better ROI (return-on-investment) than some other marketing methods.
For the best results, you should regularly monitor the metrics of your email marketing campaign by checking your click-through rates, engagements, bounce rates, and other factors.
3. Cut Costs
Email is both inexpensive and straightforward. You don’t need a large budget to advertise, or to produce and print ads, so there’s no need to hire a digital and video production crew.
You may need to hire a professional graphic designer to create pleasing visuals along with first-rate content.
Also, email is an effective way to connect with potential customers on mobile phones.
4. Create Brand Loyalty & Connections
You can use email marketing campaigns to improve brand awareness among your customers.
For example, you can send informational content concerning your mission and values, and interact with your targeted groups.
More than likely, with a better understanding of what you’re about, potential customers will be willing to engage and connect with you.
So, create consistent, long-term email marketing strategies to keep consumers anticipating your next email.
5. Integrate Seamlessly With Other Marketing Means
If you’re using other marketing methods, you can integrate them. You can seamlessly integrate your social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, by placing those platform icons in emails and asking readers to follow you.
To show consumers’ a preview of your business’s Instagram profile, you can display a collage of Instagram posts in your emails.
How can you future-proof your emailing strategy?
Use these three tips to keep up with the future of email marketing.
A) Use time-based triggers
To help keep your strategy relevant, use time-based triggers for your automation, like:
1. Follow-up emails set to go out a certain amount of time after your initial email
2. Automatic emails on birthdays
3. Follow-up emails for users who interact with your site
4. Abandon cart emails
These triggers reach users at the right time after completing a desired action.
B) Always keep your subscribers foremost in your mind.
You want them to engage with your business, so always think about what will be the best experience for them. You might add an interactive element or change a button color.
C) Test emails
Since the future of email marketing is always changing as well as subscribers’ interests, and tastes, you should always test your emails.
Testing lets you know what’s working for your audience. You can test many elements of your emails including subject line, button colors, image choices, personalization, length, CTA, etc.
Testing lets you know what your audience likes or doesn’t like, so you can continually improve your campaigns.
Keeping on top of email marketing trends is necessary for keeping your email marketing approach current and effective.
Keeping your audience uppermost in your mind when laying out your email marketing campaigns will help you deliver emails that drive success.
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7 Reasons for a Digital Marketing Strategy
by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
Your business needs a strategic marketing plan in order to remain ahead of your more digitally savvy competitors.
Take steps now to create, streamline, or optimize your marketing strategy and accelerate your results.
Digital and mobile channels are vital for acquiring and retaining customers.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. — Wikipedia
Digital marketing is using digital technologies and media to achieve marketing objectives.
You can consider using the following examples of digital technologies and media options for your marketing campaigns:
Search engine marketing
Social media marketing
Pay-per-click (PPC)
Paid social
Online advertorial
Affiliate marketing
Organic search (SEO)
Organic social
Guest blogging
Co-branding
Backlinks
Sponsorship
Influencer outreach
You need a digital marketing strategy in order to avoid these common problems that arise when you don’t have one.
What are these problems?
1. Not having a clear goal of what you want to achieve online
You need a clear strategic goal for what you want to accomplish in terms of acquiring new customers and building better relationships with your current ones, and you need clear objectives in order to reach those goals.
2. Understanding your online marketplace
It’s important to research your online audience. The dynamics of using digital marketing will be different from long-established avenues which have different types of customer profile and behavior and marketing communications options.
3. Staying updated on the latest trends and innovations
In order to stay ahead of your competitors, you need to devote enough resources to digital to stay up to date with the latest trends and advances in your sector.
4. No strong value proposition
A value proposition introduces your brand to consumers by showing what you stand for and why you deserve their business. It should be persuasive and help turn a prospect into a paying customer.
5. Not knowing your online customers well
Know the sentiment of visitors and what they think. Use other forms of website feedback tools to help create a more customer-centered website and brand rather than Google Analytics and such, which only show volumes of visits and not the sentiments of visitors or what they think.
6. You’re disintegrated
You need an integrated marketing strategy. Digital media work best when combined with traditional media channels.
7. Avoid duplication
If you have a larger company, don’t waste your money and time by way of duplication. Don’t misuse your funds by having different segments of the marketing organization buying different tools and using other agencies for completing similar online marketing assignments.
Invest in a marketing strategy, that works for everyone, to plan, manage and optimize your digital channels and platforms.
Internet marketing using a digital marketing strategy can accelerate your results and increase your ROI.
Although these 7 reasons for a digital marketing strategy are not the only problems that may be encountered, you should keep them in mind when setting up your marketing campaigns.
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Beginner Blogger Mistakes to Avoid (Part 2)
by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
In part 1 of Beginner Blogger Mistakes to Avoid, we discussed 6 mistakes.
Following are the remaining mistakes to avoid:
7. Not tying specific posts into the larger picture.
Specific posts should relate to the broader picture and to your readers’ concerns.
Solution: Identify the problems and concerns they’re facing.
What will be the benefit for readers taking action?
What do they think are the consequences of not taking action?
8. Using stream-of-consciousness writing style.
You don’t want your writing to be a brain dump. People usually scan a blog post. So, it needs to be well organized.
Solution: Use a template, outline, and section headers.
Write an outline before you begin your post.
Make a list of the top things you want readers to get from your post. Then, pare those into larger section headers. Putting in a section header every few paragraphs. This makes your blog post more enjoyable and easier to read.
9. Relying on the conceptual rather than concrete.
Don’t rely on conceptional and vague ideas. Include actual, actionable steps to be taken for success.
Solution: Include actionable steps to achieve success.
Content creation should be useful. Your audience should be given something. It could be a “how-to” recommendation for a particular strategy or simply a suggestion for a tool or tactic to make a process easier.
10. Not using data as evidence.
When you make claims in your post, use data and research to back them up.
Solution: Use data to support your statements.
If you say that people prefer one social media platform over another, you need to show proof of your argument.
Some places to find great data include:
Hubspot Research
Pew Research Center
Marketing Sherpa
HubSpot’s State of Inbound Report
11. Not adding enough context.
Not using examples to back up that what you say is important.
Solution: Use visual aids and additional content to illustrate your ideas.
Saying that one product is a better bargain than another is fine. Don’t just make the statement and move on. Add more content to show why by actually comparing the two and showing the additional benefits of the one over the other. Write for the person who’s just learning about your topic.
For more specificity, you can hyperlink to other posts that relate to your current topic.
12. Borderline Plagiarizing
Don’t copy and paste content to your blog. Your post must be in your own words and in your style of writing.
Solution: Give proper credit.
If you quote someone’s content, you must cite the source.
13. Not Editing.
You’re not done when you finish writing the post.
Solution: You must take time to edit your writing.
Proofread your post. Check for typos, sentence structure, there/their type mistakes, format, and flow.
14. Trying to be perfect.
Don’t try to be perfect. It won’t work. You’ll always find one more thing to correct.
Solution: Publish. You can update later.
After you’ve put in about thirty minutes editing, just publish the post. You can always update it at a later time.
15. Not being consistent.
It’s important to be consistent for your sake and so your subscribers learn to know what to expect.
Solution: Use a calendar.
Before you start blogging, set up a planning strategy that includes how often to post, dates to post, when to do related duties to prepare for each post such as research, the actual writing, etc.
You can use Google Calendar, excel spreadsheets, other sources or just make your own when first starting to blog.
16. Concentrating on fast traffic.
Your focus should be on long-term traffic.
Solution: The ROI of your blog is the accumulation of organic traffic over time.
Publish content that has durable relevance on a consistent basis, to help drive traffic. This is known as “evergreen” content. It’s great quality and is relevant year after year with minimal attention required.
17. Not growing your subscription list.
To get traffic, leads, and eventual customers you need to get subscribers. You can add a call to action (CTA) to your blog to grow subscribers.
Solution: Set up a subscription CTA and email newsletter.
Use your email marketing tool to set up a welcome email for new subscribers and place a simple sign-up form at the top of your blog. You can also use PPC advertising, email, and dedicated landing pages for subscribers that direct people through channels like social media and other pages on your website.
Some other things you can do include offering incentives for signups, promoting on your “About Us” page, adding footers that act like CTAs to blog articles, and using SEO (search engine optimization) for each article you post.
These are beginner blogger mistakes to avoid.
Not making these mistakes and using the suggested solutions to avoid them should set you well on your way to productive blogging.
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Beginner Blogger Mistakes to Avoid (Part 1)
by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
When you tell people that you blog for a living, they think it’s easy, that you just sit at home all day on the internet writing. They say anyone can do that!
But, when they actually try it, they realize it’s much harder than they thought. At first, they make many mistakes like any beginner.
The challenges are pretty easy to avoid if you know they’re coming.
Below are some common mistakes most beginners make and some tips for avoiding them.
What is a blog?
A blog is short for weblog, a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. — Wikipedia
Blogs can help you establish authority in your industry, drive traffic to your website, convert traffic into leads, and grow your business.
What are the most common blog post mistakes?
1. You think of ideas that only interest you.
No matter how great you think your post is, you’re writing for other people.
Solution: Blog posts should reflect your company’s or your site’s larger goals.
You’re blogging to offer solutions to your audience’s problems and to grow your business. All of your blog posts should be written with these goals in mind and have a natural tie-in to issues in your industry while addressing specific questions and concerns of your prospects.
2. You forget about your persona.
If you want your blog content to generate traffic, leads, and sales, it must resonate with your audience and make them take action. You have to have an idea of the person you’re trying to reach – age group, interests, male, female, income range, etc.
Solution: Understand your persona’s problems and frustrations and solve them.
You can bridge the gap with your content by defining your buyer persona and the things that are important to them.
3. Your writing is too rigid.
You should write like you talk, in a style that is effortless to read.
Solution: Write blogs that are personable.
So, relax your style of writing and be more conversational. Use contractions. Throw in a pun or two.
4. You think people care about you as a writer.
People care more about what you can teach them than they do about you and your experiences.
Solution: Show your personality without obscuring the subject.
You can introduce parts of your personality in your writing to make people feel at ease. Some people crack jokes, some reference pop culture, and others use vivid descriptions in their writing.
The choice is yours. Make your tone personal and engaging, as if you’re in a face-to-face conversation.
5. You digress
Although you’re encouraged to let your personality shine through when you’re writing, don’t abuse the privilege. Don’t bring up too many personal experiences that bury the point you’re trying to make.
Don’t digress into these personal anecdotes and analogies too much — your readers aren’t sitting in front of you, which means you can’t guarantee that you have their undivided attention. They may lose patience and bounce from your article.
Solution: Assert your argument repeatedly.
Restate your point in every section of the article, to prevent your writing from losing its audience. Commit to an overarching message and deliver it gradually, repeating it several times throughout the post.
State your main point upfront. Don’t spend several paragraphs telling a story of how you came to do a certain thing before getting to the main focus of your post.
6. Not narrowing your topic.
Don’t use topics like:
“Internet Marketing”
“How to do Social Media Marketing”
“Digital Marketing”
These topics are too broad. To get the most short-term and long-term benefits of your blogging, you need to be very specific.
Solution: Start with a clear, concise idea.
A working title isn’t final — it’s just a solid perspective to keep your writing on track. Once you get this stage right it’s much easier to write your posts.
This is a link to some sources to get ideas. (I get no commission)
https://coursemethod.com/blog-topic-generator-tool.html
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Avoiding Burnout While Working From Home
by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
What is burnout?
Burnout is the accumulation of work-related stress coupled with continued pressure to perform at an increased level over time without sufficient breaks and downtime.
What are the signs of stress?
1. Fight response
People who have a fight response to stress may have increased irritability and anger. They may have an urge to lash out, raise their voice, be accusatory toward others or the situation. This response can also show in their physical demeanor such as tightening of parts of the body and muscles, and high blood pressure.
2. Freeze response
The freeze response is manifested in an inability to concentrate, the mind freezing or locking up, brain fog, and forgetfulness. Those suffering this response may be avoiding certain situations and distancing themselves from others, and are becoming demotivated at work and in other parts of life.
3. Flight response
The flight response can cause people to become restless, fidgety, and unable to sleep. People suffering this response to stress may be having anxiety-like symptoms, such as a tight chest, affected breathing, stomach pains and excess sweating.
How do you manage stress?
If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s important to manage them as quickly as possible in order to avoid burnout and to keep your brain and body functioning in a healthy way.
Following are some things you can do to avoid burnout.
Sleep
Establish a consistent bedtime routine, so your body and brain know when to start winding down. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
Do not exercise, use caffeine, nicotine or alcohol for a half hour before going to bed, and limit blue light exposure from mobile devices. This will improve sleep and good quality rest.
Exercise and movement
Aerobic exercise will pump endorphins through the body, reducing stress. And, physical activity leads to positive physical effects, such as improving cardiovascular, digestive and immune health and can protect the body.
Do not over-exercise. Exercising too much and too hard without adequate recovery can add to the burden on the nervous system. Those who like to do intense exercise might want to do less to give their nervous system more recovery time. Choosing other types of exercise like walking, yoga, and pilates instead of some of the more strenuous workouts during the week, can be beneficial.
Along with exercise, daily pick-me-ups such as spending 10 minutes in a park or the garden can be beneficial in minimizing stress. Fresh air and greenery are instant mood boosters that do not require putting time aside like a long, strenuous workout. These also provide the necessary regular breaks from work and help avoid burnout.
Journaling
Reflecting through writing is an effective way to manage stress, since it encourages you to explore the cause of your stress. It’s a good way to gain a deeper understanding of stress by putting it into words and then working to improve the root causes of negative stressors.
Reflecting will also provide the tools to mindfully treat stress triggers, rather than simply managing the symptoms of the stress. This will reduce overall stress as problems are solved and removed, leading to greater long-term confidence and avoiding burnout.
Take a break from technology
While on a morning walk before starting work or while attempting to wind down after dinner, we can be tempted to check messages and emails. Thus, the home office space becomes blended into the living space. This constant exposure to work-related technology can have psychological consequences and lead to an inability to switch off.
Social media can lead to distraction and prevent you from getting tasks done, and this can lead to work backlog, and ultimately contribute to burnout. Set clear parameters for work time.
Be conscious of how much time you spend on social media and look for ways to reduce this.
Maintaining Social Connections
Control what you can. Feeling like you have no control over your situation is another common burnout contributor.
It’s very powerful to accept that you cannot control certain things, and work on what you can.
Try some relaxation techniques, from breathing to mindfulness, which engage the parasympathetic nervous system.
And you can always share your concerns and fears with your trusted social connections.
Prioritize and plan
Regularly step back and look at what needs to be done in order of priority, and direct your energy accordingly. Do not let the small, less-important tasks overly absorb your limited energy.
Look at the big picture and make a plan. Then break the plan down into smaller tasks that you can direct your energy toward on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis, until you feel like you’ve got things under control.
At the beginning of the day write a to-do list. At the end of the workday look at what you achieved to remind yourself of how much you do and recognize what you can let go of.
Remain focused and don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to things that distract from your plan.
When you have the tools to recognize and manage stress and burnout, you can take control and manage many of the variables that can contribute to this. Stress and burnout are something that we all experience at various stages in our lives, but we have inner resources such as adaptation skills and resilience.
So, the first step in avoiding burnout while working from home is recognition and then taking the necessary steps to alleviate it.
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AI and Automation In Online Marketing
by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
There are several trends and technologies that have emerged over the last several months that point to what the future likely holds. There is increasing use of chatbots, a focus on voice-driven search optimization, and the use of artificial intelligence. Added to these top three are podcasts and video.
Due to an increasingly cluttered communication environment, marketers are seeking ways to better engage with their target audiences. Personalization is a trend they believe holds promise.
“Technology is having a real impact for marketers, improving efficiencies and boosting customer satisfaction. Here, experts weigh in on what marketers can expect going forward.”
Please read this article for more information on these developments.
Using Digital Marketing For Your Business
by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is the act of selling products and services utilizing the internet through social media, SEO, email, and mobile apps. It’s basically any form of marketing involving electronic devices. It can be done online and offline.
For a well-rounded digital marketing strategy, both online and offline are important.
Why does digital marketing matter?
Digital marketing matters because that’s where the attention is. Google and Facebook control more eyeballs than any traditional media company.
There are four main categories of digital marketing:
1. Enhanced offline marketing
This type of marketing is entirely offline but is enhanced with electronic devices.
An example is restaurants using iPads for customers to create orders.
When you walk into an Apple Store these days you see people leaning over iPads, Macbooks, and iPhones.
2. Radio marketing
Radio marketing was introduced to the world by Guglielmo Marconi who transmitted the first wireless signals. While it took a few years for radio to reach the general public, people realized they could use it for selling.
This was the birth of digital marketing.
In recent years, radio moved to having hosts read a script you or they have written that promotes your product.
To set up a sponsorship find your local radio stations with a Google search. The stations should be able to provide data to help you select the right audience whose reflects your company’s target demographic.
For example, if you’re promoting infant car seats, you want to find a radio program whose average listener is female between the ages of 24 and 40.
3. Television marketing
Television marketing is the industry where the most money is spent each year. The average American 18 and older spend more than four hours a day watching TV. This includes shows that are streamed.
TV in the form we knew is dying out. If you plan on doing offline digital marketing, It’s best to “spend your time and money focusing on a marketing platform or channel of the future.”
4. Phone marketing
More Americans are using their phones to access the internet than desktop PC or laptop.
Every phone has two apps – calling and texting.
You can do cold calling (trying to sell people a product with no prior contact), although you can’t scale as on social media or with email.
Marketing via texting works better.
If you’re a restaurant, you can offer special deals, coupons, and discounts to get more customers and turn walk-ins into regulars.
Pharmacies use text reminders, as customer service, to alert customers when their prescription is ready to be picked up.
You can use QR codes for customers to access your webpage. There’s no special app needed, since all you need to do is scan the code with your smartphone to open the page.
The internet is not the only place for marketers to have success today, although every marketer will, eventually, have to master online marketing.
The offline and online marketing worlds are running into each other. Devices such as refrigerators, ovens, and even billboards are all being modernized to leverage digital media.
Using a few of these offline marketing tactics can help you avoid putting all your eggs into one basket and help diversify your lead generation beyond social media, content marketing, and such.
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Reprise: 5 Tips for Starting a One-Person Business
by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
Are you the only person in your business or are you just starting a business?
You can run a small business on your own, although it requires planning and lots of patience.
You need to write your business plan, meet with a business advisor to discuss activating your plans, and have patience.
Your business plan needs to include the right business structure. You’ll need to prioritize tasks and set goals.
Following are 5 tips for starting a one-person business:
1) Start as a Side Business
Continue reading…
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14 Marketing Trends for the Future of Your Business
by Rahimah Sultan
Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.
The marketing world moves ever so quickly. Keeping up with these changes isn’t always easy, although it’s vital to stay ahead of them, in order to succeed and maintain a sense of relevance with your audience. It’s no longer enough to create a brand, product, or service and expect it to sell.
In order to start seeing success with your marketing strategies, you need to stop pushing your products on people and instead focus on the needs and desires of your target audience. Instead of focusing on a message for them to buy your product, be more focused on the features your ideal customer is looking for. People want to be approached as individuals. So, focus on building relationships and providing value, then deliver your pitch.
Due to big data and the internet, you’re now able to create hyper-personalized experiences based on what customers do online, thus enabling you to build better long-term relationships with them. This, in turn, leads to more brand loyalty and larger revenue opportunities down the line.
What should you do now?
In the past, effective marketing tactics were about using the right platforms for promotion, targeting specific audiences or demographics by using keywords and hashtags on social media sites and using retargeting campaigns on those sites where possible.
Going forward, business owners will be required to take risks, listen more intently when engaging with customers online, and invest in their branding in order to remain competitive.
What are some changes you need to be ready for?
1. Know your purpose
Purpose overrules product features. Why are you doing what you’re doing? If you have a big idea or a problem you want to solve, then that is your purpose.
2. Know your customer
They are at the center of everything. Knowing your customer personas and dividing them into clear segments allows you to specifically target each segment.
3. Create a personalized and relevant customer experience
As soon as they choose to connect with you, consumers expect a seamless experience from your business. You can do this only if you utilize the power of technology and data. These two things will help you create a personalized and relevant customer experience when existing and prospective customers interact with you.
4. Be sure marketing remains at the center of your growth strategy
Marketing messages need to be personally relevant and aligned to an individual’s situation and values, as opposed to demographics, such as age and gender.
Marketing begins with knowing your customer segment. Using segmentation and personas can bring deeper insights to media strategies, and creative marketing approaches can be carried through the entire customer experience.
5. Use digital tools to make interactions more personal
Embrace digital technology. Digital tools allow you to make interactions more personal. You may even be able to deliver personalized products, depending on your product or service.
6. Get serious about the potential of social media platforms
If your business relies on online sales, getting serious about the potential of social media platforms needs to be at the top of your list.
7. Use a multichannel strategy
How do you interact with your customers? You may use chatbots, contact emails, and a phone-based contact center. All of your channels are equally important, as they impact the customer’s opinion of you or your organization.
8. Focus on delivering a mobile strategy
The mobile experience for your customers should be at least as good as a desktop-based website. The key elements of a successful mobile site are simple navigation, clear site-search options, and quick load times.
9. SEO is more integrated
SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the oldest and most valuable forms of digital marketing. Since algorithms have continuously become smarter and more contextual, your SEO needs to be focused on integration that provides an outstanding and meaningful experience to users, and less on “hacks” and “tricks.”
10. Look for opportunities to partner with influencers in their space
Influencer marketing continues to grow. Since the influencer is endorsing the product, influencer campaigns naturally provide context and relevance.
11. Focus on what really drives your business growth
You need to become more strategic and focus on what really drives your business growth. As automation, AI (artificial intelligence), and machine learning take away a lot of the grunt work of digital marketing, you must become more strategic, as the options in digital marketing continue to grow.
12. Assume Facebook will continue to dominate
Facebook isn’t going anywhere. It has billions of users and the numbers continue to grow every month.
13. Be sure your website is optimized
Websites continue to get faster. Although website traffic is overwhelmingly mobile, most websites still don’t have fully mobile-optimized experiences. Speed will become ever more important.
14. Become more focused
You should become more focused and do fewer things better. With the explosion of digital marketing options, many businesses are spread too thin across too many channels. The smart thing to do is focus on dominating one channel.
The majority of business growth comes from the foundational tools used in digital marketing. It’s easy to become distracted by shiny new digital objects. Although marketers love new trends and want to be on the leading edge of new technologies and platforms, you shouldn’t forget to focus on your foundation. Optimizing your base digital implementation will more than likely provide a better return on investment than experimenting and getting distracted with every new tool.
As you move forward, I hope you keep these 14 marketing trends for the future of your business in mind as you continue to build and grow.
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