Month: November 2020

Are your video marketing efforts falling flat? Do you feel like you are putting in a lot of work for little to no reward? Videos are a unique and effective tool you can use as a component in your digital marketing plan, but it’s important you do it the right way. If you aren’t seeing much success with it, maybe it’s time to rethink your approach.

One reason why your video marketing strategy may not be very effective is because you haven’t identified your target audience yet. If you are marketing to the wrong people, even the best, highest quality videos won’t be very effective. You need to identify who is most likely to buy your product or benefit from your services.

Your videos should be a way to tell your brand and company’s story. Videos can be informative, but if they feel like an obnoxious product pitch or boring lecture, most people won’t receive them very well. You can blend a data- or facts-driven approach with success stories, behind-the-scene glimpses into your business and personal experiences.

To succeed in video marketing, it is also important to optimize your videos. Figure out which keywords work best, keep titles short, add links to your website and make sure your videos are optimized for mobile users. The more thoughtful you are with your videos, the more likely you will be to have success with your overall digital marketing strategy.

Video marketing requires you to be intentional and specific with how you use your content. If you are struggling with this particular part of your marketing plan, you may want to consider working with an experienced professional who can help you take your video strategy up a notch. With the right help, you can use videos to reach a larger audience, boost your following and grow your business.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

To say that 2020 has been an unusual year would be an understatement. This year has seen many people working remotely, going to school online and drastically reducing what they do outside the home. Your small business may not be an exception to this. Perhaps you’ve adjusted your operations to accommodate the changing needs of your customers, and you’ve managed fairly well despite the challenges. What do these changes mean for your business during the upcoming holiday season?

There will likely be no business as usual this year during the holidays. Things will continue to look different, and you will have to continue to make necessary adjustments to keep your business running smoothly. Some of the things you may want to implement include the following:

• Personalize your offerings: Treat each customer or client individually, giving him or her product selections, personalized package suggestions and more. Try to make each customer experience unique and pleasant, personally connecting whenever possible.
• Serve your community: This is going to be a difficult holiday season for many, and your business or staff may be a place where you can reach out and improve the circumstances of others.
• Reconsider what you offer: Perhaps you need to implement curbside pickup, online ordering, new products or updated services to match the needs of your clients during this time of year.

You can succeed during the holiday season if you understand that it will require adjustments and additional effort. This is not an easy year for anyone, but you can reach a place where you are able to look past the discomfort and frustration and find ways you can continue to achieve success. Things are difficult for small businesses of all kinds, but they are not impossible. You’ll just have to be flexible and remember that things will be “normal” again one day.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

If you want to establish strong relationships with your customers, you must identify what they want and how you can meet their needs. This goes well beyond good customer service and competitive pricing – you have to learn how you serve your customers or clients well. When you are serving your current and potential customers with genuine concern and efficiency, you’ll establish a base of return business and develop a level of trust with those who patronize your company.

First, to serve your customers well, you should be meeting their needs with efficiency. Quick responses to orders, concerns, requests and questions show that you care. Whether it’s a fast reply to an email or promptly solving a problem, you are demonstrating that you truly want your customer or client to have a good experience.

Another thing you can do is empower your team to serve your customers well. Train employees on how to treat your clientele, and give them authority to resolve problems quickly and efficiently. When your entire team has a customer-first mentality, it will be a better experience for your client from start to finish.

Clients and customers expect your business to have closely monitored and active social media accounts. It’s critical to watch for posts, comments and questions, while responding quickly to anything one of your followers does on one of your pages. This demonstrates a certain level of customer care, and it also will help keep your posts in your followers’ newsfeeds.

Serving your customers well means showing that you truly care about their needs. People are looking for genuine connection now more than ever, and prospective customers are more likely to patronize your business if they feel your company puts customers first. This mentality will win you the trust and the support of your previous customers as well as prospective business.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

You will experience some type of criticism at some point, no matter what type of job you have, career path you’ve chosen or choices you’ve made. It’s not pleasant to receive criticism, especially if you’ve worked hard and believe you’ve done nothing to deserve a harsh response. Whether your critics are right or wrong, what really matters is how you respond to them.

First, you have to adjust to the fact that you will not be popular with everyone. You can do everything right, and some people will still manage to find fault with you. Don’t be surprised when someone is critical. Instead, understand that you wouldn’t have critics if you weren’t getting people’s attention. It is also helpful to remember that the ones who have the loudest and rudest voices are often those who need empathy.

It can be difficult to have empathy for the individuals who have been critical of you, but by doing this, you are the bigger person. Rising above criticism means you understand that you can’t make everyone happy all the time – and that’s okay. You also have to acknowledge that sometimes criticism is real, valid and important. It’s helpful to develop the skill of learning when to listen to your critics and when to ignore those voices.

You have to be confident in what you know. When you’re knowledgeable, well-researched and skilled, criticism will land differently. You will be able to tell when you should listen to the feedback or when to rise above negativity. As you grow, succeed and gain more exposure, you may notice more critics. This is often a price you have to pay for success, but you don’t have to let it bring you down or become a problematic source of negativity you constantly have to battle.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC