Customers are clearly utilizing online shopping more than ever before.

Digital transactions are the new normal.

Those businesses who escalated their efforts a year ago with customer-friendly digital purchases have managed to increase sales into 2021.

Statistical data shows:

• New growth:
  25% of US consumers now prefer to begin their shopping trips online.
• New consumers:
  17% increase in online-native shoppers since March 2020.
• New opportunities:
  As customer expectations change, businesses that pay attention to what their customers want increase loyalty and retention.

The recent growth in digital commerce is a signal that businesses and retailers should continue to scale their investment efforts into digital purchasing, while refocusing and enhancing the consumer in-store experience.

Do you carefully choose specific words when marketing your business?

Are those words helping you reach expected goals?

Words and phrases can dictate how customers and potential customers respond. Everyday, businesses use words and phrases in communications such as emails, email campaigns, web copy, social media posts, and advertising with the goal of either a lead or a purchase.

Words with Impact

Here are a few word tips your business can use to guide how people feel, think and act when they read your written communications.

Your word goal is to draw people in – not drive them away!

Are #Hashtags a quick afterthought when you post to social media?

Do you use strategic or haphazard #Hashtags?

Did You Know?

Using #Hashtags on Instagram remains an effective element to bring attention and engagement to your posts, and plays a strategic part in growing your Brand.

Including targeted and relevant #Hashtags on stories and posts lets your business become discoverable by new audience segments which translate to:

• More followers.
• More engagement.
• More customers.

Many small businesses experience changes beyond their control that affect day-to-day operations. 

Optimistic business owners view change as an opportunity to realign their way of doing business.

Pessimistic business owners feel the challenge is too great, and don’t want to make the effort. 

Which Type of Business Owner Are You?

The trend for many businesses has been to transform their online marketing strategies and make smart use of digital marketing tools that allow them to meet the needs of  the current marketplace.

A few small marketing changes can enable businesses to transition from no customers - to flourishing sales.

Clubhouse is the new kid on the block – as far as social platforms go.

Are You:

• Not sure if you should create a Clubhouse marketing strategy?

• Not sure if your business wants to be involved with Clubhouse? 

• Not sure whether to even download the Clubhouse app?

What is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is a social platform where registered users may enter into different virtual rooms to participate or listen in on a conversation or discussion panel. The room host has authority over who is allowed speaking privileges along with who gets the boot for misbehavior.

With over 10 million global downloads, this social platform launched early 2020, and has ramped up significantly since early 2021.

Just recently, Instagram announced a Live Rooms feature that allows up to three guests.

Small business owners who think outside the box may be interested to use this latest enhancement in a number of ways to:

• Expand their brand awareness.
• Reach new audiences.
• Engage with their social community.
• Connect with new customers and drive sales.

Using Live Rooms on Instagram especially helps businesses increase their overall reach because followers are notified and the followers of the guests are notified as well.

Instagram indicated the intent is for people to use Live Rooms as a let’s talk or a podcast environment. As larger audiences are attracted, it’s expected the guest attendance capacity will be increased.

Is your small business challenged by:

• Not enough visibility?
• No clear direction?
• Lack of resources?
• Small marketing budget?
• Never enough time?

Businesses invest time and money into online and offline marketing with the goal of building a solid road of qualified leads that covert into sales.

Marketing is not one-size-fits-all … what works for one business may not work for another due to variables such as:

• Business niche.
• Business size.
• Business resources.
• Business focus (online, brick and mortar, local, global).

Fundamental marketing strategies are applicable to every business. What’s important is knowing how to adapt them to the appropriate scale, so they work for your individual business.

As a business owner your weekly goal is to:

• Reach new audiences.
• Attract new customers.
• Retain existing customers.
• And everything in-between.

You can’t afford to spend marketing money each month if you aren’t getting a decent return on that investment.

That’s where automated email marketing levels the playing field – email marketing has proven itself with the highest ROI (return on investment) when compared to all other forms of marketing, and averages about $42 in return for each $1 you spend. Not too shabby.

Attracting more Local customers is easier said than done.

Local businesses can leverage key ranking signals for better search engine local visibility.

Do you know what those ranking signals are?

Tips to help your business boost local organic visibility within search engines include:

Have you been making the most of your tweet opportunities?

Are you not sure what your company tweet strategy should be?

Do you struggle with what you should be tweeting about?

Businesses know that social media is a good way to attract new customers and a good way to drive repeat business. If your business is looking to expand social reach and bring more Brand awareness, the new 2021 Twitter Planner is something you’ll want to be aware of.