To survive and stay relevant in the modern era, your business needs to have an active presence on social media.

When it comes to social networks, Facebook is king. As of June 2018, the platform had more than 1.47 billion daily active users and 2.23 billion monthly active users.

Over 60 million businesses have Facebook profiles.

Those companies are doing much more than just posting content to their timelines. The vast majority of these businesses are paying for ads.

In fact, 93% of marketers take advantage of Facebook advertising on a regular basis.

If you’re active on Facebook but not running ads, you might fall behind the competition.

In a perfect world, you’d be converting your social media followers into customers. That’s the reason you’re in business, right?

But some of you may have struggled with this. If you ran Facebook ads in the past and didn’t get the results you were looking for, it could be the reason why you’ve been avoiding this marketing strategy.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone: 62% of small business owners feel their paid Facebook advertisements aren’t reaching their targets.

The success of your Facebook campaigns is completely dependent on how you set up your audiences.

If you don’t want to waste money on ads that don’t reach your target audience, you need start focusing on the customer lifetime value (CLV).

If you don’t know what this is or how to get started, I’ll help you out.

I’ve been in your shoes before and wasted valuable marketing dollars on ads that didn’t convert. But after taking advantage of customer lifetime value lists, I saw different results.

I’ll show you how to create Facebook audiences that convert by leveraging lifetime value.  [click to continue…]

Augmented reality. It sounds like a term that should be used to describe a science fiction movie.

But augmented reality (AR) has become a force to be reckoned with in 2018.

By definition, AR uses technology to superimpose computer-generated visuals on the user’s view of their real-world surroundings, which creates a composite view.

It sounds a bit complicated, but as you’ll see shortly, it’s actually a pretty basic concept you might be familiar with.

Although this technology is seemingly still in its infant stages, as marketers, we need to keep a close eye on how augmented reality can affect our brands.

The most successful businesses stay informed about the top marketing trends each year. AR is a topic that needs to be on your radar.

You need to take AR into consideration when devising your search engine optimization strategy.

SEO and AR?

Yes, on the surface these two ideas may not seem to be related, but they are. I wanted to explain why. That was my inspiration for writing this guide.

If you aren’t familiar with augmented reality, I’ll explain where this technology is now and how it’s being used.

I’ll also show you some plans and predictions for the future and how you can apply this technology in your business.  [click to continue…]

B2B brands need to use a marketing strategy different from that of B2C brands.

Some of you may operate as a B2B and B2C company. In this case, you may have already implemented some of the most effective ways to generate leads for your business on the B2C side.

However, not all of these strategies will work if you’re targeting other businesses.

Whether your business is run as a B2B operation exclusively or as a blend of B2B and B2C, you can use PPC campaigns to scale lead generation.

If you don’t know this tactic, PPC stands for “pay-per-click.”

This term is also referred to as CPC, or cost per click.

The concept of PPC is very simple. Advertisers pay a publisher or search engine when their advertisements are clicked.

Publishers typically charge a fixed amount per click for ads placed on their websites.

With search engines, brands bid on relevant keywords and phrases so their ads appear when prospective customers search for those keywords.

If you’re not currently using PPC campaigns to generate new leads for your B2B brand, I highly recommend trying it out. There is a good chance your competitors are using this tactic already.

In fact, 54% of B2B companies say paid search campaigns generate leads for their businesses:

This compares to just 37% of B2B companies that are using display advertising.

But PPC campaigns can add up quickly. It’s important to make sure you’re getting the best results for your money.

Implementing an efficient PPC strategy can help you generate new leads without spending a fortune.

If you have never done this before, I’ll explain what you need to do to be successful.

Even if you’re currently running PPC campaigns as part of your B2B marketing strategy, there is always room for improvement. Let this guide steer you in the right direction.  [click to continue…]

Whether you love them or hate them, emojis have become part of our lives and our digital culture.

The first emoji was created nearly 20 years ago in Japan. But today, the use of these tiny, animated faces and characters has drastically evolved.

They have become so popular that July 17th has been officially named World Emoji Day.

It’s a fitting date. Apple users may recognize July 17th from the calendar emoji.

Origins and history aside, the fact remains that emojis have become a dominating mobile trend. As marketers, we need to understand this trend and apply it in our businesses.

People have full conversations using emojis.

Some emojis are even used as a type of slang. Depending on the country you’re in, some emojis are used to imply things other than what the creators intended.

For example, some innocent pieces of food are commonly used to represent parts of the human anatomy.

There is even a middle finger emoji.

Even if you’re not using emojis for business, I’m willing to bet that you and your friends send them to each other when you’re texting. Or maybe you use one in the occasional social media caption.

The odds are in my favor. That’s because 92% of the online population uses emojis.

Furthermore, it’s worth noting that women use emojis more than men.

In fact, 70% of women are frequent users, while just 50% of men fall into that category.

With all of this in mind, now it’s time for you to start using emojis to improve your business and not just your texting.

I’ll explain how you can implement an emoji strategy that helps you improve your click-through rates and ultimately drive conversions. Here’s what you need to know.  [click to continue…]

You can tell a lot about a business by how it sets its prices.

Psychologically, consumers are programmed to behave a certain way when they see the price of a product or service. Your pricing strategy can control the entire perception of your brand.

It’s similar to the way different color schemes can impact sales on your website.

Whether you realize it or not, I’m sure you think the same way when you’re shopping.

If you see the same item listed for $5 at one store and $50 at another, which option would you say has higher quality? The more expensive one.

However, even though one store is selling products at a higher price point, it doesn’t mean their quality is superior to that of the products from the store with bargain prices.

It’s all about perception.

Don’t blindly price your items. You need to have a reason and a strategy behind your pricing decisions.

Just look at how popular car brands are perceived by consumers based on their prices:

Ironically, the majority of your business efforts will cost you money. But your prices will ultimately be the determining factor in whether or not you’ll make a sale.

I see this problem all the time in my consulting work.

Many business owners don’t have any rhyme or reason behind their pricing strategies. As a result, their sales numbers aren’t where they should be.

I’ll explain how you can generate higher profits by putting more focus on your pricing strategy.

Depending on your brand, some of these strategies will work for you better than others. Review this guide, and decide which ones you want to use in your business.  [click to continue…]