August 2022 - SV Digital

How to Create a Facebook Business Page: Ultimate Guide

Posted on August 29, 2022April 5, 2023 by Adithya Kumar

Facebook has been around for over a decade and is regarded as one of the most used social media platforms. It is hard not to explore everything this platform has to offer in terms of its business capabilities. A strategy to operate within this space is necessary for any digital marketing plan.

With over 1.88 billion active users, your first impression is significant. So what you need for any business or brand would be to create a Facebook Business Page. Amongst the sea of 200 million businesses already using the platform’s network to conduct sales and marketing, having the perfect business page is vital to stand out.

Firstly, what is a business page on Facebook? In simple terms, it’s everything one needs to know about your business. It can be displayed publicly on the platform for people to visit and for the brand to interact with consumers. You can post updates, news and plans or promotions you have in store for your brand. It is an excellent medium for businesses to increase their brand awareness and sales of their services or products.

It would be a digital footprint on one of social media’s biggest platforms. Creating a business page is easy, but you must remember a few things. There are two ways you can create your business page. The first one is by using your personal Facebook page.

The following steps are:

Step 1: Go To Your Profile

Open up Facebook on your device, Go to the menu and click on the Flag icon. Proceed to click on the Create New Page. You will then be redirected to the Create A New Page tab. You can also click on https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.

Once there, you can pick between two business categories, Business or Brand and Community or Public Figure. It is suggested that most for profit businesses should go for the Business or Brand category. Once you select that, the next is your basic information.

Step 2: Fill Up The Basic Information

You need to enter your business name. Be aware that once you’ve entered the name, there should be a green check mark by the side of it. This indicates that your business name on the domain follows all page name guidelines.

If your name had any unapproved capitalizations or punctuations, you would be breaking the guidelines. The following field is Category, this requires you to type in keywords that are associated with your brands. Once you type in a keyword, Facebook will prompt you to select it. You can pick up to three categories. The final field for that tab is Description.

You need to sum up your brand in 255 characters. This is your opportunity to highlight your key selling points and briefly describe your business to consumers who visit the page. This would be displayed on the About section at the top of your business page.

Once satisfied with the information you have filled out, you can click on the Create Page button.

Congratulations, your business page has been made. It is time to decorate it so consumers can have a feel for what your business stands for.

Step 3: Add Profile Photo and Cover Photo

This is probably the first thing consumers will see when they come across your page. So you must upload clear images that fit the format. This is to ensure that your images are not pixelated or cropped out unnecessarily. The Facebook profile photo size is 170×170, and the cover photo is 1640 x 856 pixels.

Your profile photo will appear as an icon on all your Facebook posts and the user’s news feed. So it is crucial that this image represents the essence of your business and is easily recognizable. You can change this image whenever you need to promote your business or show you have holiday spirit. Once you have decided on the perfect picture, click Add Profile Picture and hit Save.

The next priority image is your brand’s Cover Photo. This image would act as a background for your business page. Usually, you would have an image associated with your brand or a product or service you would be trying to promote. The dimensions of this section are different, as we mentioned.

The dimensions from the web version of the page and desktop versions are also said to be different. So it would be handy to remember them when you design the cover photo. For example, you could make one on free designing sites like Canva or hire a designer. Once that is ready, click on Add Cover Image and hit Save. You have now brought your business page to life with your imagery.

Step 4: Optimizing WhatsApp On To Your Facebook Page

Once you’re done with the imagery of your page, you will get a prompt to connect your business to WhatsApp. This is an optional step. Enabling this option means that consumers can contact you through WhatsApp. Your WhatsApp number will be displayed, and a WhatsApp button will be on your page.

Once enabled, you can also display it on your Facebook posts and even run ads through texts on WhatsApp. Finally, click Send Code if you want to opt for the option. You can change your mind and revisit this section through Settings.

Step 5: Choosing Your Username

This username is also called your Vanity URL because this is how consumers find you on Facebook. You should include your brand’s name into the domain username and ensure it is consistent with your handles on different platforms. Then, your customers will easily find you on any platform. You have 50 characters to use, and be sure not to use them all unnecessary.

Once you have picked a name, type it into the @username field. If your username is available, you will see a green tick next to it. If it’s taken, an error message will pop up, and you will have to experiment with variations of your brand name to stay on theme. Once you get a confirmation pop up, just click Done.

Step 6: Add A Call To Action(CTA) Button

This built-in Facebook feature gives users different ways to interact with your profile when they come across your business page. Picking the suitable options for your brand is vital in how you want to communicate with your consumers, whether through a conversation, information, downloads or shopping.

These real-time interactions can be enabled by clicking on the blue box that says Add A Button. This is located at the top of your page. Each call to action option has a different business objective for your business.

The following options are:

Follow or Sign Up – To increase your audience
Call Now, Contact Us, Send Message, Send Email and Send Whatsapp Message – To spark a conversation with consumers
Learn More or Use App – To drive traffic to your website or app
Shop, Book Now, Order Now – To encourage more sales

Step 7: Filling Your Business Details

You might have remembered that you had filled in a brief description of your business earlier and might think this section is not a priority, that would be wrong. For example, many consumers visit a business’s Facebook page to get brand information.

You have your contact information, location, office hours, website, and social media information. This helps potential customers decide whether your brand fits into their requirements to conduct business.

All this information can be easily added by scrolling down to the Set Your Page For Success tab and clicking on Provide Info and Preferences. Start filling in the info you want to make public and make sure it is correct. This info will determine whether you appear on search engines when users look for specifics.

Step 8: Choosing a Facebook Page Template

Facebook initially selects its standard template onto your profile, but you can customize this feature according to your business category. You can access this option by clicking on Settings and then going to the Template & Tabs option. Hit Edit and explore all the options available to you.

Each template will better accommodate your business page in the industry it operates. For example, If you were in the restaurant industry, you would want the Restaurant & Cafe template for your business page.

Step 9: Unveiling Your Business Page

Your page is almost complete, and you need to get the word out on the platform. To start the process, scroll down to the Introduce Your Page section. There are two ways you can showcase your new business to Facebook users: through a post or inviting them to follow your page.

These are the options you will have in the section. For example, if you choose to create a post, make sure it offers value to your viewers to ensure they stick around on your page. You can also choose to share valuable information from industry leaders. This action would aim to announce that your business is now on Facebook.

The next option is inviting people to your page. You can send invites to your friend list to persuade them to follow your business page. Click on the blue option, and a drop down menu of all your Facebook friends will appear.

This makes it easy to send your invites to people who will enjoy the news and will likely follow your page. Another tip would be to announce the creation of your Facebook Business Page on your other social media handles for maximum exposure.

Optional Step 1: Add Another Facebook Admin

If you plan to manage your whole page by yourself, you can skip this tip. But if you aren’t, you should add another admin to your page. This would give someone else access to your page and be responsible for making edits when it is required. Having another access point is essential if you are locked out of the account or get hacked.

You need to go to Settings and then Page Roles to enable this option. In the Assign New Page Role tab, you can type in a Facebook friend’s name and add them as an admin. The admin role you assign anyone will have the same permissions as you. If you feel they should have limited responsibilities, you can assign them to a different role category, such as community manager or editor.

Optional Step 2: Moving Your Facebook Page To Facebook Manager

You can manage your new business page through your personal Facebook account. If you want to separate both accounts, you can move your business page to business manager. On that portal, you can monitor how your page is performing, engagement on your posts and also run ad campaigns.

To complete this process, go to Business Settings by clicking on the gear icon on your business page. When the Accounts drop down menu appears, click on Pages. Then, click on the Add Page option and type in your page’s name.

Once you’ve confirmed your decision, hit Add Page. The business page will automatically be moved to Business Manager only if you are the admin of both the Business Page and the Business Manager portal.

If you remember, we mentioned there were two ways to create a business page. We finished the first way through your account. Now let’s move on to creating a Facebook business page through business settings. This option is suggested for users that work on a team or have multiple

Here are the following steps:

Step 1: Go to Business Settings

Once on the Facebook Business Suite portal, click on the gear icon, which stands for settings. If you are on Business Manager, click on your account and the gear icon. Once on the Accounts tab, click on the drop down menu and select the Pages option. Then, click the blue Add button and Create A New Page.

Step 2: Creating Your Business Page

Just like before, you will get the option to pick a category your business would be best suited in. Here’s an example of what it would look like:

Once you have created your page, you can add different categories to highlight which industry your business will be operating within. This would make it more convenient for consumers to find your business if they search for specific keywords or terms.

Step 3: Finish Up Your Business Page Setup

Here is a quick recap of what you need to remember when you try and complete your business account:

Connect your business page to WhatsApp for consumers to contact you
Choose a memorable username that aligns with the rest of your social media handles
Include a brief description of your business that you think will make you stand out
Add all relevant information like location, websites, contact details and work hours
Include imagery on your profile through a profile picture and cover photo
Select a Facebook template that will best suit your business
Introduce people to your brand through a post or direct Facebook invites

Once this is done, there is only one step left to complete.

Step 4: Add Admins To Your Page

You first need to go to the Business Settings if you want to add other team members or employees to the business page. Next, click on the Accounts drop down menu and select the Add People tab. Then choose the individual and assign them a role.

You are now well versed in creating the perfect Facebook business page using both methods. But to make it the ideal page for your business and your customers, you must ensure it is efficient.

Here are a few tips you can use to optimize your Facebook Business Page :

Tip 1: Link Your Instagram Account

What is better than one business account? Two business accounts. If you already have a business account on Instagram, linking these two would let users quickly visit both pages. It also means you can use your business manager account to run ads on your Instagram account once it is linked.

To enable this, you need to go to Settings on your Facebook page and click on the Instagram tab. Next, click on Connect Account to link the accounts. You then have the option for your Instagram messages to appear in your Meta inbox or leave it where it is. You should also log into your Instagram business account and link it from there. Once linked, you can interact with users on both platforms through the Meta Inbox tab.

Tip 2: Adding Facebook and Instagram Shops

If you are a business on Facebook or Instagram, you probably want to increase your sales through the platforms. One method is to set up a Shop on each platform to increase your sales.

To start, click the Get Started button on your Facebook business page or open the Commerce Manager on Business Manager. Follow the tutorials, and once you set them up, you can add a product catalog and start advertising.

How To Set Up Services On Your Page?

Not all businesses sell products, you might be one brand offering services instead. You can promote everything you offer through your business page. Depending on what template you’ve picked, you can display your prices.

For example, if you have a repair shop, you could display your prices using the menu tab and upload a picture file of your prices by enabling the menu tab option on your page. It is crucial to pick a suitable template for your business page to enable these options.

The option of booking appointments is also available on Facebook by changing your CTA button to Book Now. This would enable a Facebook feature through which you could book a service or incorporate a third party tool to assist with bookings.

Scheduling Your Posts Through Business Suite

The art of staying relevant is to be consistent with your content. You will gain more followers and increase engagement if you post on time and consistently. The best way is to use the in built post scheduling feature on Business Suite.

You can post on Facebook and Instagram while also having the option to post different posts on both platforms at different times. Take a look at what the optimal time for posting is for you and schedule it accordingly.

Business Suite Insights

This portal allows you to track the progress of your business page. Once you’ve set audience and engagement goals, you can monitor audience demographics and user engagement data. You can view the different metrics concerning your posts regarding reactions and the reach every post has received.

You need to keep an eye on the activity around your call to action button and the number of clicks on your website, phone number and address. Each parameter is organized so that it can be easily viewed on the Action On Page tab on the Manage Page menu.

You now have all the knowledge you need to launch your business page on Facebook successfully. With these easy to follow steps, you will have your page up and running in no time. Always fill in your details so people can find you and monitor your progress. If handling your pages is becoming too time-consuming, be sure to get help or hire an agency to do your daily audits for you. Stay on your game and experiment with new templates and imagery.

Twitter Rolls Out Podcasts in the Spaces Tab

Posted on August 26, 2022June 27, 2023 by Adithya Kumar

Every social media platform receives updates constantly to satisfy the trends that have gained popularity over time, and Twitter is no exception. This platform is known for bringing like-minded individuals together and allowing them to share their thoughts or opinions through tweets. Recently, Twitter announced that they introduced a new way users can interact with each other, podcasts.

Starting from August 25th, users can use this feature on the Spaces tab of their account. This came into effect after Twitter observed that some users require more than 280 characters to get their point across. The platform wants its users to feel appreciated and content creators to be able to stay ahead of the curve. Are you intrigued yet? Let’s dive into how this feature has been integrated into Twitter.

How It Works

Audio creators can now find themselves creating podcasts on the Spaces tab of Twitter. This feature is easily accessible with a simple “click and listen to” concept. The Spaces tab was redesigned to be more user-friendly to its listeners. You can expect customized spaces that collect creators’ audio content in categories like music, news, sports, etc. This level of personalized content will give users more control of what they listen to and a better variety of audio content that is relatable to them.

If you want to know what’s trending these days, this new feature also groups the most famous content from around the world for users to view anytime. Twitter researched and recorded that 45% of US users also regularly tune into podcasts. This drove them to make podcasts on their platform more streamlined and easy to use. They also will give suggestions to podcast listeners about topics they are interested in based on their tastes and preferences on the platform.

So if you engage with content about your favorite sports team, don’t be surprised if audio content surrounding your sports team or teams pops up on your suggestions list. Podcasts will also be able to receive positive or negative feedback from users through the thumbs up and thumbs down reactive icon. This would go towards customizing your experience on the platform.

User Testing For Podcasts

Twitter has been introducing new ways for users to engage on their platform, whether on the Spaces tab through podcasts or newsletters. Their innovation will never stop to make users feel heard and boost them towards being one of the world’s most engaging platforms. The feature has been released on IOS and Android, and this would be focusing mainly on the English-speaking audience initially.

Don’t just listen to us; get out there and try the new update yourself. It would be easy to navigate, and if you find any trouble finding the content you like, Twitter encourages its users to leave feedback and comments so they can tweak their features to be more user-friendly. This is quite a new change for the platform so make sure you take full advantage of your access and experiment with new audio content.

7 Steps to Building a LinkedIn Content Strategy That Works

Posted on August 24, 2022January 3, 2023 by Adithya Kumar

The 21st century has brought about many changes to how we market our brands and businesses, and social networking sites are one such invention that has made waves in the business world. LinkedIn is a useful platform for many individuals to communicate with coworkers and industry leaders and share their thoughts with like-minded forerunners in their niches.

It is also a good platform for businesses to attract potential leads and lucrative sales opportunities. However, one cannot simply make a LinkedIn account and post content to position themselves successfully. Instead, it would help if you start by determining your target audiences and business objectives. This article will dive deep into the steps you need to follow to establish your online presence on Linkedin and gain momentum as a thought leader in your industry.

The following steps are:

1. Define Your Marketing Goals

Your first step as a brand should be figuring out what you want to achieve by marketing your business on LinkedIn. A famous saying goes along the lines of, you can’t measure that which you can’t manage, and you can’t manage that which you can’t measure. Another good tip to remember is to ensure your goals are scalable and achievable in the time frame you have given yourself.

Some marketing goals you can have for your business on LinkedIn are:

Aiming to introduce your business to potential customers
Improving your brand awareness by utilizing company resources
Establishing brand trust and loyalty amongst users to gain more customers
Acquiring more quality leads to add to your sales funnel
Persuading more users to subscribe to your trials or demos
Building a community of satisfied consumers

These goals can vary from industry to industry but would apply in general. Once you know your marketing goals, you can start crafting your content to fit your niche.

2. LinkedIn Audience

The content you publish is not only for your benefit but for the benefit of your audience. The idea is to use keywords that will spark the interest of LinkedIn users. Depending on your industry, you need to choose the best keywords to craft your content. It would be worth researching what kind of content your audience likes and what they respond best to.

LinkedIn gives you access to these insights on the platform itself. These are called LinkedIn Audience Analytics. To view this data, you need first open up your LinkedIn company page. Once you’re there, select the Analytics drop-down menu and click the Followers option. Then, scroll down and view the demographics available to you. These could be metrics like industry, job, function, seniority and location. You can also view the demographics for the page visitors and see the kind of consumers that visit your page. Once you can figure out who your audience is and what they respond to, creating quality content becomes more manageable.

3. Build Authority

One way to establish authority as a LinkedIn business is through long-form written content. Some experts say you should publish this kind of content thrice a week or every business day.

If you are considering long-form posts, here are the different kinds you can try:

LinkedIn Document Posts

You might have a lot of information you wish to share with your audience. What you can use is a PDF file that your followers can view. This would be an alternative to writing a lengthy LinkedIn post and possibly could be harder to read. A PDF is handy because it can be downloaded and read later. The platform allows you to upload documents with an upper limit of 300 pages, but if you want to follow what established companies do, it is probably best to stick to 100 pages.

Experts suggest that this format of posts tends to complement three types of information content. The first being information connects to a complex concept that requires an in-depth explanation. The second is a guide followers could follow to complete a specific task or achieve a goal. Lastly, sharing a report that consists of key findings or results. If your content comes under these parameters, give this format a try.

LinkedIn Articles

Blogs have been known to be an excellent way to reach your target audiences. It can be used not only to keep your followers informed but for you to share your constructive opinion. On LinkedIn, you can publish articles on your LinkedIn business page. You have the choice of using upto 15,000 words. What is great about this format is you don’t have to be pressured into always putting out original blog posts; instead, LinkedIn would act as a medium by which you repost blog articles from your website. You could see a climb in views and cherry-pick the best content to post on a new platform.

LinkedIn Newsletter

We’ve spoken about what you should do if you want to publish every other day, but what if it’s weekly or monthly? Well, the answer is that you could incorporate all your content for your audience in the form of a newsletter. This format works because your followers subscribe to your newsletter and receive notifications on the platform whenever you post.

4. Observing Your Competition

As crucial as focusing on the content you are putting out, you should also keep an eye on the content your competitors publish. Whether you are starting out or well established, there is always scope to learn. For example, your competitors might have a different approach to content than you that benefits them. You shouldn’t need to copy them exactly, but you can identify key takeaways from their content and apply them to your strategy.

You can also observe the reactions and responses they receive from their audiences. If you find they have missed something in their strategy, you could implement it into your own and reap the benefits. In the long run, you can put together a comprehensive content strategy by taking bits from each competitor and molding it into a complete package for your business to use. Keep an eye out for the topics they choose to engage with and how they interact with their followers. Every piece of information you observe is a learning curve which you can grow from.

5. Put Together An Editorial Strategy

An editorial strategy has two main parts to it. The first is an editorial plan, and the second is an editorial calendar. Both sections are interconnected with each other. An editorial plan can be defined as a social communication plan consisting of the objectives, posts, themes, and resources utilized in the content creation process. Finally, the editorial calendar lists the content scheduled for publishing and when it will be published.

The next step would be identifying macro-topics and subheadings that will allow you to create a posting schedule. It’s essential to choose the frequency of posts; the frequency of publication does not come with an exact number, but too many posts can lead to losing followers quickly. Research when people are most likely engaging with your social media content on LinkedIn and choose the best time to post.

6. Boosting LinkedIn Ads For Organic Reach

Quality content is a step in the right direction, and posting it at the right time will get you seen, but sometimes you need a little boost in your strategy to make it airtight. To achieve its marketing goals, a business might need to implement LinkedIn ads into its strategy, so its content is being targeted toward its ideal audience. This would lead your business page to turn out more solid leads and improve your brand awareness.

Promoting your content is easy; first, narrow down the posts you think will have the best responses. Once you have selected them, you can amplify them by pressing the Boost Post option above every post. Then, pick an objective and audience, and you are good to go.

If you’re looking for a more extensive campaign, take advantage of LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager. Then, create a new LinkedIn campaign, and select from the objectives that align with the stage of the sales funnel you want to target- including Awareness, Consideration, or Conversions.

From there, populate your audience based on demographic data you’ve collected through years (or months) worth of marketing efforts for your company – but only if it’s applicable. You can also target audiences who’ve interacted with your company page, videos, events and website pages before too; either by retargeting them or taking advantage of converting tracking tools from the app itself.

7. Review LinkedIn Analytics Periodically

A good habit to incorporate into your content strategy is to monitor your LinkedIn page analytics from time to time. You should review your analytical data before and after a major campaign. Some metrics you should observe are Followers, Impressions, Engagement Rate and CTR (Click Through Rate). Alternatively, you can also go to your Campaign Manager tab on your LinkedIn page to find the results of advertising your content.

Finally, you can view metrics like Cost Per Click, Lead Generation and Conversions. The idea is that if you review the metrics from your content, you can see what works and what isn’t. With all the data in front of you, you can carefully curate and modify your content to better target your audience and get an even more dynamic response when you publish content.

After implementing these steps into your strategy, you should have a better handle on conquering the business domain that is LinkedIn. In the vast ocean of content being posted on the platform every day of every minute, finding your niche and standing out is essential to success. Remember to keep changing your content according to your audience’s preferences and to monitor how users take in each change. Keep experimenting and monitor your growth whenever you can.

Smart Hacks to Improve Google Ads CTR (Click Through Rate)

Posted on August 16, 2022April 5, 2023 by Adithya Kumar

We all know and love the simplicity of using Google for researching almost everything. But when it comes to marketing on the platform, it is a different story. Google ads are an effective way to advertise your business, but a lot goes into making them cost-effective. An excellent CTR is a crucial indicator that your ads are correctly utilized. To operate a successful Google ads campaign, you need to do more than have quality content and a credit card.

You need to venture deep inside the core mechanism of the platform and figure out how to get to the top of the SERP (search engine results page). Without narrowing down the different elements that affect your ad score, you might keep seeing results you are not expecting. The amount of money you pump into your campaign won’t matter unless your strategy is fool-proof.

Firstly the Google CTR is the percentage of clicks you get on your ads. For example, your Google ad that you’re running could receive 100 impressions and five clicks. Then your CTR would be 5%. Most experts suggest an effective CTR on Google ads is between 3-5%.

This blog will explore the top 9 ways to improve your Google ads CTR.Let’s take a look at them below.

1. Negative Keywords

These keywords ensure your ad is not associated with search terms that might not have anything to do with your business. This would help your Google ads CTR and your Google ads campaign entirely. The main aim of Google ads is not to reach the masses but to reach consumers interested in your brand or business. By using negative keywords, you exclude your ad from SERPs that are not relevant to you and therefore, you would be avoiding unhelpful impressions. This would lead to a higher CTR on your ad.

You would also be putting your budget at ease when the right consumer sees your ad pop up, instead of it being wasted being showcased to general consumers. If you have an ad performing poorly in your campaign, look at your keywords and narrow down the irrelevant ones. Once you have done that, move them to the negative keywords tab. You can analyze this data by going to the search terms report and selecting the low CTW keywords.

2. Ad Extensions

Google gives you the ability to add 10 extensions to your ads. Not every ad requires every extension in your campaign. But utilizing the extensions relevant to your ad is vital in taking full advantage of Google’s features. Users perceive the more relevant your ad, the better the chance of increasing your CTR is. Let’s explore some of the most common ad extensions available to you.

Sitelink Ad Extensions

When your ad appears on the top three positions of the SERP, they have an extra line of text integrated into them. This is similar to organic search site links. Enabling the site link descriptions to your campaign allows you to add two extra lines to your ad, improving the ad CTR. If you choose to use this feature, you will make your ad stand out from the rest and reach the top spots of the SERP.

Call Extensions

Like the previous extension, the call extension allows consumers to contact you quickly. This would be a crucial element for businesses requiring phone calls to expedite sales. The advantage of these extensions is that people can call you directly from their mobile phones or desktop communication software like Skype with a simple click. The calls can also be recorded through Google Adwords for training purposes. This extension would make your ad unique and prompt consumers to click on it.

Promotion Extension

If your business runs an offer or discount, you can highlight them on your ad so that cost-efficient users can click on them.

There are four types of promotion extensions:

Monetary discounts
Percentage discounts
Up to monetary discounts
Up to percentage discounts

Price Extensions

These extensions are designed for consumers to click on them and then be redirected to the brand’s product page. This is an additional link to an ad that can display different price ranges and services. It is suggested that adding this extension would improve your overall ad Quality Score and, therefore, would increase your CTR. Accessing your product information is a deciding factor for most users.

Other Extensions

These include:

Call out extensions
Lead form extensions
Location extensions
App extensions

Depending on the kind of business you run, you can pick which of these extensions are most relevant for you. For example, do not overload your ad with too many extensions, which might discourage the consumer.

3. Smart Bidding Strategies

This bidding strategy utilizes machine learning to put your ad into auctions that would give them the best chances of getting clicks. You no longer have to find auctions through enhanced CPC manually. While the automation is not perfect and constantly evolving, you can still make changes to your ad to perform significantly better at the auctions.

The machine learning involved in this process adjusts the bids of your keywords in every auction. This task is challenging to do manually and saves you a lot of time. When the machine does it for you, your ad can access more accurate and targeted auctions, leading your campaign to a higher CTR.

4. Different Ad Types

Previously most advertisers would resort to expanded ad types. However, you can now incorporate responsive text ads. These have proven to increase your ad CTR. You have the choice to include more than just three headline fields and two description fields in the search ads. Your chances of showing up on relevant SERPs will be increased.

You have a wide variety of customizations that you can include in your ads. For example, if a headline is not suited in the top position, you can pin it onto the second or third positions and vice versa. This can all be done in the preview section of the ad tab.

There is also a box above the preview tab that indicates the strength of your ad. This box updates itself every time you change your ad. You can tweak your ad accordingly to make it better by referring to the strength box. Google ads have also released a new Google Discovery Ads feature which is only for mobile phone users due to the increase in mobile searches.

5. Keyword Groups

Google Ads prompts you to include several keywords in your ad groups and account. What should not happen is that you overload one ad group with too many keywords. This will affect each group’s advert texts and other keywords. For example, consumers who use your keyword in an ad group of 20 other keywords will not see the advert they are intended to see. The conclusion would be that your ad will receive a low CTR and quality score. You can solve this by grouping keywords into various smaller, more relevant groups and ensuring the adverts copy has a couple of keywords present in it as well.

6. Split Test

Several tools you can utilize on Google ads will help you run tests on your campaigns. The split test is one such experiment. This consists of the creation of different versions of your ad copy. Experts suggest that when you perform a split test, you should include 2 or 3 ads from each ad group. This process aims to test each variation and determine the chance of getting a good CTR.

Once the data is collected after some time, you can then narrow down what ads are doing poorly. Once you have stopped the unsuccessful ads, you can start a split test again using that as a starting point. However, it is crucial to remember that you must stop the poorly performing ads so you do not have too many ads operating in the same ad group. On the other hand, having several ads will result in an unsatisfactory CTR.

7. Remarketing Audiences

The idea of a remarketing campaign is to target consumers that are most likely to view your product again. When these consumers first visit the ad, their data is collected and stored on the Google ads platform. These consumers could be first-time visitors or users familiar with your brand. The aim is to upsell customers most inclined to click on your ad and get directly to your product pages. You can also exclude consumers who are not interested in your brand when you start your remarketing campaign.

8. A/B Testing

The art of making successful ads with excellent CTR and a positive ROI is to test them effectively. All you have to do is provide headlines and descriptions. Google takes over and displays the most relevant combination to consumers. Some experts suggest you use two responsive ads and one search ad. You can count on Google Ads to test each combination and determine which will perform the best.

9. Improve Your Quality Score

Now this score is the most significant decider. Your quality score is the rating Google awards to you based on the quality of your ad, keywords and product landing pages. You will get a higher score if your content is relevant to the platform and it deems it necessary for consumers to see. Therefore getting a high ad rank on Google is vital for a good CTR.

When you have users clicking on your ad, this is an indicator for Google to deem your ad resourceful for consumers and award you a higher rank. Over time this would mean you pay less as well. If you have a tight budget, your best bet is you aim at a higher quality score because that would mean you would pay less than your competitors on the SERP. However, being relevant and informative to consumers will always beat Google’s most prominent ad budget.

These tips on how to improve your Google ads CTR will surely help you in your endeavor to master the mechanics of such an enormous platform. As you can see, the most significant budget doesn’t always mean the best results. Proper testing and quality content will get your ads to the top of the SERP and direct the most relevant traffic of consumers to your website. So keep experimenting and see how far it takes you.

The Ultimate Google Ads Character Limit Guide

Posted on August 12, 2022March 17, 2023 by Shreoshe Ghosh

Google has evolved to be more than just another search engine. With millions of people flocking to Google to search for products and services, information, news, answers and more, it is one of the best advertising channels any business can ask for.

As a paid search marketer, you must know how important it is to stay within the character count for a Google ads copy. This is why we are here to help you know the character limit for text ads, YouTube ads, display ads and call-only ads.

Google Search Ads Character Count

Search ads are the most common format of Google ads. A search ad can consist of upto three headlines, two descriptions and ad extensions. Depending on a person’s device, the third headline and second description may not appear for them. However, it is strongly recommended that you add two headlines and one description without fail when creating a search ad copy.

You can add up to 30 characters per headline for an expanded text ad. They will appear next to each other, separated by a vertical line (|). The character limit for the two description fields is 90.

Starting 30th June 2022, Google has restricted the creation of expanded text ads. But the good part is that expanded text ads will continue to be displayed, and you’ll still be able to see their performance reports going forward, pause and resume them or remove them if required.

If you want to create expanded text ads, it is recommended that you transition to responsive search ads instead. An expanded text ad will look similar to a responsive search ad to a searcher. The main difference between the two is the ability to add multiple headlines and descriptions.

Google will use machine learning to mix and match both types of ads and come up with the best variation that it thinks will perform best in a given situation. Therefore, it is recommended that you create a single responsive search ad copy and let Google automatically come up with the best variations.

For a single responsive search ad, Google allows you to add up to fifteen headline variations of 30 characters each. For descriptions, you can add up to four variations of 90 characters each and upto two display URL paths of fifteen characters each.

For any responsive search ad, Google will show users up to 3 headlines and 2 descriptions in different combinations or orders.

Responsive search ads save you time by allowing you to provide multiple headlines and descriptions at once and reach more potential customers by matching your ads with more queries. These ads can also adapt easily to different device widths, giving you more room to communicate your message to your customers.

Google Call-Only Ads Character Count

As the name suggests, Google call-only ads can only drive phone calls to your business, not clicks to your website. Instead, call-only ads appear on mobile devices when searchers want to connect to a business on call instead of going to its website. These ads consist of a headline, description and phone number.

For a call ad, you can add up to two headlines of 30 characters each, a business name of 25, and up to two descriptions of 90 characters each. You can also add ad extensions with Google call-only ads. Extensions are additional pieces of information that you can include in your ad to help searchers with more information about your business.

Extensions can be your site links, callouts, structured snippets, location, call button, etc. Ad extensions are not a part of your description character limit, so it is recommended that you use them.

For a site link ad extension, the character limit is 30 for the headline and 25 for the description. For a callout ad extension, the character limit is 25. For a structured snippet ad extension, the character count is also 25.

YouTube Ads Character Count

YouTube ads are shown on the platform before, in the middle or at the end of an ongoing YouTube video. These are skippable ads where viewers can choose to skip the ad if they want to after a five-second duration. In-stream ads can also be non-skippable; in that case, the user has to wait for the entire ad to run before watching a video.

In-stream ads are the most common type of YouTube video ad format. In-stream YouTube ads consist of a headline, a description, a display URL, a call-to-action and a companion banner. The headline character count is 15, the long headline character count is 90, and the description character count is 70. The call to action has a ten characters limit, and the display URL path has a 15 characters limit.

Google Display Ads Character Count

Google display ads serve visually engaging ads on the Google Display Network. These ads appear on different websites, apps and Google-owned platforms like YouTube and Gmail. Display ads help you to expand your reach beyond Google Search. Responsive display ads automatically adjust their sizes and appearance to fit any available ad space.

You must enter your display ad assets, such as the headline, description, logos, videos, etc., and Google will adjust how it appears to users. For a display ad, the character limit of the headline is 30, for the description is 90, and for the business name is 25.

Google Performance Max Ads Character Limit

Google’s Performance Max is a goal-based campaign that allows advertisers to access all their Google ads inventory from a single campaign. It is designed to complement your keyword-based search campaign to help you find more leads that can be converted across all Google’s channels.

Performance Max helps you optimize your performance in real-time to achieve better conversions by considering your specified conversion goals. It uses Google’s smart bidding and automation technology to optimize performance based on budget, audience, attribution, etc.

For Google Performance Max ads, you can create up to 5 headlines of 40 characters, up to five descriptions of 90 characters, and a business name of 25 characters.

Discovery Ads Character Limit

Google’s Discovery ads are what you see on YouTube, Google or Gmail apps. They are visually-appealing customized ads that appear on Google’s feeds. For this type of ad, the number of headlines you can create is five with 40 characters limit. For descriptions, you can create up to five of them with 90 characters limit and a business name with 25 characters limit.

Keep this article handy for when you want to write copies for your upcoming Google ads campaigns. It will help you create your ad copies within the specified character limit and save you from the hassle of multiple edits.

Top 10 Social Media Optimization Tips For Businesses

Posted on August 10, 2022April 19, 2023 by Adithya Kumar

The realization that social media is a landscape that can turn your business around is becoming more prominent in today’s digital world. We have around 4 billion people using social media daily, and that is a user base like no other.

Social media optimization comes into play when a brand or business decides it needs to elevate its capabilities in reaching its audience online. But, as we said, the social media environment is enormous and challenging to navigate since you must keep so many different elements in mind.

Optimizing your social media presence can be beneficial, such as increasing brand awareness, improving your social media reach, bringing in more sales from products and services sold on social media and finding more conclusive leads on these platforms. The bottom line is that optimization will make your brand stand out among the sea of businesses that are currently operating within that space.

There have been multiple changes on social media platforms in terms of their algorithms, which makes it harder for your brand to be seen without effective optimization. So we are going to explain several tips you can use to ensure you don’t miss out on every platform’s true marketing potential.

Here are the tips:

1. Get Your Timing Right

The art of mastering when you need to post your content is essential in securing a significant presence on social media. You not only have to be consistent with your content but also have to make sure the right people are seeing it. This will ensure that your posts receive daily engagement.

The optimal time to post your content varies from platform to platform, but it has been narrowed down to a general period. Most experts say it is between 10 am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please take this information with a grain of salt because it could be different for your audience.

The best way to ensure your content is always posted during your calculated time is to incorporate a scheduling tool like Hootsuite or Socialpilot to post your content for you. In addition, you must fill in the content, and the time you want it posted. This will ensure that your content will be posted on time when your audience is most active and can react to them.

2. Optimizing Your Profile

Ensuring your social media profiles are up to date is crucial to any social media strategy. For example, it might sound simplistic to create an account and fill in your details, but this is where most brands fall short. Your business profile or page is the backbone of your strategy and should be given significant attention.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Profile Picture

If a user stumbles upon your brand page, the picture is the first thing they will see before your account handle. So you must ensure that your brand logo is clear and visible. This solidifies the brand’s image in any user’s mind and improves brand recognition over a platform.

Username

The main focus of creating a username is to ensure it is uniform across all the platforms you operate on. A consistent username will ensure that users find your brand easily on social media and avoids confusion with other similar brands.

Bio

Filling in your bio is essential in portraying what your brand is about, and using keywords will help your profile stand out more. Neglecting this section of your profile would be a critical mistake in your SMO strategy. Also, include links to your website or other pages to direct users to your other social media profiles across platforms.

3. How Often You Should Post

The art of posting the right amount of content is vital in keeping your online presence alive. However, you must balance not posting too much that you overload your audience or too little that you fail to grab their attention.

Getting your optimal schedule is crucial in improving your posts’ engagement and user interactions on the platform. The perfect amount to post on the big social media platforms has been researched and confirmed.

Follow these frequencies to get a baseline:

Instagram

Post 3-7 times a week

Facebook

Post 1-2 times a day

Twitter

Post 1-5 tweets a day

Post 1-5 times a day

Remember that experimenting would be key to finding your perfect slots to post. So you have to see what works best for your brand and audience.

4. Start Conversations By Tagging People

When you create quality content, it can reach a lot of users on any platform. For example, you can tag relevant users to ensure they receive the right amount of exposure. However, remember that do not overdo it on every post because it might discourage many users from engaging with your posts.

You have this tagging feature on most social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Along with creating helpful content people can share, you can also give your audience a shoutout on posts through tagging. Getting attention to your posts by tagging people is immediate, and you can see how engagement with your content increases.

5. A Review Of Your Social Media Strategy

Before you start your journey on social media as a brand, you need to plan your strategy to be effective within the space. You need to ask yourself questions to narrow down what you’re striving for on these social platforms.

For example, do your social media goals align with your overall marketing strategy? Is the content that you’re posting right for your audience? And finally, does your content impact users on social media platforms?

These can be answered by utilizing the inbuilt analytical tools that most social media platforms give you access to. These tools will tell you if your audience is responding well to your content or not. You can also conduct A/B testing to see what social media optimization strategy works for you by comparing the results from other strategies.

6. Contests and Giveaways

Who doesn’t like winning a prize or receiving products free of charge? The answer is no one. When users see brands promoting contests, polls and giveaways, they feel the brand is credible. A sense of trust is formed through the action of giving.

Gaining followers and starting conversations on platforms through discounts and offers is easy. Regular offers would have users keeping up with your brand consistently. What you should keep in mind when you’re creating these kinds of interactive activities is what is the purpose of them.

For example, are you looking to gain more likes or followers or promote a product you just launched? Creating contests is a great way to keep the creative thoughts following and allow your audience to spread awareness about your brand.

7. External Links

Including external links in your content can be an excellent way for search engines to rank your website better on SERPs. For example, when you have a high-quality article at your disposal, you can associate these pieces with high-ranking links.

The process of link building can be challenging, but it is worth the outcome. That is to drive more traffic to your websites and social media accounts. Not to mention increasing the reach that your brand posses.

Your website ranking on SERPs can improve if you have top-quality external links. In addition, it gives more exposure to your brand, which would likely result in more followers and likes.

8. Headlines

A lot of work goes into making a post go viral and having it shared thousands of times by users across social media platforms. Posting content at the most suitable time and frequency does not cut it. Instead, it would help if you had an exciting design, a catchy headline, and a thought-provoking caption. The idea of headlines is fantastic enough to capture users’ attention amongst the millions of other posts floating around social media.

Remember not to reuse the same headline multiple times, or your audience will get bored. Instead, keep a couple of headlines aside that you can recycle into your feed occasionally. It would be best if you also thought of different headlines for different platforms. This is to show your audience you’re not just copy pasting content from platform to platform. The level of creativity you put into each post will reflect the kind of engagement you get on it.

To make your headlines pop, you don’t need to be a gifted writer. Instead, you can always hire a copywriter who can do the creative thinking for you. These professionals will help you quickly craft relevant and interesting captions and headlines you can use for your brand. For example, experimenting with different kinds of wording and expressions as a headline on Instagram might not have the same impact on a platform like Tiktok.

9. Stay Away From Traditional Marketing Strategies

Users come to social media to discover new content and share them with other like-minded individuals. Unfortunately, they are not coming on platforms to be bombarded with marketing jargon and sales talk. An effective way for brands to truly reach an audience is to come across as genuine.

When users consider your business as an entity trying to create a connection, you draw the most attention. Creating authentic bonds with your audience is the perfect way to stand out from other businesses on the platform. The more connected they feel with your brand, the more likely they will promote it.

Your content should be personalized and should not include sales jargon. A tip to remember is to incorporate trendy expressions into your posts to relate best to audiences on these platforms.

Setting up business accounts on social media platforms is free and gives you access to various tools that you can pay for or not, depending on your marketing budget. Staying on top of your social media accounts keeps your audience engaged and makes the brand more consistent.

10. Social Media Influencers

The rise of social media influencers is evident in today’s world. The individuals have learned the algorithms of various social media platforms and made them work for their benefit. A helpful tip for any business venturing into social media is to reach out to these creators and share your content.

The chances are that if your content is high quality, you could do a collaboration or have them talk about your brand on their platform. Every industry has its influencers leading in terms of reach and followers.

It would help if you found an individual or brand with which you can align your business. It has been advised that this kind of marketing could increase your traffic and followers by 90%. The relationship you build with these influencers can maintain your brand visibility on social media.

For example, you could run different campaigns with different influencers on various platforms. It could range from shoutouts to product reviews to interviews. It would be best if you found what your audience would respond best to. Narrow down a few influencers your audience would like to see that would positively impact your presence on social media.

Conclusion

Now that you have the best tips you can use on your social media accounts. First, let’s summarize what we just discussed. First, you must focus on several elements of your account to succeed on social media. These include your content, profile, analytics, design, strategy and connections. Then, when you have these figured out, your social media accounts will be fully optimized and ready to take on millions of users daily.

Do not forget to experiment with different strategies and content to see what works for you. The social media landscape is constantly changing, and staying on top is the only way your brand stays relevant. Being relevant on social media is the deciding factor in the success of your business on every platform out there.

The Four Types of Keywords For Paid Search

Posted on August 5, 2022January 3, 2023 by Shreoshe Ghosh

Whether you are just starting with paid marketing or a seasoned search engine marketing professional, understanding the different types of keywords in paid marketing is one of the fundamental learnings in this field.

Paid marketing plays a vital role in bringing revenue for your business. With paid marketing efforts like PPC advertising, you can increase your brand visibility, reach out to your target audience, get more qualified leads for your business and make better profits.

Generally speaking, the type of keywords used in PPC marketing varies significantly from those used in SEO. In search engine optimization, you must constantly optimize your keywords to get the desired results organically. However, in PPC marketing, you are in more control over the keywords used in paid searches.

Before diving into the type of keywords for paid search, let’s understand what keywords are and their importance in paid marketing. Keywords are words or phrases people use to find information on the internet. For example, if you reside in Dubai and want to go for a dental checkup, you might google “dental clinic near me” or “best dentist near me.” Both these terms are keywords that will help you find what you are looking for on the web.

For paid marketing, choosing the right keywords is crucial because you put money into your ads and don’t want them to go to waste by targeting the wrong ones. Your text ad needs to be relevant to the keywords you’re bidding on in order to earn high-quality scores. This will determine where your ad appears and the cost per click for that ad.

Now, let us look at the four types of keywords for paid search.

1. Broad Match

Broad match is the default keyword match type. This lets search engines display your ads for terms that are variations of your account’s keywords. With broad-match type, your ads can be displayed for many possible keyword variations such as synonyms, singular or plural forms, misspellings, related searches and more.

By covering a wide variation of your keyword, ads with broad-match keywords can appear in a wide range of search results. Google and Bing prefer to push the use of broad keywords into their smart bidding campaigns and AI so that they can identify user intent and deliver suitable ads to your target audience.

However, it is essential to note that with broad match keywords, you could end up wasting a lot of your PPC budget as it may display ads with irrelevant keyword variations. For example, if your campaign keyword is car glass cleaning service, it may also appear for an ad about automobile repair, which is irrelevant to the service you offer. If people click on your ad, you end up spending your ad budget and don’t get to convert.

2. Phrase Match

Phrase match is a keyword match type that allows you to show your ads for searches that match the meaning of your keyword. They are moderately matching keywords placed within quotations. For a phrase match keyword to appear for a search query, it must contain all the words in the same order without any additional words in between, but there can be additional words before and after the keyword.

Phrase match saves you from attracting an unnecessary audience to your ad like broad match keywords. Phrase match keywords have better flexibility than exact match keywords because you can target long-tail keywords with high commercial intent.

An example of a phrase match keyword can be “moving services in Dubai.” With this keyword, your ad can appear for searches like “affordable moving services in Dubai” or “moving services from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.” As you can see, the addition of words before and after the actual keyword doesn’t affect the display of your ad because the intent is clear; the searcher is looking for moving services in/ from the same city.

3. Exact Match

Exact-match keywords have the highest relevance but the lowest reach. It is the most restrictive keyword match type because it will appear on search results for the same keyword or the same intent as the keyword. You can create an exact match keyword by using them in brackets [ ]. An example of an exact match keyword can be [men’s shoe], and it may appear for searches like [shoes for men], [shoes for a man], or [shoe men].

Such an ad can bring you less traffic and generate fewer impressions or conversions. But whatever traffic you get through exact match keywords is highly targeted because people have typed the exact search term chosen. Exact match keywords help to increase your Quality Score by lowering your search term to keyword ratio.

4. Negative Keywords

As important as knowing which keywords your ads should show up for, it is equally crucial to know which keywords you don’t want your ads to pop up for. For example, say you own a smoothie bar and run ads for the same. If someone is looking particularly for vegan smoothies, you don’t want your ad to show up if you don’t sell them.

Therefore, if you add “vegan smoothies” as one of your negative keywords, your ad won’t appear for that search query. Your negative keyword list can be modified with time as you keep discovering the unnecessary keywords that are triggering your ads.

These are the four types of keywords used in paid search. If you are into paid marketing, you’d probably know about them, but if you are just venturing into PPC marketing, knowing about these four types of keywords will help you better plan your paid marketing campaigns.

Facebook to End Live Shopping on October 1

Posted on August 4, 2022January 3, 2023 by Adithya Kumar

Starting from October 1, 2022, Facebook, the social media powerhouse, will end retailers being able to host live or scheduled shopping events on the platform. Meta announced that it took this decision based on the rising popularity of short-form videos and would be shifting its focus on developing reels on its platform. This would be available both on Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook launched the live shopping feature back in August 2020 with the hopes of easing online shopping for consumers while enabling businesses to use their platform to expand their business reach. This was the online shopping environment that Facebook had created for users to buy and sell products.

Facebook noted that the live feature will still be available to users. The only difference would be that ecommerce retailers would not be allowed to create product catalogs and tag products on the platform anymore. Retailers will not have to find other ways to sell items on Facebook, including display ads or putting together collections. Instagram’s live shopping feature will still be available to users.

Why The Shift?

Facebook realized that their rival Tiktok was gaining popularity through their short-form video formats and had to think on their feet quickly. As a result, the social media giant decided to invest more into their reels products to rival their competition. This reels feature allows its users to share short videos across their network flawlessly.

There was a little pushback when the feature came out, mainly from Instagram users. This backlash did subside once the feature gained popularity over time. According to Integrity Institute, 11 of the 20 top posts on Facebook are short-form videos. This was highlighted during the first quarter of 2021. This allows retailers to use the new feature to tag their products and add a call to action prompt on their posts.

Meta had advised its users to reach and engage their audiences through video reels and to experiment with reel ads on both Facebook and Instagram. Tagging products can also be done on Instagram reels, enabling more profound discovery and consideration. Brands and businesses can also generate revenue through reels and boost their content through the paid advertisement feature on the platform.

All in all, while Facebook is shutting down one avenue for merchants to buy and sell products, they are also experimenting with a new path for business transactions to take place still. Businesses must adapt to the new digital landscape and the rise of short-form videos on social media. So stay up to date and keep switching up your social media strategy while more updates keep coming.

Microsoft Announces New Ads Updates and More

Posted on August 3, 2022January 3, 2023 by Adithya Kumar

Over the next few weeks, users across the US and a few other countries will be introduced to several new updates by the tech giant Microsoft. So let’s break down each update so you’re prepared for what’s to come and immerse yourself fully into these changes.

The updates are as follows:

Automotive Ads

These new ads are designed specifically for the automotive industry. This will use the same ad format for most products you already see on search engines.

The ad format will have the following elements on display:

A photo of the vehicle on sale
The year the vehicle was manufactured
The model
The condition of the vehicle
The dealer’s website
The price of the vehicle
A brief description of the vehicle

Microsoft currently only has plans to test out the new ad update in the American and European markets. In the following weeks, they will introduce the new ad feature in Latin and Asian Pacific marketing.

Vertical Based Ads

These new ads are developed by Microsoft’s AI that collects data based on user intent and needs to display a vertical ad. This ad will appear in different formats for users, depending on what they have searched for. This update aims to streamline the time and resources it takes to create an ad campaign and effectively manage it.

Audience Network Updates

There are three new subsections of updates under this category. They are:

Market Expansions

Microsoft is expanding to 64 markets and plans to expand into more in the year. This means that these new markets will have access to all Microsoft services, including MSN, Outlook, Microsoft Edge, and other features.

New Ad Formats

Previously, the retail industry was the only sector with access to Dynamic Remarketing. Users can now use the remarketing feature for automotive, travel and events ads. Once your dynamic feed is created, you will have two options. There are:

Standard Universal Event Tracking (UET)

With this tag, you can send ads to consumers on your website. The tag will not have to be constantly updated as long as the product ID is displayed. However, when the product ID is displayed, Microsoft will know if the user has visited the website.

Additional Parameters

Updating your UET tag will result in advertisers having access to more audiences. With these parameters, you will have access to general visitors, product searchers, product viewers, cart abandoners and past buyers.

Bidding Solutions

Video Ads now have three new bidding options. These are as follows:

Source: https://searchengineland.com/

Microsoft has also added a new automated bidding feature, which uses enhanced CPC to increase conversions on audience campaigns. A few more bidding solutions will be announced soon by Microsoft.

Customer Match

Microsoft’s feature Customer Match will now be available to users in different markets. You will now connect Microsoft’s Advertising to Customer Data Platform, allowing you to import your complete customer list. The integration will include Amperity and Adobe Ad Cloud for search.

Audience Targeting is Coming to New Markets

This feature is now available in the following countries:

Latin America

Aruba, Bahamas, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Montserrat, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

Asia Pacific

Bangladesh, Brunei, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka.

Other Markets

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hong Kong, Iceland, Japan, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey.

The Smart Campaigns feature is also being introduced to countries like France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Reporting Experience Updates

Microsoft has developed a new drop-down menu for users to access reports. These reports will be located in the landing page grid. You can also use the filter feature to find the specific reports you are looking for.

Source: https://searchengineland.com/

RSA Reminder

As mentioned by Microsoft, August is the last month users will be allowed to migrate their Expended Test Ads (ETA) to Responsive Search Ads (RSA). The RSA will be the only option while ETA will still operate, but no edits or additions will be available.

10 Step Social Media Marketing Checklist For Businesses

Posted on August 2, 2022April 19, 2023 by Adithya Kumar

The potential of social media is becoming more evident and apparent to advertisers worldwide. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google might seem complicated to navigate but once you know how they tick, figuring out how to advertise on these platforms is easy. It is no secret that businesses are honing in on the advantages of social media, as 80% of marketers now look to social media for brand awareness.

Social media is your calling to find customers if you want to expand your business effectively. The average internet user spends 28% of their time on social media. It seems like the perfect opportunity to target this audience for marketing your products or services.

While the possibilities are endless in the enormous social media environment, finding the right strategy is detrimental to being a successful business on social media. We will explore what you need to help your business flourish on those platforms.

1. Pick the Right Platform or Platforms

To utilize the full potential of social media for your brand, you must narrow down which platform will best suit your goals. Firstly, you need to define the goals of your brand. Once you have that figured out, you can then select what kind of demographic you want to cater to. Each platform will have a different kind of audience.

Big multinational companies like Mcdonald’s and Coca-Cola have the resources to use each platform efficiently. If you are a small company looking to grow, it is recommended that you pick a single platform, to begin with. This would save you a lot of time and money. The easiest way to select the right platform for your business is to research the demographics on each platform and see how well your content would cater to them. We will list down the best possible platforms with the kind of content that best suits them.

Facebook

This platform is excellent for businesses with online and physical stores that want to target local users through social media ads.

Twitter

This is a starting point for some businesses due to the platform’s simplicity. The user interaction on this platform makes it a suitable place for customer service.

Instagram

This platform revolves around visually appealing content. You could find ecommerce stores, influencers and brick and mortar brands.

Networking and business-led conversations or topics are what you would find on this platform. If you operate with the B2B space, this platform would be ideal for you to increase your reach.

2. Strengthen Your Profile

Once you know where your brand needs to be positioned, the next step is to ensure your profile is up to date and emits professionalism. This means you must fill up all the necessary information on any social media platform you choose. When consumers come across your business information, including your website links, company photos and contact information, it gives them a sense of credibility.

An essential tip to remember when setting up your account is always to claim your business’s name and URL. There should be consistency with account handles and URLs on any platform you pick. This is to ensure that there is no confusion among users across social media.

Include images and brand creatives on your profile. These would be some of the first initial elements a consumer would see. The creatives should be of high quality, and you should avoid grainy images as they would come as unprofessional. Be consistent with the profile photo you use for your business page on social media. It’d help users to find your brand easily.

3. Content Strategy

Once your profile is updated, you need to focus on content. The best way to optimize your content is to create a strategy. This would guide you to post engaging content that would attract consumers. The goal your business should be striving for on social media would be to keep increasing engagement on your posts and followers on your accounts.

You can choose the format of your social content, including videos, contests, promotion photos, infographics, etc. Every platform would need to have a different content strategy.

For example, if you want to educate your audience on a specific topic, try to publish educational content like blogs, facts and references. If you want to post fun content, try experimenting with memes. A content strategy would also set the tone for the content you want to put, whether you want to be wholly professional, quirky or comedic.

4. Content Calendar

We move to another crucial element of the content: when you should post your content. A content calendar would assist you in planning when and where you will post your content. It becomes easier to stay consistent with your users, which is vital to being relevant on social media. The time you save when your content is planned can be utilized to focus on other aspects of your business.

Some advertisers use third-party apps or programs like Hootsuite to create a content calendar. You can pick the time and the place you want the content uploaded, and the program’s automated system will ensure it is posted per your schedule.

5. Content Bank

Now you know when to post your content and have automated it. It’s time to create a content bank for your brand. The purpose of a content bank is to consolidate all your resources in terms of content material in one place. This would save you time and effort in having to rush around when you need to tweak your content calendar or strategy. This bank would have old and new content, making comparing the two for a benchmark easier.

6. User Interactions

Businesses usually interact with consumers through comments and mentions they receive on their social media accounts. The key to these interactions is to respond to them in a timely fashion.

Social media is all about being social. When users see that a brand cares about their customer’s opinions or feedback, it instills trust between the brand and customers. Answer consumers’ queries and thank them for reaching out. The more your brand interacts with users on social media, the stronger your brand loyalty will be. Always remember to be positive and polite.

7. Social Media Advertising

Now that you have figured out your content and know how to interact with your audience, the next step is to promote your brand and spread brand awareness. Organic posts are usually the way brands reach users on social media, but most social media platforms offer paid advertising features. Brands utilize this feature to increase their user reach and foster a social media presence.

These ads appear on your screen as sponsored posts in your feeds. The most significant benefit of using paid advertising is a precise targeting mechanism. For example, you can target specific demographics based on age, gender, occupation, location, etc. Using these targeting metrics, you can curate the perfect audience who would react positively to it. Paid advertising aims to find leads that can be converted into sales for your business.

8. Social Media Metrics & Analytics

Another vital element to being a successful social media business is monitoring your metrics. Once you start a social media campaign for your brand, you will get daily data on how it performs. Most platforms have analytics tools that help you track your performance. Regularly checking the data and tweaking the content accordingly is detrimental to growing your social media presence.

Metrics like views, clicks, and impressions are what you usually monitor, while some platforms have tabs like Insights that take you directly to the performance data. For example, Facebook and Instagram usually have this kind of tab you can access anytime. Once you see what results are being driven or lacking, you can boost the ones that do not meet your expectations and see how it fares. However, it does require a lot of patience and experimenting to get the right rhythm to which consumers will react positively.

9. Social Media Audit

Whether you are beginning your social media journey or are well versed in that environment, you must conduct social media audits. It is suggested that you perform these audits periodically throughout the year. The focus of these audits is to highlight any inconsistencies or neglects that your social media accounts might have. This should be performed across all your channels.

While you conduct these audits, you can review how well your social media campaigns did.

You could change benchmarks and goals depending on the results, improving your strategy overall. Usually, these audits are performed by marketing experts who know what to look for, but you could always do it yourself if you know what you are looking for. Compare your initial objectives with your current ones and see how much you have improved or slipped. This is necessary to stay ahead of your competition.

10. Your Competition

Observing your competition is crucial when you enter the social media space for the first time or are well established. While you do not have to feel threatened by another brand, you can learn from them. Even the mistake they make can be observed, so you do not follow suit. Every business wants to improve and have good competition in your industry. This can be the positive push you need to create quality content.

Social media has enormous potential for any business; navigating it effectively can be challenging. These steps should guide you towards having a positive impact on social media and also on your consumers’ lives. Keep experimenting with your content and always cater to what your audience wants.