Google Ads

How You Should Test Your New Product?

If you’re a small business owner or a startup, you may be developing a new product line or service for your potential customers. However, there’s this doubt in your mind that your product launch may fail. You’re probably thinking, “What if it fails?”, or “If I lose profits, how can I recover?”. To prevent any doubt, This is where you should run a small test to see if there’s a market for your product/service in the first place. As a business owner, you’ll always be excited when it comes to product launches. But, if you don’t do proper testing, your doubts could potentially become your reality. In this post, we would like to give you more ways on how you should test your new product with Google Ads.

How Do You Test The Market For A New Product With Google Ads?

Market Research

This is your first step to testing your new product, implementing a good old fashion market research. As you form your business idea, take the time to learn more about the market for your product. In particular, get into the minds of your customers, scope out your competition, and get up to speed on industry trends.

Set Up A Landing Page

Once you put together a profile of your customer wanting to purchase your new product, you’re going to set up a strong landing page. Since your product won’t be ready for the market, set up a page with some info on the product you are planning on launching. Also, use an email capture form so you can gather email addresses of interested buyers. At the same time, give them an incentive to sign up such as sneak peeks, early updates or first access to your product is a great incentive to get an email address.

Choose A Budget That You’re Comfortable Spending

Of course, you should always use a budget that your comfortable spending when you’re testing your new product. You’ll need to set the maximum cost per click you are willing to spend as well as your daily budget. Not setting these properly could cause you to burn through your test budget too quickly.

Analyze Results From Your Campaigns

If you find that there is a steady stream of traffic responding to your Google Ads you will know that there is a market and demand for the product or service you are developing. Once you begin capture email addresses from your landing page, you can contact your potential customers when you are ready to launch your new product. On the other hand, if no one is responding to your ads you may decide that the challenge in finding buyers may outweigh the potential for your product. Tweak your ads by changing up your headlines and description as well as researching and adding relevant keywords to your campaigns.

At The AD Leaf ®, we understand that not every business has the time to invest their full efforts into PPC Ads. To learn more about how investing in Google Ads can bring more leads to your business, contact us via our phone number, (321) 255.0900. Or, set up a consultation by emailing us at info@theadleaf.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

 

Social Media Engagement

Sports in the Time of COVID

Covid-19 has no doubt forced changes in nearly all industries but few have been more obvious than professional sports. It’s no secret that some sports teams are more popular than others but at the end of the day, at least their corresponding social media accounts have always had games and team news to post about. With suspended and, in some cases, canceled seasons, all teams have been forced to get a little creative with how they interact with their fan bases and keep people interested in their teams. Let’s take a deeper look at a few examples of how the industry has adapted. 

One yearly event that always makes waves is the NFL Draft, which while always televised, is also always an in-person event. This year, cameras were in hundreds of living rooms across the country, ready and waiting to capture the exuberant reactions of the fresh draft picks when their name was called. Social media saw a huge boom in direct relation to the draft, with teams like the Bengals seeing a 412% increase in their social media engagement. To put that number into a bit perspective, the Bucs only saw a little over a 300% increase in their engagement when they announced the signing of former Patriots legend Tom Brady.Social Media Engagement

Many leagues have also made prior seasons available to view for free and have been hosting e-watch parties of classic games on social media. With normally pricey things like NBA League Pass and NFL Game Pass available for free, social profiles were able to target people’s nostalgia for classic wins to keep people entertained and engaged. Similarly, with more free time on their hands than they’re quite used to, many big-name athletes have been hosting Q&As and live streams on both their personal profiles and team ones, which has been an added bit of fun for socially inclined fans. This time off has also seen the e-reunions of several championship-winning teams. They’re not as good as a new game, but these added interactions have certainly made the loss of sports a bit easier for hardcore fans. 

Social Media Engagement

Shutdowns have also seen teams leaning into their humorous side with a ton of memes and heavy usage of Twitter’s poll feature. Often redundant questions, these polls are a fun way to get fans talking to each other and with the team itself. One example of that is this poll the Rays recently ran. There’s no higher compliment for a pitch than to be described as filthy or any synonym thereof, so they ran with that idea to amusing results.

 

While some leagues in the States are, for better or worse, looking to start back up soon, some leagues around the world have already gotten up and running, including the English Premier League (go Liverpool!) and Korean Baseball Organization. Instead of awkward silence in between broadcaster commentary, they’ve chosen to play crowd noise for home viewers, making it nearly just like how it would normally be to watch on the couch. Aside from empty seats in the background of in-game pictures and footage, a scroll through the Twitter of an EPL club page seems just like any other season! Social Media Engagement

 

Sports have always been a unifier, even if it’s bonding over hatred of each other’s teams with some trash talk– something I’m quite good for– and there are few things better than enjoying some stadium food while being surrounded by like-minded fans, so when faced with a reality where that wasn’t available, technology and social media have really come in clutch. If you’re interested in having The AD Leaf ® manage your social media engagement, feel free to give us a call at 321-255-0900 or email us at info@theadleaf.com. Let us hit your social media out of the park! 

Content Marketing Strategy

Develop Your Content Marketing Strategy in Five Easy Steps

When you are a small business owner that offers specific services, making sure that you have enough content is crucial. That is where content marketing comes into play. There are a lot of different options for content marketing for your business, so choosing what types to use to promote your business can be difficult. Here is the ultimate guide for drafting the perfect content marketing strategy for your business.

Why Content Marketing Matters

In order to determine the strategy of content marketing is best for you and your business, you need to understand the importance of content marketing as a whole. Here are some great reasons why content marketing is crucial for the success of a company:

  • It builds trust between the customer and the company
    • The more information you publish on your website, the more transparent your business is. 
  • It can help you stand out against your competitors
    • Unique content can attract both new and encourage repeat customers to utilize the services or products you offer.
  • It will help improve your Search Engine rankings
    • When combined with our SEO tactics, your content can be optimized to appear on on the first page of a search engine depending on what keywords you’re focusing on
  • It increases awareness for your company’s brand
    • A company with a consistent active online presence is more likely to attract customers.
  • Customers can make a more informed decision about your services
    • If a customer or client is unfamiliar with your line of work, the information given on your website through content marketing.

How to Develop Your Content Marketing Strategy

Trying to draft out an idea for your content marketing strategy can be difficult. However, you do not have to sort through it all alone. The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm’s team of content marketers can help you develop the best plan for you and your business, whether it is just updating your current service pages or creating an entirely new campaign. We have gathered some of the most essential tips for you to use when coming up with your content marketing strategy, along with some questions to help you have a better understanding of your strategy:

  • Have a clear mission on what you want to do
    • What is the message that you are trying to send with your content? 
    • Why should customers choose you over your competitors?
  • Understand your target audience
    • Are there any patterns in your customers’ demographics?
    • Where are your main audiences getting their content and information from?
  • Research different content types
    • Which platforms would best reach your audiences?
    • Beyond blogs and videos, what types of content can make you stand out?
  • Draft up content ahead of time
    • What are the things you want to promote right now?
    • What is important to the audience that relates to you and your business?
  • Post your content
    • Are there specific dates or times that you find the audience is more receptive to content?
    • Is the content still relevant?

Why The AD Leaf ®

Although this is a great starting point for getting an idea for your content marketing strategy, actually executing your campaigns can be stressful. That is why the team at The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm is here to help. We can help you sort out your strategy to make it work for you and your business. Give us a call today for more information on how we can optimize your content marketing strategy.

5 Reasons Why Great Imagery is Key

When we browse through an Instagram profile, whether it’s Architectural Digest or Condé Nast Traveller, we suddenly long for the coziness of home or encounter wanderlust scrolling through images of Italian vineyards. Without a doubt, the beautiful, crisp, clean imagery evokes a good feeling and has an undeniable impact on our brain. Images are a powerful tool to build your brand. And when great imagery is combined with digital marketing, that’s when the magic happens. Why is that? What is the science behind it? It’s simple. Research shows images are processed 600,000 times faster than text! Without imagery, digital marketing won’t strike an emotional chord among your audience. Visual imagery resonates, connects, and inspires. Let’s explore the reasons why great imagery is the key in your marketing efforts:

1. The right imagery will attract an audience. It’s true. In an age of visual culture, if you want to create the biggest impact from the get-go, imagery is king. Written content will only take you halfway. If your goal is to stop your audience in its tracks when scrolling through hundreds of posts on their Instagram feed, focus on your visuals. The right tone, resolution, and even subject matter are things that should be at the forefront of your marketing strategy. In fact, imagery is 10 times more likely to generate audience engagement than content without images.

Build Your Brand

2. Imagery boosts engagement and connects. Research shows posts with imagery cultivate more engagement than links, videos, or text-based updates. And more engagement means more leads. On Facebook, posts featuring imagery account for 93% of the most engaging posts. That’s a pretty big deal! If your engagement is dropping and you’re scratching your head at what you’re doing wrong, take a look at your visuals. It may be time to rethink what you’re posting on Instagram and break your visuals down to even color science.

3. Your imagery reflects your brand. Do you want your brand to stand out and be memorable? Focus on your visual strategy. It’s not just about the brand logo. New companies and brands struggle to build your brand identity through imagery. Being mindful of the color tone and how it flows through your digital efforts, is something that should be considered. Use visuals that reflect the mood of the content. Pro tip: Lean on color theory and psychology.If you’re trying to convey happiness, use imagery that evokes joy: bright colors. Remember, you’re aiming for emotional impact. Connecting with your audience is key and the formula is simple: great imagery.

Build Your Brand

4. Your audience will remember your message. Text-based content is inefficient on its own. You can write a paragraph of content on your skincare brand, but users will struggle to connect if it’s just that. However, if you include a great on-brand image with your material, people are more likely to remember you and refer back to your product. According to the Social Science Research Network, 65% of people are visual learners, including myself. Want to captivate me? Tell me a story through a passionate image!

5. The digital world’s platforms are image-centric. It’s not rocket science to figure out why Instagram and Pinterest are taking the world by storm. What do they both have in common? That’s right. It’s Images. Image focused platforms are becoming increasingly popular. I think we can all agree pictures have become the universal language of the world. If you haven’t considered Instagram or Pinterest vital in the health of your brand, hopefully, you learned an important lesson today: a picture is worth a thousand words.

Great imagery comes with great responsibility. If done right, a picture inspires, evokes emotion, and engages people. Most importantly, it tells a compelling story when text may otherwise fail to personally resonate. Humans are wired to need visuals. How often have you become distracted or bored? Imagery is your chance to grab someone’s attention! It’s time to harness the power of visual imagery.

If you’re struggling to tell a compelling story and feel your brand is not performing to its full potential, hey, it happens. It’s natural to feel frustrated because you’re not getting any or enough engagement on your content. You’ve worked hard to introduce your business to the world and sometimes a little more push is just needed to unlock your brand’s full potential.

At The AD Leaf ®, we’re here to help study and build your brand, strategize, and offer solutions for your digital media portfolio. Feel free to give us a call at 321-255-0900 or you can email us to info@theadleaf.com. Let’s make great things happen together.

Content Writing Strategies

Three Ways to Improve Your Website Content Writing

Writing engaging website copy can be a bit difficult for even the most seasoned professionals. However, it does not have to be this way. Here are some great content writing strategies & tips to get you started on writing professional copy that will catch the eye of any client.

  1. Check Out These Content Marketing Podcasts
  2. Review Your Competitor’s Websites and Build a Strategy
  3. Take the Time to Understand Who Your Target Audience Is

One: Check Out These Content Marketing Podcasts

Over the past couple of years, podcasts have taken the world by storm. There are podcasts for virtually every topic and every industry. The content marketing world is no exception, as there are a number of different marketing podcasts on the Internet. Want to begin listening to some content marketing podcasts but do not know where to start? The AD Leaf ® has compiled a list of some of the best podcasts on the market. These podcasts can help you with a number of different content marketing roadblocks, such as breaking out of your creative rut and learning about new industry tools.

  • Marketing Over Coffee
    • If you are interested in listening to a content marketing podcast but prefer a more conversational and relaxed tone, check out Marketing Over Coffee. Hosted by John Wall and Christopher Penn, current topics and events are discussed in simple terms that are easy to understand.
  • The Copyblogger Podcast
    • Copyblogger is one of the best content marketing resources in the industry, so it is no surprise that their podcast is just as informative. Hosted by Tim Stoddart and Darrell Versterfelt, this podcast gives professionals the best tips and tricks to succeed in all forms of marketing.
  • Marketing School – Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips
    • Eric Siu and Neil Patel are some of the most well-known names in the content marketing industry, so you do not want to miss this podcast. The two discuss the current trends and tools.
  • Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Portfield
    • Perhaps one of the most knowledgable podcasts currently airing, Amy Portfield’s weekly podcast gives essential information on how to succeed in the content marketing industry. This podcast is one of the best to listen to if you are just entering the industry, as well.

Two: Review Your Competitor’s Websites and Build a Strategy

Who said that imitation was not the highest form of flattery? It should obviously be said that plagiarism is highly frowned upon and can land you and your business in some hot legal trouble. That being said, that does not mean that you cannot do your research.

The marketing industry is extremely flexible and constantly introducing new methods to engage clients. It is important to keep up with these developments because they might significantly help you with potential client outreach and customer engagement. Take notice of the strategies your competitors are utilizing for their own outreach. Do they appear to be working? 

Three: Take the Time to Understand Who Your Target Audience Is

The last tip when it comes to content writing strategies is to understand your target audience by analyzing your client list. Are there any patterns that you see? These simple patterns in age and gender can help you determine a very general understanding of your target audience. 

That being said, it is important to develop your understanding of your target audience further than just the bare minimum of demographics. One way to determine your more specific demographics is to send out a survey to current or prospective customers on your email lists. Once you have collected most if not all of the surveys then you can analyze your target audience in a more analytical way.

Contact Us

We know that it takes a lot to stay on top of the different ways you can improve your website content and content marketing in general. That is why The AD Leaf ® Marketing LLC is here to help. Our team of expert content marketers will help you determine the best course of action for your marketing strategies. Call us at 321-255-0900 for more information.

Content Marketing

Making Creative Content with Results

Content marketing is a tried and true method of grabbing your audience’s attention. However, this has its downfalls because you have to compete against your peers. You want your content and blogging to stand out. This is why giving your content a creative spin is so important. There are a number of ways you can help your content give an extra twist.

Decide What You Want To Market

Before you get into the nitty-gritty of making your content, you first need to decide what exactly you want to market. Perhaps you have a new service you want to announce to your customers, or maybe you just want to amplify a service most of your customers did not know you offered. Whatever it is that you want to market, make sure that your marketing focuses on this product or service. You want to make sure that its usefulness and benefits are still the main focus.

Define Your Audience

You want to make sure that both the concept you are marketing and the marketing you plan to execute revolves around your target audience. Who do you believe will benefit the most from this product or service? 

For example, if you are a roofing company that wants to market your shingle repair services, you want to market yourself towards homeowners. If you want to go further, you may want to research online search trends to see further demographics who might be interested in your services, such as gender and age.

Types of Creative Content

Now that you have decided what to market and who to market to, here is the fun part: deciding how to creatively market your product or service. There are some different methods and mediums you and your business can utilize. Here are just a few:

We will be walking through the benefits of using these types of creative content for your marketing, as well as why you should choose The AD Leaf ® for whatever creative content production you decide upon. 

Videos For Content Marketing

Videos are great for easygoing and quick bites of information. Your customers can use these videos to gain a basic knowledge of your service or product. Furthermore, videos can be easily accessible to your consumers, as they are easy to share onto multiple platforms. The AD Leaf ® can help you create the perfect marketing videos using the best equipment and software on the market.

Blogs For Content Marketing

Blogs are perfect for customers who want a more in-depth and intimate explanation of your services and products. They are also a great way for your audience to get to know your business on a personal level through blog posts on your employees and your company’s culture. The AD Leaf ®’s team of content marketers will be able to guide you through the blog-writing process in an easy and efficient way.

Electronic Media For Content Marketing

Electronic media marketing can apply to anything from television advertisements to email marketing. This can result in new customers finding out about your services or products and older customers coming back to you for repeat results. Whatever your electronic media marketing needs are, The AD Leaf ®’s team of experts will help you decide what is the best course of action for your company.

Print Media For Content Marketing

Even in an environment populated by digital media, print media marketing is far from dead. Print advertisements are more flexible to promote, as you are able to choose where you want to publish your advertisements. The AD Leaf ® will help you determine the right course of action for your print media to make sure you are reached to as many potential customers as possible. 

Infographics For Content Marketing

For people who want the basics of your business and products, infographics are a great way to share your information. The effectiveness of infographics has been scientifically tested, with researchers at Thermopylae Sciences and Technology discovering that people “[process] images 60,000 times faster than text”. With this in mind, let The AD Leaf ® help you condense your important information into an easy-to-digest infographic with our graphic design

Social Media For Content Marketing

Finally, social media is perhaps the biggest source of creative content marketing on the market at the moment. It is so effective because you can create your own campaigns centered around your service or product while also promoting your other campaigns; for example, linking your blog post on a social media site can increase traffic towards that blog post. The AD Leaf ® can help you create the perfect social media strategy for you and your business.

Contact Us

Here at The AD Leaf ®, we are committed to providing you with the best and highest quality services possible for your business. We specialize in various different types of marketing, from video production to social media. Call us at 321-255-0900 or visit our website to schedule an appointment today.

Content Marketing And SEO

What is the Difference Between Content Marketing and SEO?

Whenever you open up your internet browser, what is the very first thing you do? Well, you conventionally start by searching for a topic of your choosing up in the search bar, correct? We can all admit that many consumers in today’s society, in particular, are looking to build some sort of a trusting relationship with their search engine so that in turn, they will be able to receive the most accurate information as well as reviews. This is essentially why Content Marketing and SEO are both necessary for going forward. They are the marketing tools that maintain those routines in today’s society.  However, these two methods have changed drastically over the past couple of years which is why we need to first break them both down to ultimately understand the bigger picture. 

Search Engine Optimization:

Search Engine Optimization, which is also abbreviated to be “SEO”, is a specific method that furthers a search engine’s ability to rank and categorize different client’s websites. We know what you’re thinking. What’s the point? There are so many websites to choose from! (There are literally 1 trillion websites to choose from) The great thing about Search Engine Optimization is that it narrows an individual’s search down to the point where your website could get ranked even higher than millions of other sites! Over the course of the past few years, however, Search Engine Optimization has changed dramatically. So you may be wondering, why is it still important to incorporate SEO into your writing? When’s the last time to clicked past Page 1 on Google? Probably never. Imagine if your business could potentially be on the 1st page. Usually, the way this is achieved however is through keyword-rich titles, words, and copy which many SEO specialists believe will effectively optimize your site for the search engine.

Content Marketing:

“Traditional marketing talks to people. Content marketing talks with them” was said by Doug Kessler who was trying to best explain how besides rankings, meaningful conversations and relationships need to be developed so that people are basically more engaged with what they are reading. To that point, Content Marketing is basically all about guiding the audience when they review a website through written content that the audience themselves will actually find intriguing including blog posts, infographics, guides, etc. Content Marketing has become very popular today because connections and digital marketing have both in some way intertwined. Instead of companies using outbound marketing strategies, Content Marketing can help companies boost conversions, create a sense of community around a specific brand, but also build a vigorous relationship between the consumer but also the business. 

The Overlap of Content Marketing and SEO

Many people nowadays believe that Content Marketing and SEO must be disunited, but this is not always the case! They do in fact work well together and here’s why. If we look from the viewpoint of an SEO specialist, Search Engine Optimization is basically the method that makes the big demands meaning that they show the audience what they are looking for in particular. Now, this is why Content Marketing needs to come into play. With the help of Content Marketing, the fulfillment of those demands can actually occur as the audience can now be constantly guided with satisfying information that will hopefully make them eager to reach out to the business or company. The main message we’re trying to get at here is that sometimes in order to enforce successful Content Marketing onto a page, sometimes SEO has to be incorporated (and vice-versa) as you need verbiage but also lots of substance. At the end of the day, it is great if you are able to combine both Search Engine Optimization as well as Content Marketing. By using a “hand and hand approach”, an effective integrated digital marketing plan can be produced so that both the reach and the visibility of the content are produced thus resulting in the ultimate satisfaction for your client. 

Still Need Help With This?

At the AD Leaf, we have an expert team of both SEO specialists and Content Marketers that understand exactly how to fill out a service page with great original content but at the same utilize keywords in order to enhance your website. More than anyone, our team actually dives into the writing before the client does. 

If your website needs additional updates or even needs to be restructured/rewritten you can give us a call at 321-255-0900 or email us at info@theadleaf.com in order to set up a consultation appointment. We promise you we can help you understand why updating your website with content is the key to success. We look forward to helping you in whatever way we can!

Content Marketing Strategy

How Content Marketing Makes Your Website Look Better

Imagine you are a customer looking for an HVAC service. Your AC is starting to make weird noises and when you walk over to it you notice an odd smell. Previous experiences with AC units tells you that water is trapped somewhere beneath creating mildew and potentially bigger issues. You want to fix the problem but you have no idea how to do it yourself so you seek out someone more qualified to do this.

Thanks to your general knowledge of HVAC you feel that you have a pretty good idea of what a good HVAC company will look like. So you go on Google and look up “AC Repair” and begin to browse. You find two in your area with positive reviews and need to pick between the two. One of the websites is extremely busy. There is a lot going on throughout it and finding information is kind of a chore. On top of this, the information you can find is scarce.

On the other hand, you have a second website that is not only far easier to navigate but has plenty of info about their HVAC services. In fact, every single web page they have is full of content telling you how great their service is. They even have an entire page dedicated to the exact problem you are dealing with right now.

Of these two websites which company are you more likely to seek out the service of? More than likely it is going to be the services of the website that is full of content and even managed to address the exact problem you are having. This is an example of the edge that having great content marketing on your website can do for you. The better your content marketing, the better your website looks.

How To Achieve A Great Content Marketing Strategy

The path to a great content marketing strategy is something that sounds far more simple than it is and it is to make sure your website has as much content as possible and be sure that content is at high quality. When someone is seeking out a service they are going to look for someone that not only sounds qualified but plays the look of it as well.

Consider your website to be the first impression that you ever give a customer. If that first impression is related to having a difficult time finding the information they are seeking, a lack of information from what they do find, and a complete disregard for the user experience then that is going to put you at an immediate disadvantage. You want a website that will draw the user into your website not push them away from you.

One way to draw them in is to feature plenty of information for them to consume. Let’s go back to the HVAC example. If someone is seeking out an HVAC service then they are going to want plenty of information on what services you provide for your HVAC services such as AC Repair and AC Maintenance, but if you live somewhere that has harsh winters then you will want pages that also showcase Furnace repair, installation, and maintenance.

Identify who you are trying to appeal to. Most HVAC companies apply their services to both residential properties and commercial properties, but if you are a company that focuses in only one area then you will want to showcase that. Especially if you are a business that provides a service meant to sell to other businesses.

So make your website show this from the start through your content. If you are someone that specializes in working with other businesses then the user should be able to see this as soon as they start looking through your service pages. Alternatively, if you are someone that really wants to focus on residential customers then that is who your content should be driven towards. If you want to have both then do your best to show that you offer an even amount of services for both.

Should My Content For Commercial And Residential Be Separate?

Absolutely, yes. Even if the service you are providing is similar, let’s use HVAC as an example again, there are going to be major differences in how you approach your potential customer base. If you are offering an HVAC service then residential customers may be more comfortable knowing that you are someone that is very clean and timely. You show up at the times requested and they do not need to call you back once the service has been complete. They want confirmation you are friendly and someone that can be trusted. This is their home you are working on after all.

A commercial business on the other hand you will be working with completely different HVAC units. Likely larger, more complicated, and in need of maintenance more often. They want to know that you are qualified to get the job done, can do so quickly, and offer a rate that the commercial business considers fair. There are similarities to the residential job, such as being able to perform the job in a timely manner, but the key points that may make them take on your service will be different

Keeping the two separated is a good way of making sure you show your best self to each potential customer base. Showing this through your content is a great way for the user to see that you understand the different needs of different people.

Need Help To Come Up With A Content Marketing Strategy? Contact The AD Leaf ®

Does all of this sound like a lot of work that you don’t have time for? Yes, you want your website to be better but you are a busy person that does not know the first thing about content marketing as well as coming up with an effective content marketing strategy. Well those of us at The AD Leaf ® would be happy to help you.

We love turning websites into the best they can be with the best content possible. Call us at 321-255-0900, email us to @info@theadleaf.com, or use our contact page and set up a consultation. We will be happy to explain to you how we can give you the best possible content marketing and take your website from good to great. 

Social Listening- Take Your Social Media to the Next Level

“The customer is always right” has been the rule of thumb for as long as businesses have existed. Return business depends on the customer feeling valued. Being valued begins with listening.  Listening to the customer means not only hearing them but understanding what they want.

This concept is put into practice by a business by listening to the customer and what they want. This practice is no different on social media when it comes to your company’s brand and what you are putting out into the world for the customer to see. A practice and example of this that I was taught early on in my career, paraphrasing, “My favorite color is blue but that doesn’t mean I can put blue everywhere and use it in every campaign. I am catering to the customer and their desire. Just because my favorite color is blue does not mean that it is everyone else’s favorite color.” 

As humans, we are visual beings when it comes to consumerism. We make a judgment based on the first thing we see. If what we are seeing is not desirable, we move onto something else that does catch our eye. Listen to your new followers and most importantly, returning customers on social media to what they want to see. They are your audience, connect with them.

By ignoring what our audience wants we are disconnected from them. When we are disconnected from our audience, we cannot service or leave an impact on them. Companies often guess at what an audience wants to see versus listening to what they want. If any of this applies to your company, make a plan of action and ask yourself questions: “Who is the audience? What do they want to see? What could be a more effective way of connecting with them? What performs the best and gets the most engagement?”

Companies monitor their social media, which is a necessary part of a social media campaign, but it is taking bits and pieces of information versus looking at the whole picture. Engaging with your customers and assuring them that their comment has been seen is great, but did you listen to that person when they made a comment? Proper social listening means looking at the industry your company belongs to as a whole versus your one small piece of it. What is working for other companies that might be more successful than yours? How could you use it as inspiration and do something similar, but more importantly, better? 

Let’s look at social listening and social monitoring from a business performance perspective. Imagine you are a business owner with more than one location. If one of your locations was performing better than another with the same location to customer ratios you would listen to the customers leaving poor reviews and initiate some type of change as a result. This change would be put into motion with an investigation as to why one store is getting better reviews than the other. For example, if a review was left saying “Business- Location A is much more attentive when I come in to shop than Business-Location B, it takes ten minutes for someone to ask if I need help at Location B and at Location A someone is ready to help me as soon as I walk through the door.” As a business owner, you want both locations to be equally successful, so you would address the customer and acknowledge their complaint. Next, you might put a standard in place to greet customers and ask if they need help when they come into the store versus waiting until they look like they might need help after a period of time. By addressing the customer, you are monitoring the issue and bringing awareness to it but taking it that one step further to make a change in your store locations you are listening.

With that example in mind, look at your social media campaign the same way. If a specific type of post is performing better than another, listen to what your audience is saying and make a change. Research other companies in your industry and see if their top-performing posts are similar or different from your top-performing posts. If they are different see how you can change a type of post that is not performing as well as you want to align closer to what your audience is responding positively to. Making a change to a low engagement post has no negative outcome. If the post responds equally or worse than the original, you can always go back to the original style of the post but if it performs better than you’ve created more brand awareness and listened to what your audience wants.

Social listening can improve the health of your brand, give an insight into what works versus what doesn’t, and analyzes the competition versus your company’s campaign. Take advantage of your social media analytics to get further insight and start listening to your audience engagement. It is important to let your audience know they are seen, but it is even more important to let your audience know they are heard. An audience member on social media who feels heard but is not an existing customer could potentially be your next biggest and most loyal customer to date.

At The AD Leaf ® we understand that not every business has the extra time to invest their full efforts into social media. We are here to listen to your needs so that your customers can feel heard on social media, contact us via our phone number, 321.255.0900, or set up a consultation at TheAdLeaf.com, or you can email us to info@theadleaf.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

When Was The Last Time You Reviewed Your Website Content?

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the entire world it can be difficult to think about the contents of your website. If you are a business you’re likely more worried about staying afloat, keeping everything running as status quo as possible, or maybe even re-opening.

However, as the world begins to slowly re-open, and many businesses open their doors again it might be the perfect time to take a look at your website and review it. Go through your pages and make sure they are updated. Give yourself some time to make sure everything is up to date and that your website is filled to the brim with content.

You might be asking yourself why any of this is important. Well, the fact of the matter is that in today’s day and age of Google, having a website full of updated content is imperative to success. The more people who see your website are the more people who will see your business. This means more customers.

What is it that makes this successful though? Why is having a website full of updated content good for your business? Well let us start with where it always seems to begin with content marketing and that’s SEO.

Content=positive SEO

While understanding the analytics of SEO and Google is difficult, we know that ranking well on it typically leads to more success for businesses. The better you’re doing in SEO the more likely it is people searching for your service will stumble upon your business and if they’re searching for your business that likely means they want to use your business.

If you have not reviewed your website in awhile you should go through and see if there are any pages that seem particularly empty or bland. If you’re an Italian restaurant, and your website has a page about what makes your style of Italian special, consider looking at your word count. If it is anything below 800 then you are likely not giving yourself a fair shot on SEO.

The more content on your website the better you are going to do with SEO. Now, this does not mean to just start stacking your website with service pages and call it a day. You need pages that are filled with words and meaningful content that search engines like Google will give preference to.

Keep content updated

It’s good to just have your content up to date every once in a while. Maybe there’s a service on one of your pages you don’t offer anymore, or even better there’s a service you recently started offering that needs to be advertised more. When you take time to sit down and review your website this is also a chance to clean it up and keep it up to date.

Your website is like a giant billboard. You don’t want an old billboard on the interstate that doesn’t have the most up to date info and you don’t want your website to be a year behind on content. Even when a pandemic isn’t taking place it’s just a good idea to spend time once a year to make sure your update is up to your own personal standards.

An extra plus to this is that when you do keep your website updated it also helps you in SEO. When you are updating fresh and new content to your website on a consistent basis, you’re doing more to help with your SEO than if you were to just leave it alone for five years. Of course, the content always needs to be accurate and original.

 The AD Leaf ® can help

If all of this sounds overwhelming then don’t worry, because at The AD Leaf ® we have an expert team of SEO specialists and Content Marketers that understand exactly how to fill out a service page with great original content. Our team understands this better than anyone because we dive ourselves into it so our clients don’t have to.

If you need help preparing your website for re-opening, update it, or just need help understanding where to get started then give us a call at 321-255-0900, set up a consultation appointment at TheAdLeaf.com or email us at info@theadleaf.com and we can help you understand why updating your website with content is the key to success. We look forward to helping you!