READ MORE: Five Reasons Why You Should Partner with an Agency

Facebook

Facebook users almost exclusively use the platform on mobile. As a result, you have to cater to mobile-friendliness. This means that shorter, punchier copy works best. Moreover, your image sizing is really important – just because something looks good on desktop doesn’t mean it will translate successfully to mobile.

Key tip:

Post shareable content to boost your organic reach. The basics of how to make shareable posts? Know your audience; provide information or laughs (or both – score!); stay relevant; and invoke emotion.

LinkedIn

Social media best practices dictate thought-provoking, informative posts for LinkedIn. Here, you can share longer posts (up to 1300 characters) that tickle the brains of your peers and industry role-players.

Key tip:

Avoid overly pushy CTAs (calls to action) on your LinkedIn posts, as this content doesn’t do well organically. The LinkedIn audience is primarily there to learn and network (and not necessarily to ‘buy’). So, instead, teach your audience and foster engagement so that they don’t feel ‘sold to’. Do this and the deals, sales, and collaborations will follow.

Instagram

Instagram is a visual medium. Therefore, posting engaging imagery is key. While captions can be informative and value-packed, consumers will ultimately pause on images first. Once the image has been consumed, only then will your audience give your caption pause. Instead of sticking to one image per post, why not give carousels a try? They perform far better than single images.

Key tip:

Post Stories that foster engagement (think: Q&As and polls). 500+ million people use Stories daily and one-third of the most-viewed stories come from brands, according to Instagram. Creating content where people are consuming it is essential.

Twitter

Twitter is all about relevance. The key to perfecting Twitter is a fast pace – you have to respond timeously to industry-relevant announcements and events. Moreover, text performs well on this platform, so don’t get too bogged down in design. Focus on your copy instead; find your niche and join the conversation!

Key tip:

The ideal posting frequency is three times per day. It may seem like a lot, but when you consider that it is predominantly text-based and you have limited characters (280, to be exact), it’s totally doable. Also, tweets posted throughout the week generally perform better than weekend posting.

No matter the platform, the basics stay the same: always plan ahead with a schedule, use the correct image sizes for each platform, and stay consistent in your tone, imagery, and posting. As platforms evolve, social media best practices change – so be sure to keep up with the trends.

If you need more specific help, or a bespoke strategy, get in touch.

READ MORE: Marketing Trends to Look Out for in 2021

The post Social Media Best Practices: A Cheat Sheet for Businesses first appeared on Fenix Marketing.

The post Social Media Best Practices: A Cheat Sheet for Businesses appeared first on Fenix Marketing.

READ MORE: 2020 Digital Marketing Recap: What You Need to Know

Stay ahead of your competitors

One of the main benefits of partnering with an agency is a comprehensive strategy. A strategy ensures that you’re consistent in your messaging, reaching your ideal audience, and staying on top of trends within your industry. Staying on-trend positions you as an industry expert who is relevant in the market.

Access to a dedicated team

When you work with an agency, you have access to a team of creatives, strategists, developers, and account managers. This means that fresh ideas and a unique perspective are guaranteed. Your brand will benefit from the intersection of this team’s diverse skillset. No matter your requirements, a full-service agency will be able to rise to meet your needs, fuss-free.

External perspective on your brand

Are you feeling like there’s something you’re just missing when it comes to communicating with your audience? An agency can take a bird’s-eye view on your brand and consult on best practices. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, but with an agency, you’ll get a helpful external perspective on how your online presence can be bettered.

Better value

You can have many cross-trained professionals working on your brand’s growth. This, more often than not, works out more cost-effectively than hiring someone to handle digital in-house. When you pay an agency’s retainer, you get access to a wealth of knowledge and experience on-demand. At Fenix, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional value and meaningful business insights.

Achieve business growth

You can grow your business by leveraging an agency’s vast experience. An agency channels all their industry know-how, network, and skill to boost your brand. We prioritise ROI, and our strategies are results-driven at Fenix Marketing. We work with you to outline your goals and then set to work achieving them through insightful strategy and content creation.

READ MORE: Marketing Trends to Look Out For in 2021

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The post Five Reasons Why You Should Partner with an Agency appeared first on Fenix Marketing.

READ MORE: Marketing Trends to Look Out For in 2021

Internet Usage

In 2020, the average South African spent 9 hours and 22 minutes online each day. This time online is the basis of both work and social activity. So, if you’re looking to expand your business, it’s only natural that you tap into these hours of engagement.

Internet users aged 16-64 spend their time online like this:

• 90% watch online videos (YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram…)
• 70% listen to music streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube…)
• 41% listen to podcasts (Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts…)

This means that money spent advertising on these platforms will ultimately achieve great reach and ROI. Advertising on popular platforms is an effective way to drive traffic to your website, stay top-of-mind, and, in turn, convert customers.

Websites

There are 1,196,298,727 websites in the world as of September 2020. Additionally, a recent report indicated that every minute the total number of worldwide websites grew approximately by 380. This means that every 24 hours there is a 547200 increase in the total number of websites worldwide!

eCommerce

There are an estimated 12 million – 24 million eCommerce sites across the entire globe, with more and more being created every single day. With 74% of consumers who rely on their social networks to make purchasing decisions.

Google

Google is currently the most visited website in the world according to Alexa Top 500 Global Sites Rating. As a search intent platform, customers are actively looking for your products and services, a business simply cannot afford not to be on Google.

Social Media at a Glance

A recent survey showed that 97% of internet users aged 16-64 visited a social network in the past month. And what’s more – the global average of time spent on social media daily is 2 hours and 24 minutes. Moreover, the average internet user also has over 8 social media accounts.

Facebook

Facebook’s growth continues to skyrocket, especially in Africa. Central to our 2020 Digital Marketing recap is the platform’s advertising audience.

• 95 billion people can be reached by adverts on Facebook worldwide.
• Marketers can reach 32% of users with these ads.
• 56% of the ad audience is male, while 44% is female.

Instagram

Instagram’s total advertising audience is just shy of 1 billion users. So, if you are a product-driven business, you will most likely use an Instagram business account. Here are the benchmarks:

• Businesses post an average of 13 stories per month.
• The average monthly growth in account followers is 2.5%.
• 21% of a business’ feed is made up of video posts.

LinkedIn

This social media giant remains the leading professional networking platform. Advertising on LinkedIn is costly but its potential for organic reach is unparalleled.

• 3 million professionals can be reached by ads on this platform.
• Over 8 million South Africans make use of this platform on a monthly basis.
• Locally, the biggest age group using the platform is between 25 and 35.

Finally, our 2020 Digital Marketing Recap shows that now, more than ever, an engaging online presence is essential across multiple platforms. With competition rifer than ever, a well thought out strategically strong online presence could very well be the differentiating factor between you and your competitors giving your brand its own platform to communicate your products and offerings.

If you are looking for someone to guide you along the digital process and simplify the platforms and strategy based on what’s best for your business, let’s chat. We would love to help your business grow! So get in touch with info@www.fenixmarketing.co.za or speak to our digital strategist today 082 551 7997.

 READ MORE: PR and Digital Marketing: A Hybrid Approach

The post 2020 Digital Marketing Recap: What You Need to Know first appeared on Fenix Marketing.

The post 2020 Digital Marketing Recap: What You Need to Know appeared first on Fenix Marketing.

READ MORE: Why Businesses Should Leverage Social Media for Sustained Growth

Effective copywriting enlivens your brand and communicates what you do, why you do it, and what sets you apart from similar brands. Authentic writing should appeal to your audience’s emotions and encourage individuals to opt for your offering over your competitors’. It really is that simple.

#Copywriting quote:

“Sometimes the best copy to sell a horse is ‘Horse for Sale.’”
~Jay Abraham, direct-response master

It’s OK to keep things simple, folks. Really, it is.

Because clear, direct copy almost always converts better than a clever turn of phrase.

— Eddie Shleyner (@VeryGoodCopy) October 28, 2020

The Role of Storytelling in Technical Industries

The importance of compelling content and meaningful storytelling for technical industry role-players cannot be understated. Carefully-crafted content helps you communicate your offering in an approachable way. It can position your enterprise as an accessible, knowledgeable person-to-person/peer-to-peer (P2P) brand.

Solid content creation will help clients untangle highly-technical, industry-specific jargon. This will leave clients feeling empowered and informed. Moreover, this will also foster the brand’s overall credibility perception and long-term growth. Good writing leads potential clients to trust your brand.

Tamsin Henderson, the creator of the #1 best-selling copywriting course on Udemy, notes that “Copy is fundamental to the success of a business. Every word you write is marketing. [Including] your website. Your emails. Your Instagram captions. [And] your LinkedIn posts, landing pages and product descriptions…Really, every word is a powerful opportunity to win the hearts and minds of your customers.”

People Connect with People

Copywriting conveys your brand identity and connects you with your client base. This can, however, be difficult to accomplish if your business forms part of a highly technical, niche industry. Presenting potential clients and funders with overly-complicated, jargon-stuffed copy can sometimes be alienating. Instead, the goal is to humanise your brand with affable, informative content that educates and engages your audience.

Often clients from diverse industries are in the market for products or solutions they may not be clued up on but that you can provide. For example, consider commercial fishermen who need satellite communication technology that keeps them connected no matter where they are on the globe… They understand their industry but may need further explanation when it comes to buying in another. Illustrated here is the need for copy that communicates the detailed specs of your offering while remaining reader-friendly.

How To Communicate Your Offering 

Easier said than done, right? Hack your copy by bringing your complicated offering to life with explanatory blogs, case studies, and project reviews. Keep your brand tone congenial-yet-expert with a trend-aware social media presence that speaks to your clients’ concerns and issues. Consider moving away from stiff, socially-disconnected copy that is solutions-focussed (as opposed to being people-focussed).

8 copywriting rules from @VeryGoodCopy:

1. The first sentence's job is to make people read the second.

2. People will jog to pleasure, but sprint from pain.

3. If you're selling something complicated, make it simple.

4. Only sell one benefit at a time.

— Jonathan Park (@JonathanVPark) November 6, 2020

Need help shelving the jargon and repositioning yourself as an approachable P2P brand? We can help you articulate your offering with effective copywriting and superior content strategy that serves to clarify your message to your clients. Let’s chat about how we can help you connect with your ideal audience.

READ MORE: How to develop a Marketing Budget that supports Business Growth

The post Ditch Jargon and Use Effective Copywriting to Articulate your Technical Offering first appeared on Fenix Marketing.

The post Ditch Jargon and Use Effective Copywriting to Articulate your Technical Offering appeared first on Fenix Marketing.

READ MORE: How to develop a Marketing Budget that supports Business Growth

PR and Digital Marketing’s Evolution

Historically, PR has involved the leveraging of traditional media, like print. Now, PR has shifted into the digital space, with press releases and media coverage largely taking shape on online platforms, websites, podcasts, and so on. That’s why your PR should be: firstly, digital and accessible; and secondly, fully integrated into your overall communications strategy.

A study by Nielsen notes that “92% of consumers around the world say they trust earned media, such as recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising. [This is] an increase of 18% since 2007.” And that’s why your communication efforts should be unified. After all, your comms strategy is no good if it exists in a vacuum.

What 2020 has taught us is that people function digitally. Moreover, the power of traditional media is waning. This is because of the evolving ways people receive and consume information. We are always-on and hyper-connected, and it doesn’t look like this will change anytime soon…

Your Comms Strategy, Upgraded

With this in mind, the majority of your PR efforts will likely be published on an online platform, and should be used to amplify your communications strategy and increase organic traffic to your site. By making use of PR as a platform to support your existing Digital Strategy, you will boost your efforts with quality coverage and supreme ROI.

But what does this PR-digital collaboration look like? It involves working with a team that can offer you a diverse skillset across both fields. It’s sustained communication and a hybridised strategy that leverages the strengths of both disciplines to deliver the best results with a turnkey digital marketing solution.

If you’re looking for a team of cross-trained professionals, Fenix Marketing has you covered. As a forward-thinking digital agency, we maintain partnerships with the best PR pros around. This means that we can provide you with a holistic approach to marketing.

READ MORE: Advertising during COVID-19 and the importance of a Marketing budget.

The post PR and Digital Marketing: A Hybrid Approach first appeared on Fenix Marketing.

The post PR and Digital Marketing: A Hybrid Approach appeared first on Fenix Marketing.

READ MORE: How to develop a Marketing Budget that supports Business Growth

The Perks of Social Media

For many business owners, the digital landscape can be intimidating… Approaching a platform without the relevant knowledge is daunting. As a result, many businesses stick to less advantageous, old-fashioned advertising mediums. But it is absolutely essential for businesses to step into the digital landscape, even though it may seem challenging at first.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt life as we know it, social media platforms are growing in reach, time spent on the respective apps, and overall ad spend. The longer consumers social distance at home, the more spend is allocated to social media advertising because of how effectively it can target consumers and deliver clear, convenient calls to action.

The 2020 Sprout Social Index showed that

• 89% of consumers say they will buy from a brand they follow on social media;
• 84% will choose that brand over a competitor;
• 75% of consumers say they are likely to increase their spending with brands they follow.

This data shows that an active social media presence ensures heightened brand awareness and will allow you to grow your audience (and ultimately, your entire enterprise). You can also promote content and drive sales in a palatable, professional way that engages, enlightens, and encourages customers.

But to maximise social media’s potential, you need to approach it with a plan. Flying blind will lead to minimal results and you will be spending more time on social media than what it will ultimately be worth. You need a strategy to ensure measurable, evergreen growth.

The Importance of Strategy

An effective social media strategy should ensure

• interesting, insightful content creation;
• consistency in posting, brand tone, and overall brand image;
• comprehensive leveraging of targeting tools to help you reach your ideal audience;
• and the adaptive revision of your content and targeting to make sure you get the best results for your spend.

The benefits of a sustained, engaging online presence for businesses are undeniable. But this can be a lot to take on, especially if you are running your own business or are part of a small enterprise.

As a small to medium-sized business, the starting point of your journey should be finding an agency that is willing to walk through everything with you. Ideally, you want a smaller agency that will be considerate of your starting-out social media budget and is willing to grow as you grow.

A full-service digital agency will help you untangle seemingly impossibly knotted digital concepts. Your agency should help you with ad spend, brand tone, lead generation, content creation, and client targeting. You need a data-driven agency that will make social media approachable and effective. Effective management should leave you to focus on doing what you do best: running your business.

READ MORE: Online Usage Surges, how should you respond?

The post Why Businesses Should Leverage Social Media for Sustained Growth first appeared on Fenix Marketing.

The post Why Businesses Should Leverage Social Media for Sustained Growth appeared first on Fenix Marketing.

READ MORE: How to develop a Marketing Budget that supports Business Growth

The New Media Mix

The digital revolution has been huge! It now makes up a profound part in everyday media selection. But other pillars in the media mix are also needed to develop an effective campaign. It is important for marketers to consider multiple marketing activities to support the overall campaign. Complimentary mediums to digital marketing include Radio, Outdoor and PR. These are effective drivers that work well in creating mass awareness.

Events that have changed the consumer landscape include the pandemic, remote working, limited mass gatherings and so on. Marketers and Business Owners will have to take into account that these will have a lasting effect when selecting media.

Marketing activities like events and conferences are being reconsidered in the name of safety. They will have to adapt to more virtual events and webinar-based conferences. Virtual marathons and cycle races will also become a thing of the future where event organisers are adapting to please their clientele.

Changing Engagement

The rate at which consumers engage with their media is driving the consumer landscape. Today’s digital connectivity gives consumers instant gratification in regards to how they engage and purchase from businesses.

It is therefore important to understand your target market depending on their shopping patterns. Where do they consume advertising? What is their buying behaviour? Where are they shopping online or in store? Are they still commuting to and from work?

Changes in media mix, messaging, audience targeting, also need to adapt as consumer behaviours change. Today’s consumers expect the media they engage with to be relevant and targeted at the person-level.

Reach Out

It can be easy to get carried away in doing it all yourself as a business owner. However, when it comes to the media mix, there’s plenty of reasons why partnering with a marketing agency is beneficial.

The world of marketing is constantly changing and innovating. So having a dedicated team ensures that your marketing stays ahead of the curve. An expert’s strategies will boost your marketing light years!

You don’t have to try tackle this without help. We are a hands-on, dynamic agency that is keen to see you evolve as the market evolves. Do you need help making sense of media mixes, advertising budgets, and social media in general? We can lend a hand. How can we help you today?

The post The evolving media mix and changing consumer landscape – A marketer’s take first appeared on Fenix Marketing.

The post The evolving media mix and changing consumer landscape – A marketer’s take appeared first on Fenix Marketing.

READ MORE: Why Businesses Should Leverage Social Media for Sustained Growth

Marketing will need to be re-looked as the consumer behaviour has changed. Digital Marketing is being consumed at a rapid pace and social media is on the increase. Communities are standing together, and so targeted marketing is key.

How to Manage a Marketing Budget

Have you considered Digital Marketing as an option to curb the effects of decreased sales? Secondly, do you have a marketing budget? And if not, why not?

Without a marketing budget, expenses could add up detrimentally as nothing is being measured and controlled. Now more than ever you need to be watching expenses… You should also be avoiding unnecessary spending for your business while still ensuring growth.

Developing a marketing budget is one of the best things you can do for your business, and yet business owners are unsure of how much to spend. Your marketing budget should be between 5% – 10% of your revenue or forecasted sales for the year. So, it goes to say that if your predicted sales are showing a decline then the first place to cut spend is on the advertising budget.

It has been documented that brands who increase, or at least maintain, advertising during a recession, or in this case COVID-19 outbreak, while competitors are cutting back, will improve market share and get a great return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.

Cutting Back

If you have to cut back on your marketing budget, try to maintain your reach and frequency through targeted digital advertising, which is more cost effective and measurable. If you are serious about growing your business, you have to set yourself a marketing budget. This will help you remain top of consumers’ minds during a recession to build loyalty and trust amongst your followers.

Ultimately the current situation is unavoidable, as is the effect it will have on you, your business and your target market. However, not cutting back entirely will produce far better results in the long run and leave you in good stead with consumers and business partners alike.

READ MORE: Online Usage Surges, how should you respond?

The post Advertising during COVID-19 and the importance of a Marketing budget first appeared on Fenix Marketing.

The post Advertising during COVID-19 and the importance of a Marketing budget appeared first on Fenix Marketing.

READ MORE: Why Businesses Should Leverage Social Media for Sustained Growth

Hashtags: A Quick Guide

So what kind of hashtags should your business have?

• Brand Name Hashtag. The best way to market your brand is by a hashtag!
• Campaign Hashtag that you can use as your unique positioning
• Industry Relevant Hashtags that are relevant to your line of business and use them in industry relevant posts

Hashtags are a cost-effective way to keep your business on-trend and attract new leads. If you want your brand to remain relevant on social media, hashtags are a great way to get the traffic numbers you want for your content! By including hashtags in your content, you can reach people outside of your audience or following, as you help social platforms index your content in a way that is SEARCHABLE to everyone so your business can be found by users actively looking for things online.

Most social media platforms today make use of hashtags in some way or form, so they are very relevant if you want to take increase engagement and make your business relevant on social media.

Top Tips

Here are our  tips on how to effectively use hashtags for your business:

1. Establish a company hashtag that can be used by you, your clients and your followers to search various social media platforms
2. Keep the hashtag relevant. What is your business about? What products or services do you provide?
3. Tie the hashtag back to what your brand signifies, your brand positioning, brand belief
4. Set your post or campaign goals, what is the desired outcome of this hashtag
5. Do your research, identify trending hashtags that are relevant to your industry
6. Be specific and relevant if you are wanting to use a hashtag to join a social conversation or topic
7. Understand the different social media platforms and which hashtags to use where

Hashtags can be a great way to attract your ideal clients and drive new leads, act as a branding building block for your business and keep you relevant on social media.

READ MORE: The evolving media mix and changing consumer landscape – A marketer’s take

The post A Quick Guide To Hashtags first appeared on Fenix Marketing.

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