1. Define Your Goals

Before diving into creating videos, it’s essential to outline your goals. What do you want to achieve with your YouTube video marketing strategy? Common goals for small businesses include:

• Increasing brand awareness.
• Driving website traffic.
• Generating leads.
• Boosting sales.
• Establishing thought leadership in your industry.
• Engaging with your audience.
• Clearly defining your goals will help you create videos that are aligned with your business objectives.

2. Know Your Audience

Understanding your target audience is crucial for creating content that resonates with them. Conduct market research to identify your ideal customers’ demographics, interests, pain points, and online behavior. You can use tools like Google Analytics, YouTube Analytics, and social media insights to gather valuable data.

Once you have a clear understanding of your audience, tailor your content to meet their needs and preferences. This will increase the chances of your videos resonating with them and driving engagement.

3. Create High-Quality Content

While budget-friendly, your YouTube videos should still maintain a level of quality that reflects positively on your brand. Here’s how you can create high-quality content without spending a fortune:

a) Invest in Basic Equipment: You don’t need expensive cameras and gear to create good videos. A smartphone with a decent camera, good lighting, and a stable tripod can suffice for many types of content.

b) Plan Your Videos: Create a script or an outline for your videos to ensure they convey your message clearly and concisely. This can save you time during the recording and editing process.

c. Edit Your Videos: Free or low-cost video editing software like Adobe Premiere Rush, HitFilm Express, or iMovie can help you edit your videos professionally. Pay attention to trimming, adding captions, and improving audio quality.

d. Create Eye-Catching Thumbnails: Thumbnails play a significant role in attracting viewers. Design engaging thumbnails that reflect the content of your video and encourage clicks.

e. Use Free or Affordable Graphics: Websites like Canva and Pixabay offer free or affordable graphics, stock footage, and music you can use in your videos.

f. Optimize for Mobile: Most YouTube views come from mobile devices, so ensure your videos are mobile-friendly and can be viewed easily on smaller screens.

4. Develop a Content Calendar

Consistency is key to building a loyal YouTube audience. Create a content calendar that outlines your video release schedule. This doesn’t mean you need to publish daily; even one or two well-planned videos per month can be effective. Stick to your schedule to keep your audience engaged and informed.

5. Leverage SEO for Visibility

YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world, making search engine optimization (SEO) critical for visibility. Optimize your videos for search by:

a. Keyword Research: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or YouTube’s search suggest feature to identify relevant keywords in your niche.

b. Video Titles: Craft compelling, keyword-rich titles that accurately describe your content.

c. Video Descriptions: Write detailed descriptions that include keywords, a brief summary of the video, and links to your website and social media profiles.

d. Tags: Add relevant tags that help YouTube categorize and recommend your videos.

e. Thumbnails: As mentioned earlier, design eye-catching thumbnails that encourage clicks.

f. Closed Captions: Include closed captions or subtitles in your videos to make them accessible and improve SEO.

6. Engage with Your Audience

Respond to comments on your videos and engage with your audience on social media platforms. Building a community around your content can lead to greater brand loyalty and more shares and engagement.

7. Collaborate with Influencers

Consider collaborating with YouTube influencers or other businesses in your niche. Influencers can help you reach a larger and more engaged audience. Look for influencers whose values and audience align with your brand.

8. Promote Your Videos

Don’t rely solely on YouTube’s algorithm to drive traffic to your videos. Promote them on your website, email newsletter, and social media channels. You can also repurpose video content into blog posts, infographics, or shorter clips for platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

9. Measure and Analyze Performance

Regularly review your YouTube analytics to track the performance of your videos. Pay attention to metrics like views, watch time, click-through rate (CTR), and audience retention. Analyzing this data can help you identify what’s working and what needs improvement.

10. Iterate and Improve

Based on your analytics and feedback from your audience, make improvements to your video marketing strategy. Experiment with different video formats, content styles, and messaging to see what resonates best with your audience.

11. Consider Paid Advertising

While we’re focused on a budget-friendly approach, it’s worth mentioning that YouTube offers advertising options that can be cost-effective. YouTube ads can be targeted to specific demographics and interests, allowing you to reach potential customers effectively. Start with a small budget and carefully track the results to ensure a positive return on investment (ROI).

12. Stay Informed

Stay updated with YouTube’s algorithm changes, industry trends, and new features. YouTube regularly updates its platform, and being aware of these changes can help you adapt your strategy for better results.

Need Help Creating Your Video Marketing Strategy?

Creating a budget-friendly video marketing strategy on YouTube is a viable option for small businesses looking to increase their online presence and engage with their target audience. By setting clear goals, understanding your audience, creating high-quality content, optimizing for SEO, and consistently promoting your videos, you can build a successful YouTube channel without breaking the bank. Remember that success on YouTube often comes with patience and persistence, so stay committed to your strategy and continuously refine your approach based on data and feedback.

You’re busy running your business. For expert help creating your video marketing strategy, contact Umbrella Xact for a free consultation on our website or call (860) 612-8486.

Flash sales are extremely short-term, deep discount sales that are typically limited to only certain products. An online flash sale can increase urgency, boost sales, drive traffic, increase brand awareness, attract new customers, increase loyalty (if aimed at repeat, VIP customers), clear outdated inventory, enable cross selling and upselling, and are relatively easy to implement.

But if you don’t do your online flash sales right, you could lower profitability, slow down your store’s order processing and adversely affect your brand image. Don’t let that happen.

Check out the following guidelines. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday fast approaching, you may want to add an online flash sale to your marketing mix.

1. Plan Your Online Flash Sale

If you are considering having a flash sale, clarify the goals you want to accomplish. Probably you will have several goals, but you will need to determine their priorities, because they will determine how you run your sale. You will also need to determine the audience you want to reach.

Goals might include

• Boosting sales
• Clearing out excess or soon-to-be obsolete inventory
• Shining a spotlight on a new product
• Attract new customers
• Increase loyalty of your current VIP customers by only allowing them to participate
• increase brand awareness
• Generate leads for future marketing

2. Select Your Products

Choose the products you want to feature in your flash sale according to the goals you established during the planning stage. For example, if a priority is to clear out excess inventory, that’s what goes into the flash sale. If you have a lot of seasonal inventory left after the holiday, it may be better to clear it out at a steep discount than to pay to store it for another year.

On the other hand, you might want to hold a flash sale to create buzz for a new product by offering it at a low, introductory price you don’t plan to repeat.

You need to choose the products that are part of your flash sale very carefully, because one of the features of flash sales is very steep discounts. If you aren’t careful in your product selection, you could end up significantly reducing your profitability.

3. Be Creative

Flash sales are not all the same. You can opt to just slash prices, but you can run various promotions during a flash sale. You might consider buy one, get one free. Or you might offer a great deal on products you bundle together. Or if a customer spends a certain amount, you could offer a coupon for a significant but not crazy amount off on any additional purchase – as long as it’s within the next week (thus bringing them back to the where they are likely to buy additional items).

4. Discount Strategically

One of the key features of a successful flash sale is discounting selected products enough to turn heads while still benefitting your business. You are competing not only with other vendors but also with everything else the customer could be doing that day. So, we are talking marking products somewhere from 20% to 70% off in most cases, and we know which number gets the most attention.

Consider:

• Your audience: Are you going after new customers or existing ones? If you’re going after first-time customers, you should usually try to feature products you can discount heavily such as excess inventory. But if you want to reward existing customers, you already have their attention, and can usually discount less.
• Your objectives: As mentioned, if you want to clear out old or obsolete stock, you can usually discount pretty steeply. But if you’re trying to create brand awareness, you may be able to be more conservative in your discounts.
• Your costs
• Your break-even point
• Your competitors’ pricing
• Duration of the sale: Is it a couple hours or a couple days? You can be a lot more generous in your discounts for extremely short sales.
• Likelihood of creating a returning, loyal customer

5. Upsell and Cross Sell

Remember that when you attract people to your online flash sale, they will be exposed to the other products on your site. You will also have the opportunity to show them related products that are not on sale when they are looking at a flash sale item.

For example, you might slash the prices of all your shoes of a particular brand for a flash sale. When people view a pair of shoes, you can still show a matching purse even though it’s not on sale. You can also show the customer similar but more high end shoes whether or not they are part of the sale.

6. Check Inventory

This may seem obvious, but once you go to all the trouble of driving people to your site for a big flash sale, make sure you have enough inventory so most customers will not leave disappointed. You don’t want to advertise a two-day flash sale and sell out of most items in the first couple hours.

It’s ok if some products are limited – that can create urgency. But let people know certain items are limited in advance.

7. Streamline Fulfillment

If your flash sale is successful, it is going to create a lot of demand. Make sure you’re ready for it. Since flash sales run for such a short time, your fulfillment center must be primed to process a much larger than usual volume of orders in a matter of hours – and still run smoothly. Examine what could cause delays and fix any problems long before you hold your online flash sale.

People love getting good deals, but if their purchases don’t arrive on time or your customer service slips, it will adversely affect your brand.

8. Don’t Overdo Frequency

Flash sales can be extremely effective, but not if you hold them too often. Flash sales rely on customers feeling urgency, but if you hold them too often, you will kill that sense of urgency. Customers will know you will always hold another flash sale in the not distant future. So why buy now? Holding flash sales too often also undercuts your brand, and positions it as a discount brand.

9. Time Your Online Flash Sales

Though you could hold a flash sale due to your business’s internal situation (need to boost sales or shed excess inventory for example), they are often tied to outside events. For example, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are so famous for flash sales that it’s almost impossible to sell anything during that period without holding one.

But there are occurrences throughout the year that are good opportunities for flash sales. For example, kids going back to school in the fall offer a flash sale opportunity for clothes and school supplies.  Blockbuster movie releases offer opportunities to sell related merchandise. Earth Day can be an opportunity for eco-friendly product flash sales. The onset of winter can inspire flash sales of weather-proofing products.

Time of day is also a consideration. Start your flash sale when your audience is available and you are likely to have good website traffic. You can check Google Analytics for the days and times when your site gets the most traffic.

10. Choose Duration

Flash sales always run for a short period, but how do you know whether to run your online flash sale for a couple days or a few hours?

Shorter flash sales can be particularly effective for creating urgency and FOMO (fear of missing out). But they also give you less time for shoppers to see your marketing and get to your sale. Keep in mind that a surprising 50% of purchases happen during the first hour of a flash sale.

11. Focus on an Audience

You should be clear on the targeted segment of your online flash sale. Flash sales can attract one-time buyers who are only there for the great deals. Reach this audience with Google ads and social media.

But your existing customers also appreciate online flash sales. Market to your list. Offer them special deals just or them. Let them know you appreciate their loyalty.

12. Consider Free Shipping

People don’t want to get a great discount then pay big on shipping. You may want to offer a smaller discount but offer free shipping to decrease abandoned shopping carts. Instead of offering all shipping for free, you may want to offer it only on orders above a certain price. This may also encourage people to buy more in order to reach the free shipping threshold.

13. Amp Up Your Marketing

You don’t want to hold a flash sale where nobody comes, because they don’t even know about it. You need to heavily market your online flash sale.

Website: Put notices on key places on your website such as the home page and primary product pages. These notices are aimed at people already considering your products and current customers.

Email campaign: Send emails to your list both before and during the sale.

Social media:   Your online flash sale should be all over your social media. Maybe offer your loyal followers an extra discount or gift. If you are primarily going after new customers, you may want to boost your posts and run other types of paid ads.

Landing pages: Set up landing pages for your flash sale products and pay attention to keywords and SEO.

Google ads: If you are not limiting your online flash sale to current customers, advertise with Google ads.

Ready to Plan an Online Flash Sale?

If you are ready to run an online flash sale, Umbrella Xact Experts are here to help. Contact us for a free consultation through our website or call us at (860) 612-8486.

There’s still time to plan an online flash sale for Black Friday or Cyber Monday!

Flash sales are a tried and true method to create urgency and increase sales. When executed well, flash sales can help business owners achieve multiple goals.

What Sets Flash Sales Apart?

If you sell or shop online, you are no stranger to online sales. But flash sales are a beast of their own. Here’s the earmarks of a flash sale:

• Short duration: Flash sales rarely last more than two days max. they may just last a day or even just a few hours. They are of much shorter duration than the usual sale. This creates urgency, because customers need to act immediately or lose their opportunity. Typically, the shorter the flash sale, the better the deals.

• Eye-popping deals: Flash sales offer steep discounts and great deals that generate excitement and motivate people to buy. In addition to the short time span, the big discounts also create urgency, because your customers know it’s going to be a long time before they see such great deals again.

• Limited products: Flash sales are usually not store-wide. Because discounts are steep, flash sales are generally just limited to certain products. By offering only products where you have either excess inventory or special, limited inventory, you protect your margins.

What Are the Benefits of Flash Sales?

Let’s dive deeper into the benefits of flash sales. It’s not too late to plan one for holiday shoppers.

1. Boost Sales

There’s little doubt that flash sales are extremely effective, On average, they increase transaction rates by 35%. Not only do people buy the great deals, but while they are on your site, they also buy items that are not on sale. A flash sale will drive buyers to your site, and it will also increase the average order rate.

In 2022, consumers spent over $11 billion in online sales on Cyber Monday and $9.12 billion for Black Friday. From 2021, sales increased from 5.8% for Cyber Monday and 2.3% for Black Friday.

Fear of missing out on limited time, deep discount sales motivates increase buying. So, beyond the holidays, flash sales can also be a great way to boost sales during slow periods.

Of course, you need to set a strategy about what you are selling and for how much. After all, if you are deeply discounting an item, your margins are much lower on it.

2. Drive traffic to your website

Flash sales give you a very attractive hook in your marketing. The steep discounts and short timeline should drive increase traffic to your site. Once people come to your website, you can sign them up to your email list as well as sell your products.

3. Increase Brand Awareness

Flash sales can benefit your business beyond the event itself, because they increase visibility and brand awareness. Get them to your site with extensive marketing about your flash sale, and they will start exploring what else you have to offer, and keep you in mind for the future.

4. Attract New Customers

Flash sales can bring in new customers who are looking for great deals. Though solely price-based customers can be fickle, you can still build your client base and create repeat buyers with strategic post-purchase marketing.

5. Inspire Loyalty

Marketers often think of flash sales as a way to attract new customers who are motivated by price. Price-motivated customers are not usually the most loyal.
However, you can build loyalty of existing customers with flash sales by offering exclusive access to only your loyal VIP customers. People love to be on the inside and appreciate being rewarded and made to feel special.

6. Control Inventory

It’s important to strategically choose what inventory to put on sale during a flash event. Flash sales are a great way to move excess inventory or inventory that is going obsolete. Then you can restock with products it’s easier for you to move. You might also want to get some kind of limited product in just for the sale.

7. Cross-Sell and Upsell

Once you attract customers with a flash sale, use it so cross-sell and upsell to items that aren’t on sale. If a line of purses is on flash sale, make sure to feature the matching shoes that are regular price. If a returning customer comes to your site, here’s your chance to show them inventory you know they will like due their past behaviors.

8. Don’t Make Yourself Crazy

Compared to longer lasting store wide sales, flash sales are relatively easy to do. So, if you are thinking about doing one, give it a try!

Need Help with Your Flash Sale?

This article discusses why you should consider flash sales. Our next article will give you tips on how to implement flash sales to create urgency and increase sales.

In the meantime, if you need help implementing flash sales or any kind of promotions contact Umbrella Xact for a free consultation through our website or call us at (860) 612-8486.

eMarketer expects retail holiday spending to increase by 4.5% over last year for the 2023 holiday season. eCommerce sales are expected to increase by 11.3%.
If you sell retail or have an ecommerce site, you no doubt already have a plan for your holiday shopping season. After all, 11% of holiday shoppers begin in July. But most shopping still lies ahead. This is not the time to relax!

25 Holiday  Promotions for 2023

Read through the following effective holiday marketing promotions for 2023, and consider adding some additional firepower to your holiday marketing line-up.

1. Countdown Calendar: Borrowing from the advent calendar concept, provide daily deals that are limited to one-day only leading up to a significant holiday. This continuous engagement keeps your brand top-of-mind and can drive daily traffic to your website or store.

2. Social Media Giveaways: Drive engagement and increase your brand’s visibility by hosting holiday-themed giveaways on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. These events can grow your follower base, increase brand exposure, and foster a community feeling among participants.

3. Early Bird Specials: Motivate customers to start their holiday shopping early with special discounts. This helps spready out the holiday rush and grabs customers before they buy elsewhere.

4. Flash Sales: Create buzz during your holiday promotions for 2023, drive traffic, and clear out inventory with flash sales! Flash sales are short, usually 24-hour events that offer significant discounts. The limited time frame creates urgency, prompting customers to make swift decisions that result in increased conversions. You can do this in your brick-and-mortar store, your website and even on social media!

5. Extended Return Policies: Recognize the holidays engender a lot of gift-giving anxiety for most of us. Offer peace of mind during the holiday season with extended return policies. Such flexibility can boost sales by giving customers confidence that gifts can be exchanged or returned if they aren’t perfect. This definitely should be up there among the holiday promotions for 2023 you consider.

6. Bundle Deals: Bundling complementary products together at a discounted rate increases their perceived value to customers. Customers feel they’re getting more for their money. A side benefit, is that bundling introduces your customers to products they might not have tried otherwise. Last but certainly not least, it’s an effective way to increase your average order value.

7. Loyalty Deals and Discounts: In your efforts to snag new customers, never forget your old ones. Reward your repeat customers with exclusive gifts and discounts. Recognize their continued support and entice them to make seasonal purchases. Giving deals to your loyal base deepens their loyalty to your brand and nurtures your existing customer relationships.

8. Gift with Purchase: Offering a complimentary item for purchases over a specific amount can encourage higher spending. High end cosmetic brands like Estee Lauder are famous for this. This strategy not only sweetens the deal but can also be an excellent way to introduce new products to your customers.

9. Free Shipping: Waiving shipping fees, either across the board or beyond a certain spend threshold, can be a decisive factor for online shoppers. It removes a significant barrier to purchase and can be a cost-effective way to boost sales, especially if integrated with a minimum spend requirement. Bear in mind that if you give free shipping with a minimum spend as one of your holiday shopping promotions for 2023, you also encourage people to spend more on products.

10. Pop-Up Shops: Pop-Up shops in a retail store can create excitement and feature attention-grabbing products. They’re perfect for engaging with customers in person and providing a tactile shopping experience. Create a temporary physical presence in high-footfall areas. These pop-ups can offer exclusive products, live demos, or holiday specials.

11. Referral Discounts: Capitalize on word-of-mouth by offering special discounts to customers who refer friends and family. It’s a two-fold benefit: existing customers have an incentive to share, and new customers get introduced with a special offer.

12. Collaboration Deals: Partner with complementary businesses to offer joint promotions or bundled deals. This approach can expand your reach, introduce your brand to new audiences, and provide unique value to your customers.

13. Buy One, Gift One: Add a philanthropic touch to your promotions. For every item sold, pledge to donate a similar item or a portion of the proceeds to a charitable cause. This goodwill gesture can resonate deeply with customers, aligning their purchase with a sense of purpose. It also plays very well on social media.

14. Limited Edition Products: Offer products or services exclusive to the holiday season. People are looking for the magical during the holidays. Their limited nature can create a buzz and a sense of rarity, driving demand and making them coveted gifts or collectibles.

15. Gift Cards Bonus: Sure, you may already offer gift cards. But enhance your gift card sales by adding a bonus. For instance, with every $50 gift card purchase, offer an additional $5. It can motivate higher spends and introduce new customers to your offerings.

16. Themed Contests: Engage your community with holiday-themed contests. Whether it’s a festive decoration competition or a holiday recipe contest, these can be fun, interactive, and a great way to keep your audience engaged. You do these either in-store or on social media.

17. Loyalty Card Boost: Here’s another way to reward your loyal customers. If you have a loyalty card program, double the loyalty points during the holiday season. This strategy not only encourages more purchases but also speeds up the rewards process for your regulars.

18. Personal Shopping Services: Especially beneficial in sectors like fashion or gifts, offer personal shopping consultations. Helping customers find the perfect gift can enhance their shopping experience and drive sales.

19. Interactive Displays: Brick-and-mortar shops can create captivating window displays that engage passersby, maybe through QR codes offering special deals or augmented reality experiences. Even ecommerce sites can create an interactive landing page special for the holiday season.

20. Gift Guides: Curate lists of suggested gifts tailored to various demographics or interests. This simplifies the shopping process for your customers who may be lost and frustrated. It has the added bonus of strategically highlighting products you want to showcase.

21. Mystery Offers: Surprise and delight are at the heart of the holiday season. Offer mystery discounts or products to keep the excitement alive and customers curious.

22. Tutorials and Workshops: If appropriate for your business, offer holiday-themed workshops or product tutorials. These can be an interactive way to showcase products and their value.

23. Samples: Particularly potent for food or beauty sectors, offer samples either in-store or with online orders. It can lead to future sales as customers get to try before fully investing.

24. Eco-friendly Initiatives: Showcase green or sustainable products, or pledge to reduce waste during the holiday season. This appeals to environmentally-conscious consumers.

25. Last Minute Deals: As the holidays approach, cater to procrastinators with special last-minute offers or expedited shipping.

Getting Ready for Your Holiday Promotions for 2023

Remember, holiday promotions for 2023 are not just about boosting sales, but also about building and nurturing relationships. Tailor these promotions to resonate with your brand ethos and your customer base, ensuring a festive season filled with cheer and success.

If you want some extra fire power to boost your revenues over the holidays, contact Umbrella Xact here or call us at (860) 612-8486for a free consultation.

1. Try Search Box Optimization (SBO)

You are no doubt already employing some SEO methods to drive website traffic. But are you using SBO – search box optimization? This is pretty new, and you have a window to beat your competition to the punch.

When your prospect does a search on Google, Bing or YouTube, autosuggestions appear as they type. It saves users a lot of time to just click on one of those autosuggestions rather than to complete typing their search.

Through SBO, when a user types your reserved keyword, your company or its product keyword appears as an autosuggestion. Usually this is restricted to a local area, but it is possible to do this nationally. And once you reserve a keyword or phrase, your competition can’t use it for as long as you do!

So, say you reserve the keyword “best pizza restaurants in Cincinnati.” When a user types that in search, they begin to get autosuggestions, and those include your link, let’s say you want to show “Joey’s Pizza.”    When the user clicks on that autosuggestion for “Joey’s Pizza” they are taken to a page filled with links only to your website with no competition in sight.

We aren’t recommending that you give up SEO. But adding SBO gives you a huge additional competitive advantage.

2. Use Pay Per Result SEO

It’s a given that any business with a website should be optimizing for search engines. But it’s also important for small businesses to get the most bang for their buck to drive website traffic.  But why pay for something unless it’s successful?

So get the best of both worlds, SEO and a sure bet. With Pay Per Result SEO, you pay only when you rank on the first page of Google.

3. Cater to Voice Search Optimization    

To keep up with how people search today, you need to optimize your content for voice search. Apps and devices like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa and Microsoft Cortana are only going to become more important as time goes on. Businesses cannot afford to ignore their impact.

• 71% of consumers prefer to conduct queries by voice instead of typing.
• 52% of smart speaker owners use their devices on a daily basis.

When people use voice search, their searches are more conversational so you need to research and use longer tail keywords. Voice search looks for succinct answers to questions, so summarize your articles.

4. Feature Educational Content, Events and Courses on Your Website

People need reasons to keep coming back to your website. Return traffic means return business and better search engine rankings. So offer valuable content beyond blog posts. Consider offering training courses, webinars, online events and certifications to help your customers  and to keep them coming back.

5. Be Active on Social Answer Sites

Social media isn’t just for entertainment. People look for answers daily on sites like Quora. Become active giving answers about your industry on sites like Quora, LinkedIn and even Reddit. Not only do they set you up as an expert and drive website traffic but your answers can be shared. They key is to give valuable advice not to just tout your company.

6. Be a Guest on Podcasts

Everyone listens to podcasts these days, and it’s not easy for podcasters to fill their continuing need for interesting guests. Look into podcasts that make sense for your type of business, contact them and offer to be a guest. And of course take the opportunity to send listeners to your website.

7. Showcase Your Expertise

It’s no secret that expertise is attractive to both customers and search engines alike. And yet many businesses don’t take the time to present their organization as filled with experts. Google and other search engines want to give their users search results that are reliable, and they will repay with great rankings when you publish well-organized expert content. To do this, you should use the pillar-cluster model where you publish a long-form overview pillar page and several linked cluster pages that discuss aspects of the bigger topic.

This pillar-cluster organization helps search engines crawl and categorize the content on your site, which improves your search results rankings and is crucial to drive website traffic.

8. Promote Your Content

Don’t just post to your site and forget it. If you have a new service or if you have just published an article that gives your customers valuable information, let them know. You want to give your customers reasons to keep coming back to your website in order to increase conversions and search engine rankings. Email your list, post to social media, make deals with influencers to drop mentions and issue press releases.

9. Engage Beyond Your Website

For optimal success, you need to get your brand out there. People today want to connect with the companies they do business with. The more active you are, the more you push people to your website.

Be active in industry-related Facebook and LinkedIn groups. Start your own LinkedIn group. Post Instagram and TikTok videos. The more brand recognition you have, the more traffic you will drive to your website.

10. Increase Your Video Marketing  

If you aren’t using video marketing to drive website traffic, it’s past time you started. Video is a great way to drive people to your website from social media and advertising, and it attracts attention on your website itself.

• 91% say video marketing has helped them increase traffic.
• 96% of marketers value video as an important part of their marketing strategy.

11. Collaborate

Always be looking for potential partner companies who have your same audience but who are not competitive with you. You can then promote each other’s events, webinars, seminars, products and services to your own customers and greatly increase website traffic for you both. You gain not only from access to each other’s customers but also by the increased credibility of being recommended by a trusted vendor.

12. Write FAQ sections

Writing FAQs on all your product and services pages is a great way to amp up your SEO quickly and easily. You can’t always answer all questions elegantly in your content, or you may want some of the answers to pop out. When you put an FAQ section at the end of a page, it is an immense help in ranking for long-tail keywords.

Want to Drive Website Traffic for Your Business?

There are all kinds of ways to driver traffic to your business’s website. To schedule a free consultation about how Umbrella Xact can help, complete this form or call (860) 612-8486.

Imagine you walk into a library or a bookstore looking for a book about easy recipes for vegan cooking. But you are aghast to find all the books piled up haphazardly on tables and thrown onto shelves without any regard to their topics. Novels are mixed with chemistry books. Biographies are mixed with DIY books. How are you going to find any cookbooks much less vegan cooks or vegan cookbooks with easy recipes?

Now take this into the digital realm. Without a logical website architecture, neither your customers nor search engines will be able to find anything on your site. And a critical part of that website architecture is pillar pages and related, linked cluster pages.

What Are Pillar Pages and Cluster Pages?

A pillar page is a thorough, long-form overview on a topic. It’s the main page about the topic and the starting place for most people. It should give a good grounding for those looking for initial information and should touch on most issues. However, since a pillar page is broad, after people read the pillar page, they may want further information.

That’s why you want to provide various linked cluster pages that go into depth on the many issues broached in the pillar page. It’s important that you interlink cluster and pillar pages.

A cluster page only treats one aspect of the general topic covered on the pillar page. It covers that aspect in  depth but is generally shorter than its related pillar page. Once again, linking from the cluster page to the pillar page and to other related cluster pages is critical.

How Pillar Pages and Clusters Can Help Your Website

Improve the User Experience

The pillar-cluster model makes it easy and fast for your visitors to find what they’re looking for. People expect a logical structure. If they can’t find what they are looking for quickly, they will become frustrated and head over to your competition’s website. It’s important to be consistent in language and formatting across all pillar and cluster articles in order to make the content cohesive and more enjoyable for your audience.

Pillar pages and cluster pages may sometimes be arranged in navigation with the pillar in top navigation and cluster pages in sub-navigation, but need not be. However, all web pages do not appear in navigation (such as blog posts).  They should still be easily accessible through links and by searching on the umbrella topic of the pillar page. So if a page does not fit into navigation, another way to provide access is through calls to actions such as “Read more about [Subtopic]” at the end of each cluster article, pointing back to the pillar page and related cluster articles.

When people have the positive experience of easily finding what they want on your site, they stay longer, they visit more pages and they are much more likely to convert.

Enable Search Engines to Find and Understand Your Site

When people have a good experience on your website, they stay longer and visit more pages. This improves your search engine rankings as well as increases conversions.

Interlinked pillar and cluster content also helps search engine crawlers find your website. And once found, the pillar-cluster organization and in-depth content enables search engines to understand your site’s purpose.

Increase Credibility and Domain Authority

Pillar page and cluster page organization enables you to cover many aspects of a topic in an easily consumable manner. You aren’t just writing an article here and there; you are offering what amounts to a valuable and extensive guide. This goes a long way toward improving your site’s authority.

We cannot stress enough that the purpose of search engines is to provide the best results they can for the user’s search. They want to provide trustworthy, reliable information that is free of errors. Google stands by the concept of E-A-T, that is, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, to determine whether they are providing helpful and valuable information. The pillar-cluster organization feeds into that concept.

Attract Backlinks

Backlinks from other sites are important to building domain authority, improving SEO and rising in search rankings. Because pillar pages are long-form and comprehensive, sites are more likely to link to pillar pages than other content.

Make Interlinking Easier and More Intuitive

The pillar-cluster model naturally encourages internal linking between pages, which not only helps with SEO but also keeps the user engaged for a longer time.

Catch Missing Information

When your content is organized by pillar pages and cluster pages, it’s not only simple to find, but it’s simple to maintain. You can more efficiently review the cluster and see if you are missing information or whether some of your information needs to be updated.

Correctly Use Keywords

Keyword cannibalization arises when multiple pages within a single website vie for identical Google ranking positions. This is what happens when pages on a site are optimized for the same keyword and serve the same search intents. If your information is organized into pillar and cluster content, it is much easier to track your use of keywords and adjust for better SEO.

Rank for Keywords That Are Broad and Competitive

Because the nature of pillar pages is that of topic overviews, they must compete for broader keywords, which are more competitive. The only hope for ranking a page with one of these broad keywords is with a long form article that is linked to child pages that expand on the original page’s content, in other words, a pillar page.

Need Help with Website Development and Pillar Pages?

You have your hands full running your business. Reach out to Umbrella Xact for help with your marketing, content and website development. To schedule a free consultation, complete this form or call (860) 612-8486.

What is Integrated Marketing?

You may be focused on your company, but the rest of the world isn’t. Most people don’t even notice a message until they see it seven times. You want your audience to see your message in several different channels. You want them to feel like it’s everywhere, for example, in ads, in social media, in blog posts, in email.

The most successful businesses use several different channels to reach their audience with a consistent message. The right hand must know what the left hands is doing when you are reaching out to your audience. This integrated marketing approach amplifies your message, making it more likely to resonate with your target audience.

Why is Integrated Marketing Important for Small Business?

As a small business owner, you don’t have the luxury of an infinite budget. Integrated Marketing can be your best friend here. By aligning your marketing efforts under one comprehensive strategy, you avoid duplicating work, increase efficiency, and create a coherent brand image. Plus, it can offer a higher return on investment. When customers see your consistent message across different platforms, it builds trust, making them more likely to choose your business over others. Integrated marketing can also help make your business appear much bigger than it really is.

There are various ways to break down marketing channels. Consider these for your small business.

Social Media

Social media isn’t just for sharing cat videos (though some of us do enjoy that quite a bit). Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok are powerful tools to connect directly with your customers. Post regularly, engage with comments, and share content that showcases your products or services. Consider ways to increase engagement such as running contests to increase user-generated content.

Email Marketing

Yes, email marketing is still alive and well! Keep your current customers loyal by making special offers. Regular newsletters with updates, special offers, and engaging content can also help you maintain an ongoing relationship with your customers. Nurture new customers with suggestions and helpful information. Reach out with email. No need to wait for customers to come to you.

Website, SEO and SBO

Your website is your online storefront. Make sure it’s clean, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly.

Pair this with strong Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices, and you increase the chances of people finding your business when they search online.

Consider newer, lesser known options such as Search Box Optimization (SBO) as a way to grab customer attention before they ever see competitive links.

Content Marketing

Blogs, videos, ebooks, white papers, podcasts, webinars and infographics are just a few forms of content marketing. By providing valuable content, you establish your business as a trusted authority in your field. This encourages people to come back to your site and, ideally, choose your business when they’re ready to make a purchase.

Local Advertising

Don’t overlook the power of local advertising. This includes everything from listing your business on local business directories and review sites, having an up-to-date Google Business Profile and sponsoring local events and teams. Look for ways to create strong connections with your community.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Online Advertising

With PPC, you pay a fee each time someone clicks on your ad. For small businesses, it can be an effective way to ensure your service or product appears at the top of search results even if temporarily. You can have your ads shown to a local audience.  It’s a fast way to get in front of your audience even if your business is new and you have not yet built up organic SEO.

Public Relations (PR) and Media Outreach

Sending press releases about new products or significant company milestones to local media outlets can garner free publicity. Holding local events for your customers also falls into the PR category as does appearing as a speaker at industry conferences.

How to Effectively Integrate Marketing Channels

The most successful businesses use as many marketing channels as possible. But as a budget-conscious small business, you do not need to try to use them all. But you should be using at least three.

How can you select the most effective marketing channels for your business? Here’s a simple strategy:

• Define Your Target Audience: Before you start, know who you want to reach. Create a detailed picture of your ideal customer.
• Set Clear Objectives: What do you want to achieve? More sales, website visits, or perhaps greater brand awareness? Define it.
• Craft a Consistent Message: Regardless of the channel, ensure your message remains consistent.
• Choose Your Channels Wisely: Based on your audience and objectives, select the channels that make the most sense for your business. For example, if you are a B2B business, TikTok may not be the place for you, but LinkedIn almost certainly is.
• Analyze and Adjust: Regularly review your results. Are the chosen channels meeting your objectives? Be prepared to adjust as necessary.
• Budget Wisely: Allocate your budget according to which channels are most effective for your goals and be mindful not to overspend.

Leverage the Power of Integrated Marketing

Integrated Marketing isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a sustainable, effective strategy for small businesses. It involves taking various marketing channels and weaving them together into a single, focused effort. This way, you’re not just throwing darts in the dark. You’re launching a well-planned, coordinated campaign that speaks directly to your audience.

Remember, it’s not about being everywhere at once; it’s about being where your customers are with a consistent and memorable message. To schedule a free consultation about how Umbrella Xact can help, complete this form or call us at 1(860) 612-8486.

What is Emotional Advertising?

In simple terms, emotional advertising is a strategy targeted at making your audience feel something, whether it’s happiness, nostalgia, sympathy, or any other emotion. Instead of focusing on a product’s features or price, emotional ads aim for the heart with the idea that making someone feel is more potent than only making someone think.

But why are feelings so important?  The answer lies in human psychology. Emotions play a pivotal role in our decision-making processes. When we associate positive feelings with a brand or product, we’re more likely to remember it, trust it, and eventually, buy it. Sure, price and a list of specs pay a part. But they are rarely going to make the sale on their own.

The Triggers Behind Emotional Advertising

Storytelling: We all love a good story. From ancient campfires to modern-day Netflix binges, stories are how we relate to the world around us. Ads that tell a story, especially one we can relate to, create a deeper emotional connection.

Music: A moving tune or a catchy jingle can amplify the message of an advertisement. Think about those commercials where the music gets stuck in your head. That’s not an accident.

Relatable Characters: Whether it’s a weary mom who just needs five minutes of peace or a kid getting ready for their first day of school, when we see characters we can relate to, the message resonates more deeply.

Powerful Imagery: A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Stunning visuals can evoke a myriad of emotions, from awe to nostalgia and everything in between.

Tapping into Universal Truths: Some experiences and feelings are almost universal. Ads that highlight these shared human experiences such as the love between parents and children or the joy of achieving a dream strike a chord with a broad audience.

How to Use Emotional Advertising Effectively

Alright, now that we’ve unpacked the what and the why, let’s get to the practical part: how can you harness the power of emotional advertising for your business?

Know Your Audience: To resonate emotionally, you need to know who you’re speaking to. Do some research. What are their hopes, dreams, fears, and desires? Once you understand your audience at a deeper level, crafting a message that resonates becomes easier.

Be Genuine: Today’s consumers are savvy; they can spot a fake from a mile away. So, ensure your emotional messaging comes from an authentic place. Don’t try to manufacture feelings. Focus on the genuine emotions your product or brand evokes.

Use High-Quality Visuals and Sound: Your ad’s content might be top-notch, but if the production quality is lacking, it can fall flat. Investing in high-quality visuals and sound can make a significant difference in the impact of your ad.

Blend Emotion with Information: While emotional advertising is potent, it doesn’t mean you should neglect informational content. Find a balance. After you’ve captured attention with emotion, seal the deal with some key facts or benefits about your product.

Stay Consistent: If you’re trying to build a brand image around specific emotions or values, be consistent. This doesn’t mean every ad needs to be a tear-jerker, but they should align with the emotional core of your brand.

Test and Measure: Like any other strategy, it’s essential to track the effectiveness of your emotional ads. This can be through metrics like brand recall, sales, or engagement. If something isn’t working, tweak it!

A Few Examples of Effective Emotional Advertising

Here are some iconic examples of emotional advertising campaigns that have resonated with audiences worldwide.

Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” Campaign: Over the years, Coca-Cola has positioned itself not just as a beverage but as a symbol of joy, togetherness, and celebration. Their ads, filled with cheerful moments and shared experiences, truly embody the slogan “Open Happiness”.

Dove’s “Real Beauty” Campaign: This campaign showed women of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, challenging traditional beauty standards and promoting self-love and confidence.

Apple’s “Misunderstood” Commercial: This holiday ad shows a teenager seemingly absorbed in his phone, ignoring his family during Christmas festivities. However, in the end, he reveals he’s been creating a heartwarming video of their shared moments. This twist not only surprises but deeply resonates with viewers.

Budweiser’s Clydesdale Commercials: Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercials featuring the bond between the Clydesdale horses and their people are a fan favorite, consistently pulling on heartstrings.

Umbrella Xact Can Help You Reach Your Audience Through Emotional Advertising

In the vast world of advertising, where businesses are shouting to be heard, emotional advertising offers a different path. Instead of shouting louder, it’s about speaking directly to the heart. By understanding and tapping into the emotional triggers of your audience, you can build deeper, more lasting relationships with your customers.

Whether you are interested in Google Ads, Facebook advertising or any other digital advertising possibility, Umbrella Xact can help you reach your customers in a way they will remember. If you would like to schedule a free consultation about effective advertising including emotional advertising for your business, complete this form for a free consultation or call Umbrella Xact at (860) 612-8486.

As a small business owner, tapping into the potential of mobile advertising can be a game-changer for your marketing efforts. Google Ads offers a powerful platform to reach your target audience while they’re on the go. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore six essential strategies to help you effectively leverage Google Ads for mobile advertising and unlock the full potential of this dynamic platform.

1. Start with a Mobile-Friendly Website

Before diving into Google Ads for mobile, first ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. Mobile users expect a seamless and user-friendly experience when browsing websites on their devices. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in search results, so having a responsive design is crucial for your online visibility.

Use Google’s mobile-friendly test to evaluate your website’s performance and review responsive design tips tailored to your specific business goals. A fast, accessible and mobile-optimized website will not only attract more potential customers but also contribute to better ad performance.

2. Upgrade to Expanded Text Ads

Expanded text ads provide more space for your ad text and are specifically designed for optimal performance on mobile devices. These ads allow you to deliver more compelling messages to your target audience, increasing the chances of engagement and conversions. To take advantage of this new format, update your existing text ads to expanded text ads. There’s no cost associated with this upgrade, and it can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your mobile advertising campaigns.

3. Use the Right Ad Assets for Mobile

Ad assets allow you to display additional business information such as addresses, phone numbers or links to specific pages directly in your ads. Using ad assets can make your ads more prominent and appealing to mobile users, ultimately driving more clicks and conversions. Some valuable ad assets for mobile advertising include sitelink assets to drive online sales, location assets to encourage store visits and call assets to facilitate phone calls to your business.

4. Follow Best Practices for Writing Effective Mobile Ads

To connect with potential customers through Google Ads for mobile devices, your ads must be relevant, compelling and informational. Consider the following best practices for writing successful mobile ads:

• Grab attention with compelling headlines: Your headline is the first thing people see, so make it relevant and appealing. Incorporate relevant keywords to immediately capture the audience’s interest.
• Use a strong call-to-action (CTA). Encourage mobile visitors to take action by using strong verbs like “Buy,” “Call Today,” “Order,” “Sign Up” or “Get A Quote.” A clear CTA guides users towards the desired action and increases click-through rates.
• Highlight your unique selling points: Emphasize what makes your business stand out and why you have what customers are looking for. Showcase your key selling points to differentiate yourself from competitors.

5. Set Up Targeting for Mobile

To ensure that your mobile campaigns and ads reach the right audience, add mobile-specific targeting to your Google Ads strategy. Identify keywords that have driven engagement from users on mobile devices and incorporate them into your campaigns. Understanding your audience’s mobile search behavior will enable you to create highly relevant ads and improve your campaign’s overall performance.

6. Bid Higher for Mobile Devices

Increase the visibility of your Google Ads for mobile devices by setting up mobile bid adjustments. Bidding higher for impressions on mobile devices ensures that your ads have a better chance of reaching your target audience when they’re using their smartphones or tablets. This strategic approach can lead to increased ad visibility, more clicks, and ultimately, more conversions from mobile users.

Google Ads for Mobile Devices Are Powerful

Incorporating Google Ads into your mobile advertising strategy is a powerful way to connect with your target audience on their preferred devices and drive business growth. By starting with a mobile-friendly website, upgrading to expanded text ads, using the right ad assets, following best practices for writing effective mobile ads, setting up mobile-specific targeting and bidding higher for mobile devices, you can unlock the full potential of mobile advertising and achieve remarkable results.

Keep in mind that mobile advertising is continually evolving, so staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices is essential for ongoing success. With Google Ads as your ally, you can establish a strong mobile presence, reach new customers, and take your small business to new heights in the digital landscape.

Need Help with Your Google Ads Campaigns?

If you need help with Google Ads for mobile or any of your Google Ads campaigns, contact Umbrella Xact for a free consultation at https://umbrellaxact.com/contact-us/ or call us at 1(860) 612-8486.

1. Provide 24/7 Customer Service

One of the key advantages of AI-powered chatbots is their ability to offer 24/7 customer service. Unlike traditional customer support, chatbots are available all the time, ensuring that your customers can get assistance whenever they need it. This accessibility is particularly vital for small businesses with limited resources for staffing a customer service department throughout the day and night. By promptly addressing customer queries and concerns, chatbots enhance customer satisfaction and foster loyalty to your brand.

2. Improve Efficiency

AI chatbots excel at handling various tasks efficiently, from answering frequently asked questions to processing orders and payments. By automating these processes, chatbots streamline business operations, saving time for both customers and your team. Customers no longer need to wait for a response, and your team can focus on more complex tasks, such as addressing personalized inquiries or resolving more intricate issues. This increased efficiency enhances the overall customer experience, ultimately leading to improved sales and customer retention.

3. Gather Customer Data

AI-powered chatbots have the capability to collect valuable data about your customers, including their preferences and purchasing habits. This data-driven approach allows you to gain deeper insights into your customer base and their buying behavior. By analyzing this data, you can tailor your marketing efforts, offer personalized recommendations, and create targeted promotions. This level of personalization can significantly increase the likelihood of converting potential customers into paying ones, thus boosting sales and revenue

4. Increase Website Traffic

Integrating an AI chatbot into your website can enhance the user experience and increase website traffic. When potential customers visit your site and have questions about your products or services, the chatbot can provide immediate answers, eliminating any friction in the buying process. This convenient and accessible customer support can entice more visitors to explore your site and potentially make a purchase. By increasing website traffic, you broaden your customer base and create more opportunities for sales conversions.

5. Boost Sales

With their ability to offer exceptional customer service, improve efficiency, gather customer data, and increase website traffic, AI-powered chatbots create an environment conducive to sales growth. When customers have positive interactions with chatbots, they are more likely to develop trust in your brand and make a purchase. Additionally, the personalized marketing campaigns enabled by the data collected can further increase conversion rates. As a result, the cumulative effect of these strategies boosts overall sales and revenue.

But on top of all that, if you have your chatbot set up for it, customers can ask questions about a product, and then make the purchase right in the chat window.

6. Save Money

Implementing AI chatbots can also lead to cost savings for small businesses. By automating tasks and providing continuous customer service, chatbots reduce the need for additional staff members. This, in turn, lowers overhead costs and contributes to increased profitability. Small businesses can allocate these saved resources to other critical areas of growth and expansion, further enhancing the business’s overall financial health

Summing Up the Benefits of AI-Powered Chatbots

AI-powered chatbots present a compelling opportunity for small business owners to increase sales and unlock revenue growth. By providing efficient and personalized customer service, optimizing business processes, and utilizing data-driven insights, chatbots create an environment that fosters customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, increased sales conversions.

The cost-saving aspect of automation makes chatbots a wise investment for small businesses looking to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. Embracing AI chatbot technology can be the catalyst for transformative success, allowing small business owners to focus on what truly matters – driving growth and nurturing their businesses in the digital era.

The Umbrella Guarantee

When you get your AI chatbots from Umbrella Xact, we are certain you will increase your conversions by at least 2x to 4x. If you don’t, you don’t pay!

Contact Umbrella Xact for a free consultation at https://umbrellaxact.com/contact-us/ or call us at 1(860) 612-8486.