What to do to have an Effective Heartfelt Video Ad

The industry of digital marketing in Philippines has been an effective tool of advertising a business’ or person’s brand, products and services. Be it social media marketing or the other technical matters like SEO and PPC; we know that digital marketing is something or rather “the thing.” 

If you’d notice, both in digital and traditional marketing, video ads today have a different trip – that is to make the human out of you. Companies or groups usually release these type of video advertisements concerning a particular event like Mother’s day, Father’s day, Valentine’s, Christmas, just to name some of which. 

An example of that is Jollibee’s Valentine special series (Vow, Crush, Date). If you didn’t shed any tear, you know that it silently pained you somewhere inside. Some of the stories just hit you right in your heart, but even if it doesn’t relate to you in any way, there is just something that made you feel and think that that is heartfelt.

So what does it take for an ad to be genuine and compelling?

Have a theme that is relevant 

You should have a theme that is relevant, and it’s not just about the upcoming holidays. It could be something about the reality of life the minority sectors face, or we need to endure. How about having a theme that is pertaining to escaping the harsh realities life is throwing at us? Almost all theme are doable, you just also need to have the other points as well like the next one:

The storyline should be easy to understand (but with a twist!)

Given that your competitors or other groups will also release a video ad probably revolving around the same theme as yours, your storyline is what will make it unique. As much as possible, it should be easy to grasp without comprising its quality. It’s better if you were able to make your audience think beyond what you’ve shown them. 

Aside from giving them the feels and triggering their thoughts, make a good plot twist. However, plot twists are quite overrated already so the one you are thinking of should be unique and unforeseen.

Connect with your target audience

In every publicity materials we release, we should be able to identify which group or sector of the society we are trying to reach out to. Pointing this out will help you narrow down your ideas and plans. The video ad may not be directly about them, but it is something that speaks to them. 

Obviously, great graphics and sounds – photography, cinematography, and music

The technical aspects of video ads are as important as your storyline. We know how short the attention span of people is and not all will spare some of their time in a video ad especially if it is not aesthetically appealing. Your musical scoring should also be great. Remember that what we hear is one of the major factors of what we feel. Try to watch a horror movie and mute the volume then play a different song that is not fit to the genre. You won’t feel scared or shocked with the scenes that will make you jump if it’s not on mute.

Don’t forget that at the end of the day, you aim to market your brand

You just don’t want to make people feel every all feels you want them to feel. Use this marketing strategy in a good way people will remember your name. Like what they say, some people may forget what you did to or for them but not how you make them feel.

There you go! If you think there are other factors we should take a look into, share your thoughts.

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Joining a Conversation is Not Enough in Marketing - Spark It!

Advertising online has been very alluring to companies and brands ever since social media has successfully bridged the gap between continental boundaries.

Brands want to make friends with the people. They want to be the first on a consumer’s list of must-have products, and apparently, the best way to go about this is through social media marketing.

It’s about joining the conversation of what’s currently ‘in.’ A lot of digital marketers work in the dynamic that makes use of the trends to create campaigns that would make the product they’re promoting highly relevant to the market’s needs. In practice, this is highly strategic.

Unfortunately, with the fast-paced change that applies to what are currently trendy, being a participant of a conversation to gain leverage is no longer enough. To keep your substantial market intact and continue attracting customers, providing that unique spark is what matters more.

Sparking a conversation

But how exactly would you provide the spark? Is it about introducing a new topic?

To answer the question, it will help to recall on a good definition of the word spark. WordWeb app defines the term as:

“-a small but noticeable trace of some quality that might become stronger.”

“-a momentary flash of light.”

Creating a spark doesn’t necessarily have to start with something big. It can mean tapping into something small and obvious and adding a creative twist that would captivate the attention of a particular group of people. Below are few tips on how to create a spark to a particular topic.

Find out what people like most about a topic.

Before you can start crafting any marketing campaign, it's crucial that you first have a clear understanding of what makes people tick. What are the trends? What makes these trends highly conversational? How viral is it?

Understanding the nature of the trend makes it easier for you to identify which of the information can be used to promote your brand.

List unique angles that haven't been touched by any brands yet.

As you go on analyzing the trends, it's likely that you'll encounter relevant ads, promotional materials, and information produced by other companies as their unique means of riding the viral topic.

The job of digital marketers is to find a unique angle that hasn't been touched by other companies and use it to their advantage.

List features of your brand that can use the trend as an anchor.

It's imperative for digital marketers to have a profound knowledge of the product they are promoting. However, current campaigns may not necessarily highlight all the great features company products offer. To recalibrate your campaign by using the trend, the best way to start is to once again list down all the features of a product or service and try to incorporate them to the brand new messaging together with the trendy information.

Start a poll, quiz, game, promo or other interactive activities that your customers can participate online – for free!

Last but not the least, try conducting polls and quizzes online and share them on various social media platforms. They should mirror an aspect of what is trendy and somehow encourage your readers or participants to give your product a look without having to sell hard.

Successful digital marketing starts with being able to attract attention from your primary market. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be so easy considering the number of competitors in the field who seek to be noticed by the public. This is why many ventures invest in the service of SEO company in the Philippines to outrank the rest in the search engine.

Be constantly aware of the trend and create compelling copies to make your strategy more efficient. 

Building Authenticity on Your Online Marketing Strategy

Being authentic develops trust. Inauthentic efforts on the other hand evokes fear. This doesn’t just apply to your relationship with the people in your life but also in business. Customers don’t trust companies who do not feel real.

Even the slightest matter that could make you appear inauthentic is already a huge turnoff. If you have lots of competitors in the market, then it’s worse news. They can easily ride on your authenticity and establish their own trustworthiness by positioning their brand on the better end.

Industries such as SEO company in the Philippines need to be constantly in the loop for what is hit in business while at the same time staying true and ethical in their operations.

There are various means on how you can start cementing your authenticity, but it’s important to note that they are not necessarily easy. With the nu9mber of companies who are seeking the attention of your market, standing out may take more time than what you initially projected.

Responding to comments promptly

Skilled online marketers know that responding to comments is necessary to make your followers be aware of your brand’s authenticity. Surely, no one wants to drop a question without expecting for an answer.

When blogging or sharing on social media, for instance, there are times when readers leave their inquiries and clarification on the comments section rather than spend time dropping a private message on your contact details. There are some who go to your contact page, but more choose to go over the comments section.

Not responding or recognizing the issue of a commenter is already a form of response in itself. Remember that people are waiting for your response. And if they don’t hear from you soon, it may leave the impression of being unreliable or untrustworthy. In business, this is the last thing you want to have as an impression.

Another common thing you must observe are those negative reviews and comments made by other people about your post. You can’t impress everyone, and while you may receive lots of praise, it’s not a guarantee that everyone who encounters your content will agree with it.

Yet there are content marketers who choose to delete these negative comments, afraid that they may discourage other buyers from buying their goods. The thing is, instead of doing good for their company’s cause, this may only create a negative image for your brand especially if the commenter decides to spread the word and claim how you deleted his or her comment.

Competent online marketers know the importance of respecting freedom of expression in public commenting, and therefore refrains from removing these negative comments. Rather, they make sure the negatives are being addressed immediately through prompt replies online.

Showing transparency for mistakes

No business is entirely perfect. Even the most established names at present had their own deal of misfortunes in the past. These failures did not stop them from making things better, thus the current popularity the enjoy.

All small and startup companies can learn a thing or two from these companies. Every time you commit mistakes, honesty is imperative. While it’s the communication department’s role to control the flow of information, it wouldn’t hurt to admit one’s mistake to make sure that current and potential clients have a clear view on your side.

Bottom line

Trust is fragile. It is something earned. Staying authentic to your branding by building rapport with your customers is an excellent way to ensure that you keep their trust. However, keeping this is a challenge considering the tough market competition and the dynamic changes happening in the industry. Still, there is no substitute to authenticity in marketing.

If you want to have a long-lasting professional relationship with your buyers, better work on establishing an authentic presence first.

6 Simple and Efficient Ways to Create More Captivating Twitter Posts

Ever since its birth way back 2006, Twitter has been an important avenue for online users to get the hottest news and trends from all over the world.

Despite its apparent decline in popularity, digital marketing agencies still consider the platform as an important avenue to promote products or services. In fact, to some entrepreneurs, Twitter has been a major driving place to attract more customers.

If you’re looking for means to boost your campaigns on this platform, be sure not to miss the following methods!

Create Twitter Polls

You’ll be amazed by how people online love answering polls and random questions. It’s exactly why there’s a drastic increase in random quizzes online that are merely created for entertainment reasons. At a marketing standpoint, polls can be an advantage as means to conduct a subtle survey or random idea gathering for your next campaign.

By creating polls, you are encouraging more people to respond and engage with your brand.

Tweet links to company news, features, events, etc.

Instead of focusing your website content sharing to Facebook alone, why not bring the same campaign on Twitter?

One of the primary reasons why marketers sometimes choose to share links on Facebook is the longer allowable text curation. Twitter only allows 140 characters in maximum, and it’s sometimes difficult to create an introductory copy with that limit.

While this can seem to be a disadvantage, it can also be a good selling point considering the short attention span of online viewers. People are now looking for something concise and relevant. Twitter gives you the opportunity to be direct to the point and craft an appealing message using minimal words.

Create relevant tweets for what’s trendy

There’s no need to speculate or look far. Twitter gives you the trends on its sidebar, and you have the freedom to change the recommendations based on location. If your primary market resides in a different city or country, all you need to do is to modify the trend settings.

Find aspects of your product or service that can be related to the current trends and use the appropriate hashtags.

Mention market influencers you’ve pointed out on your post

Influencers are market leaders. The tricky thing is, they don’t have to be individuals working in the digital marketing industry. They could be entertainment artists, authors, hosts, politicians and even religious leaders who are often linked to a particular brand.

If you happen to use them as your reference, or even mentioned them on your blog post, don’t forget to reference them on your Twitter share using their official accounts. This will not only get the influencer’s attention but also those people who are closely following them.

Use visuals wisely

Regardless of the social media platform, you’re at, the visual appeal has always been the winner.

It’s even more attractive and effective than a powerful plain text copy. If you’ve been in social media for some time, you must have noticed how images and videos are now proliferating in the online portal.

Images capture attention better, so using them on your campaign is an advantage. Just make sure to create a picture that is relevant to your message.

Use Periscope for going live and partner it with proper hashtags

Periscope is a live video streaming app for Android and IOS users and is highly efficient when you have an event and would like to go live.

Using this app would allow you to attract Twitter users to watch your event and engage. With videos now taking the spotlight as the most attractive item for viewers, using it on your Twitter posts will be an advantage.

Digital marketing remains a constant challenge even with the presence of apps and tools to help marketers promote their products. Social media plays a vital role in the overall success of a campaign so using it wisely is imperative. Maximize Twitter and promote your content the right way!

Benefits of Partnering with Niche Influencers for Your Business

Building a solid reputation in business using personal effort alone can be challenging. After all, there are several factors to take care of and very limited time to tackle them all. At some point, you’ll need the aid of other professionals who are skilled in your venture.

This is exactly why some businesses choose to partner with someone else. By having a partner, you are helping yourself reduce cost in some aspects of a marketing campaign while at the same time getting more ideas from the other party.

Third party entities like the social media marketing companies in the Philippines have a very clear understanding of what it takes to succeed in your promotional strategies. If you’re considering the idea of striking a deal with someone for a long-term partnership, then it’s important that you get a sense of the benefits you will get from the agreement.

It helps add to your credibility.

Influencers have been working on building the reputation for some time, and this has rewarded them with a solid number of followers who read their content, buy their products and engage with them on a regular basis.

Partnering with someone who works in the same niche is an excellent opportunity to become known to your target market. If your name or content link is seen on the influencer’s site, then there’s a good chance that its readers would give you a visit.

It allows you to get in touch with more influencers in your niche.

Networking and getting to know more people who work in your field is vital in your overall marketing strategy. While you can network by yourself, asking the help of a notable individual is easier. 

They already have their circle of friends and business partners so there’s a bigger chance of you, finding the right people whom you may want to work with in the future.

It helps boost your social media presence.

Social media is now the most efficient means of connecting with different people. If you want more presence, then building your reputation across various social media platforms is important. 

Partnering with influencers is a good way to gain leverage. With the huge fanbase that they already have in social media, you’ll have a better idea of reaching out to these people and ultimately gain your followers.

Partnering also widens the scope of your content’s reach. With more people sharing and talking about it, you get a better chance of attracting more people to read or consume what you offer.

It’s an excellent learning opportunity to see how you can enhance your marketing strategies.

Apart from the networking benefit, a good partnership gives, it also educates you on certain methods to build your reputation individually. There are lots of things partnership could do on your behalf such as allowing you to observe how an influencer does his marketing and the specific things he avoids when dealing with negative comments and feedback on his current campaign.

There are risks with letting another party know about your projects or even take part in its implementation. However, it’s also a proven fact by many successful businesses that partnership does wonders especially if you have chosen the right person or company to pair up with.

The real challenge is how to find influencers that are willing to work with you. While they already have solid followers, their priority remains to protect their own, and you’ll need to convince them that your business or venture is an asset to help them achieve that.

It must be a mutual relationship with both parties benefitting from the combined effort. Assess your current marketing efforts and see if you’re interested in collaborating.

Tips in Creating an Effective 2017 Content Calendar

The year is almost coming to an end, and as early as now, digital marketing in thePhilippines is already seeing the start of a tougher competition to usher the incoming trends for online marketing for the year 2017.

Lagging behind of the competition is out of the question and if you’re intent on upping your game, then creating a content calendar before 2016 bids goodbye is a good move. Below are tips you can use to get it started.

Begin with a comprehensive spreadsheet.

If it’s about making a calendar for any event or plan, spreadsheet is always a top choice. Aside from its easy navigation and user-friendly interface, it gets the job done. Whether you choose to use Excel or Google Sheets, you can assure that all items you place in different cells can be easily placed under categories and labeled accordingly.

Even if you’re still doing your draft, spreadsheets already give you an easy means to track every change and addition you make so you can finalize it later. When making a calendar for your content plan on 2017, you can start by labeling different cells according to months with corresponding weeks and dates.

Plot holidays and special events.

As soon as you have the skeleton calendar ready, the next thing you must work on is the scheduling of important events. Needless to say, these events should be based on the location of your primary target market. If you’re selling products or services in the United States, then events such as Thanksgiving Day and Fourth of July must be plotted accordingly.

If the reach of your product is localized in one city, then make sure to include the celebrations that the area holds. These events could be a vital window opportunity for you to make your brand more visible.

Identify the specific products or services that are related to each event.

For companies selling different kinds of items, it’s important to understand that particular events could dictate which product would sell best. As soon as you have plotted the important celebrations, the next thing you must focus on is to identify what product should you boost during the event. 

This would help you put your marketing resources to better use and will help you use your time on services that will likely be in demand for a particular season.

Create general topics and subtopics fit for the theme.

Themes more like dictate the general approach you’re likely to use in a campaign so the content must be in line with the theme.

If you’re celebrating a health month, for example, then creating topics such as eco-friendly products, energy efficiency and diet tips for adults would be great picks. Of course, you’ll need to consider the kind of product your company offers. Which part of your items could be related to the theme? What approach will you use?

Of course, topics and subtopics are ultimately subject to change, and you can always revise it along the way.

Consolidate all the topics and specify what type of post would best present it.

As soon as you have the list of potential topics, the next thing you must work on is the type of posts you’ll make. You have several options:

•    Blog articles

•    Infographics

•    Slideshow

•    Images

•    Videos

•    Podcast

You may also combine two kinds in one post or reduce a longer post into a shorter one just like in the case of an article converted to infographics. Identifying the specific post type will help you prepare for each kind of post and will give you enough time to make changes if any.

Every successful campaign has a solid plan behind it, and they all start with a calendar. Start plotting potential posts as early as now and create a solid foundation for your online marketing efforts!

Improving Blog Performance with these 6 Efficient WordPress Plugins!

How many times have you felt disappointed at the weak response a blog post received even if you thought its content was better than the previous one? 

Perhaps the problem isn’t on the quality of content but more on the method you use when promoting it. Over the years, various online marketing agencies have been battling on the best approach when it comes to sharing website content. 

To some, this means sharing blog posts on scattered schedules. Other prefer to share the content in one go. Then some marketers depend mainly on scheduling tools and automatically link all accounts so that one click would immediately share the material to all platforms. 

But while some of these strategies worked for a time, not everything offers a long-term efficiency. Companies and individual bloggers who use WordPress now have a best friend in the face of various plugins that help boost your site’s overall online presence! Take a quick look at this list! 

Better Click to Tweet

If you’re a fan of using Twitter for promoting your content, then this plugin is a must-have. It functions by giving out a pre-constructed tweet that contains the link to your article. Readers just need to click the ‘Tweet’ icon. From there, they could simply add hashtags and additional notes before sharing the content to their followers. 

Social Streams

Showcasing the recent activities in your Twitter and Instagram accounts may be an important part of your strategy. If so, then this plugin will allow you to stream real-time updates on your blog. There is no need to separately provide the links for the different accounts. Just activate the plugin and input the necessary information. You will then see the content of both accounts running.  

Pin It Button 

This is meant for users who love Pinterest and its excellent category or board creation feature. By installing this plugin, your images will have a bigger chance of reaching lots of people (especially Pinterest) users since they can automatically share it to their accounts without necessarily shifting through tabs. 

Shareaholic

There are a default sharing options for WordPress. However,  if you’re looking for a more dynamic-looking social media icons to grace your individual posts, then this plugin could help. By setting this up, readers will have an easy way to share you posts, thus, reaching more people. 

Simple Social Icons

In addition to giving your readers an easy way to share content, you might also want to encourage them to look at your blog’s social pages and accounts. This plugin gets the job done. By installing it on your blog, visitors can just click on the SM icon and be directed to your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media accounts you wish to share. 

Also, you have the freedom to chance the icons’ size, color, and alignment based on your preference. 

Blog2Social 

With the robust number of people using social media on a daily basis, it is imperative for marketers and individual bloggers to share their content on social media. This plugin is created to aid content marketers schedule their posts on various platforms at their chosen time. This also allows them to personalize the curation to fit each social site. 

Plugins might occupy additional space on your blog, but given the amount of convenience they offer, installing the appropriate ones is a worthy bargain. In fact, if you examine authority websites, you will see how the accessories we mentioned above help a lot in letting more people become aware of your content. 

Try them out on your blog and see how well they boost its overall performance!

7 Ways to Maximize your Facebook Marketing Plan this Holiday Season

Christmas is fast approaching, and for businesses, this means an added opportunity to sell better. A lot of people who celebrate the event are likely to purchase goods for their loved ones. Whether it’s for gift-giving or personal use, commercial companies have a significant chance to make their products even more appealing.

Creating this opportunity is a job that internet marketing agencies are tasked to manage. With more people now searching online for potential purchase, there is a significant need to boost one’s marketing strategies on the web.

If you’re eyeing to focus on Facebook marketing, then using the following methods would help increase your visibility on the platform.

Identify the key dates for individual offers

Christmas and other holidays only occur for a particular period, and your strategies must be in perfect timing. Otherwise, you will risk losing the momentum and in turn give your competitors an upper hand.

As early as now, it’s best to start already creating a calendar for the coming event by marking the dates when you plan to make any announcement or special offers. By identifying the dates, it also becomes easier to create relevant materials like hashtags fit for a specific day.

Create outstanding visuals

Sharing text content from blogs is a good thing. But Facebook’s analytics is now seeing images and videos more advantageous compared to any other content. Rather than only sharing an excellent article about your company’s latest offer, it’s best to create an enticing image that would represent it instead. Then, you may just provide the link after a short curation.

Add emotion to your content

Anything that pulls on the heartstrings, inspires, and shocks your audience is a good thing. Content that makes them feel something have higher chances of being more visible since audience are more inclined to share these things with their Facebook friends.

It’s important to sell and make your offer visible. However, make sure you do it with emotion rather than going for the hard-selling technique.

Host special events using Facebook Live

Introducing new products is best done using videos. With Facebook live now accessible for anyone, you can utilize the tool by going live on the optimum time when most of your followers are online. These live segments help you monitor real-life interaction, comments, and inquiries from people who are watching it.

Since videos can be stored on your FB account, you can make some edits after the live show and reshare it with your audience at a later time of the day.

Make Facebook offers

Facebook has a feature that allows you to make an offer. Here, you can specify whether the offer is online or in-store. Marketers are also authorized to be specific on their offer type: Amount off, Percent off, Buy one get one or Free stuff.

Ensure your content’s compatibility with mobile users

A lot of people who are on social media access information through their mobile devices. With this in mind, there should be no reason why you should not create content that fit well with mobile use. Create images that look well when accessed through a phone or tablet. Remember that you only have a few seconds to capture the attention of the people as they scroll down their newsfeed. Be sure your content is catchy enough.

Share a story

We love stories. Individuals might have some differences when it comes to their story preference, but it doesn’t change the fact that we love hearing things that we could easily relate to. Marketing with this idea in mind is a crucial element to making sure you make your message relevant and memorable.

You can share a short and compelling story about your brand or how a particular product came to be. Words from your CEO or other executive members could also bring a powerful message.

Marketing through Facebook may sound easy. After all, the platform is a user-friendly area. However, boosting a campaign also needs a slight tweak from your usual strategy. Know your offers and try out some of the things we have on this list! 

Maximizing the Art of Persuasion Using Social Media

Persuasion, in its very essence, is psychology.

You’re technically addressing the brain and convincing it to believe what you’re saying and do what you’re asking. But the brain is a complex organ. It doesn’t easily get persuaded by minor ads it sees as repetitive.

For marketers, the art of persuasion has been a daily challenge especially now that the market’s perception is easily affected by the barrage of external information it sees. For industries undergoing tough competition such as the mobile app developmentcompanies in the Philippines, being able to persuade clients is vital in their operations.

Below are some proven-effective strategies that would make your persuasion tactic even more efficient!

Bank on testimonials

If there’s something that works just as good as advertising but for free, it would be actual testimonials from your customers. What real clients say builds up your credibility as a company. The more positive feedback you receive, the better.

Facebook has a feature that allows page owners to provide a review option for the public. This way, clients will have an easier way to review your service through star ratings. It will also help prospect customers get an idea of your average satisfaction rate judging from what other people say.

Share awards and recognitions

Any form of recognitions may it be from an academic body, or a government-run organization can impact your credibility as a company.

Do not hesitate to share these awards on your social media sites. Clients who are so keen in hiring reliable services are likely to get in touch with those ventures who have already received special recognitions from trusted award-giving bodies.

Show significant attention to customer service

There’s a reason why big companies such as Uber create a separate Twitter help support account apart from their official one. You can’t just impress everyone. And from time to time, clients will want to get in touch with you to ask for some help.

Creating an easier mechanism to extend your support is vital in building trust and confidence. Twitter is an efficient avenue for this. If you’re mainly promoting on Facebook, then including a ‘Message Now’ link to your official page is a good way to tell your followers that you’ll respond to their inquiries ASAP.

Partner with influential individuals, groups, etc.

There are several ways on how to persuade customers. You can invest on flashy ads on television or online and event distribute quality magazines or brochures. But one technique that remains to be a top method in getting your market’s attention is partnering with popular individuals in the industry.

The clothing business is fond of using this. We often see big stars in the entertainment industry wearing a casual shirt of a specific brand. The image alone can be simple, but its message is clear. If that particular star trusts the brand, then it must be excellent.

Of course, companies need to pay for these models, but few can do it for free especially if they’re an avid fan of your brand.

Display figures and statistics

Social media is now the go-to place for a lot of people when it comes to buying something. But with the variety of choices available for them, it could be difficult to tell which is authentic and which is not.

Including statistics and figures on your social media posts could help customers narrow down their list. If you’ve had a significant sale for the last month, for instance, then getting the numbers and making it into an attractive image or infographics is a good way to encourage others to give the product a try.

People feel the need to conform. In Psychology, we call this social proof. The ability to design a social media strategy that answers this need remains a crucial factor in determining who wins the competition.

Reassess your current strategies and see which areas need a significant boost in persuasion