Category: SEO

How Digital Marketing is Changing Business

Post author By Kim Mays
Post date July 28, 2023

Although you may not realize it, you are experiencing how digital marketing can change your business everyday. Just look around. How many marketing emails arrive in your inbox, social media ads are seen on your profiles daily, digital billboard displays, blogs and other online content are all examples of digital marketing.

What is Digital Marketing and How Can My Business Leverage it?

To over simplify it, digital marketing is an ever evolving online presence that involves providing quality, useful information to consumers or B2B.

Take this blog for instance. We are writing it to provide our readers with information about what digital marketing is and how it can be used to change business, increase sales and connect with customers.

What’s in it for you as a business you ask? Well, think about it. You are searching online using google search or one of the other search engines and type in “how can digital marketing help my business?”. The search engine then searches for any content that matches your criteria, and ranks them according to relevance to your search. And, BOOM! There we are, looking like the experts that we are, all because we wrote a blog about how digital marketing is changing business!

Is It Really That Easy?

Unfortunately, no it isn’t. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into ranking for search engines, but the benefits of digital marketing and how it can change your business is worth the effort.

Can Digital Marketing Really Impact My Business that Much?

Digital marketing has revolutionized the way businesses connect with their perfect target audience, promote their products or services, and drive growth. By leveraging the power of digital channels, businesses can adapt to evolving consumer behavior, stay relevant in the digital age, and unlock new opportunities for success.

Here are some key ways that digital marketing is changing business:

Increased Reach: Digital marketing helps businesses to reach a global audience easily, which can mean increased visibility and sales. With the internet and various online platforms, businesses can connect with potential customers from different geographic locations, expanding their reach beyond physical boundaries.
Targeted Advertising: Unlike traditional marketing methods, digital marketing enables businesses to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors of

their target audience. This targeted approach helps in delivering personalized and relevant messages to potential customers, increasing the chances of conversion. It can also save you significant advertising costs because it is directed to the right audience at the right time.

3. Cost-Effective: Digital marketing is often a more cost-effective solution compared to traditional marketing methods. Online advertising channels, such as social media, search engine marketing, and email marketing, typically have lower costs and can be optimized for maximum return on investment (ROI). Additionally, some of these channels offer free options, making them perfect for start ups or those on a tight budget.

4. Data-Driven Decision Making: Digital marketing provides businesses with valuable data and insights about customer behavior, preferences, and engagement. Through analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, businesses can gather information about website traffic, conversion rates, customer demographics, and more. This data can be used to make informed decisions, optimize marketing campaigns, and improve overall business strategies. You can’t get this with traditional marketing because it is “blanket advertising” solution designed to reach the masses. It isn’t designed to track conversion, or determine what was effective and what wasn’t.

5. Improved Customer Engagement: Digital marketing provides multiple channels for businesses to engage and interact with their customers. Social media platforms, email marketing, live chats, and online communities allow businesses to have real-time conversations with their target audience. This helps in building relationships, addressing customer concerns, and fostering customer loyalty. Today’s consumers aren’t interested in a sales pitch. They are all about building relationships with real and authentic businesses. Customer interaction is one way digital marketing is changing business.

6. Enhanced Brand Awareness: With the sheer magnitude of digital channels, businesses can significantly increase their brand visibility just by building an online presence. By creating compelling content, utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, and leveraging social media platforms, businesses can improve and increase brand awareness.

7. Flexible Marketing Strategies: Digital marketing offers flexibility in implementing marketing strategies. Unlike traditional marketing methods, digital marketing allows businesses to quickly adapt and modify campaigns based on real-time feedback and data. This enables businesses to respond quickly to competitor activity, changes in the marketplace and consumer preferences..

8. Integration with Offline Channels: Just because digital marketing can change your business, doesn’t mean you should abandon traditional marketing completely. Using Digital and Traditional marketing together can provide your business with seamless integration to create a cohesive customer experience. For example, businesses can drive customers from online platforms to physical stores using location-based targeting or utilize QR codes in their traditional marketing to bridge the gap between digital and physical marketing efforts.

Looking for more tips to help grow your business in this digital age? Read our blog, Know Your Business, Know Your Value.

Tags content marketing, digital marketing, marketing strategy, SEO

Content Marketing Digital Marketing Lead Generation Marketing Strategy SEO

How To Plan Your Marketing For 2023 Now!

Post author By Christy Falkenberg
Post date January 13, 2023

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If you’ve been avoiding taking the time to plan your marketing for 2023, then this is your sign. It’s time to take the plunge.

Studies have shown that businesses that plan their marketing strategies in advance are more likely to achieve greater success than those that do not. By taking the time to plan your marketing strategy for 2023 now, you can set yourself up for success in the coming years.

1: Identify Your Goals

As you begin planning your business’s marketing strategy for 2023, it is important to first identify your organization’s goals. Think about what you want to achieve in the upcoming year and how successful marketing can help you get there. Consider both long-term and short-term goals, and make sure they are realistic yet inspiring. Knowing the direction you want to take your business in will help you create an effective marketing plan that sets you up for success in 2023.

Don't Forget to Identify Your Target Market

Once you have identified your business’s goals, the next step is to figure out who you are targeting. This involves understanding your customer base and understanding their needs. Most small business owners feel like they don’t know how to do this, but it’s easy.

Write a list of your top 10 favourite AND most profitable existing clients. Then list what makes each one the most profitable… (their buying patterns) and what makes them your favourite. When you’re done, compile all of the traits, characteristics, and behaviours into one list and there you have it… Your “perfect client” profile and your target market!

Once you have this information, it is easier to create a marketing strategy that speaks directly to them.

2: Create a marketing strategy

Creating an effective marketing strategy for the year 2023 is essential for any business. A successful plan will involve a thorough understanding of your target audience, the market landscape, and the most effective methods of reaching your customers. It’s important to research relevant trends and technologies to ensure your strategy remains up-to-date with the times. Additionally, setting SMART goals (goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) will help you measure progress and stay organized. Finally, regularly evaluating and adjusting your plan as needed is key for achieving desired results. With a well-thought-out marketing strategy in place, businesses can set themselves up for success in 2023.

Not Sure Where to Start Planning Your Marketing for 2023?

Building the strategy is easier than you think, but it can often feel a little overwhelming. To help you get started, we’ve included an outline and included short descriptions of what should be included in each section of your strategy.

Remember, keep it simple. All you have to do is pull what you know, out of your head and into the strategy. What’s more, what you don’t know, you can Google… you’ll find another great blog like this one to help you along the way!

By taking the time to plan out these critical elements, you can ensure that you can communicate your marketing strategy and share the work with your team to make 2023 your most successful year yet.

Marketing Strategy Outline

I. Executive Summary: A brief overview of the purpose of the strategy, target audience, and expected goals.
II. Market Analysis: A comprehensive analysis of the target market and competitors, including demographics, needs and wants, and purchasing behavior.
III. Target Audience: A detailed description of the target audience, including age, gender, income, interests, and buying habits.
IV. Objectives: Clear and measurable goals of the strategy, such as increased sales or brand awareness.
V. Strategies and Tactics: A list of strategies and tactics to be used to reach the desired objectives.
VI. Budget and Timeline: A detailed budget and timeline for implementation of the strategy.
VII. Evaluation and Adjustment: A plan for monitoring and evaluating the strategy, and adjusting tactics as needed.

3: Choose the Right Business and Marketing Tools when Planning Your Marketing for 2023

When planning your marketing for 2023, it is important to choose the right business and marketing tools that will help you reach your goals. To do this, you should research and understand the various types of tools available, such as social media platforms, email marketing, SEO optimization and more. You should also consider the budget you have for these tools and what type of return on investment you expect. Taking the time to select the right tools for your business can make a big difference in your results.

4: Plan Your Marketing Activities

To ensure your marketing plan for 2023 is successful, it is important to assign tasks to yourself and your team with specific deadlines. By doing this, it will help keep you, and your team on track and motivated to reach the goals outlined in the plan.

Additionally, assigning tasks with deadlines will help hold yourself and your team accountable, as each task can be measured and tracked to determine progress. It’s essential that you set realistic timelines for each task so that you and your team can work within those parameters to reach your goals.

5: Analyze Results

Analyzing your current marketing results is an important step when planning for the future. It’s essential to review your successes, failures, and opportunities for improvement if you want to create a better plan for 2023. Examining your data from previous years can help you identify trends in customer behavior and preferences, which can inform your decisions as you move forward. Additionally, reviewing the effectiveness of different strategies, platforms, and campaigns can provide valuable insights into what works best for your organization. Don’t forget to Google it!

Ultimately, taking the time to analyze your current results can help you create a successful marketing plan for the upcoming year.

6: Adjust Strategies as Needed

Be flexible and adjust your approach as needed. Be sure to assess your goals regularly, and make adjustments if they are not being met. Additionally, you should consider any external factors that could influence your strategies, such as changes in the economy or the emergence of new technologies. By regularly assessing and adjusting your strategies, you can ensure that your 2023 marketing efforts are maximized for success.

7: Track Progress and Evaluate Results

Tracking progress and evaluating results is an important part of any successful marketing plan. Keeping track of the results of your marketing initiatives can help you to identify areas for improvement and make any necessary adjustments to ensure you are achieving the desired outcomes. Evaluating the success of your marketing campaigns can also provide valuable insights into what is working and what isn’t, allowing you to make more informed decisions as you plan your marketing for 2023. By tracking progress and evaluating results, you can ensure that your marketing strategy is on track for success.

8: Stay Focused on Long-Term Goals while Planning Your Marketing for 2023

When planning your marketing strategy for 2023, it is important to focus on the long-term goals that you have set out for your business. Long-term goals give you an idea of where you want to be in the future and allow you to plan for the necessary steps to get there. This can help you create a comprehensive marketing plan that will help your business grow and succeed in the future. By taking a long-term approach to marketing, you will be able to stay focused on achieving your goals and ensure that your business remains successful in the years to come.

Conclusion

Planning your marketing for 2023 will help you reach your goals and grow your business. By following these steps, you can ensure that you are making the most of your time and resources.

Signup and we'll email our handy infograph that breaks down each of these steps for you!

Tags content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, marketing strategy, SEO

SEO Website Design and Development

Why is UI UX Design important?

Post author By Christy Falkenberg
Post date May 2, 2022

You may have heard the word “UI/UX” thrown about a lot in the web development industry, but you may not know what it means other than that it’s an acronym. UI/UX is a web design style that emphasizes both the user interface and the user experience of a website or product. In other words, it’s about how something looks and feels when someone interacts with it—two factors that may make or break your site’s success.

What is UI development?

UI is the look and feel of your website. It’s what decides how easy it is to read your material, how quickly product information can be accessed, and whether users can locate what they’re looking for. Customers are often drawn in by the user interface; if a page takes too long to load or the layout is confusing, they’ll leave and go to another site.

What is UX development?

User Experience (UX) Design is the process of enhancing the overall experience of users when interacting with an application or website in order to meet the goal of providing the highest level of customer satisfaction. It keeps clients in mind while laying the foundation for any application. It primarily focuses on wireframing an application and effectively arranging all of its components and aspects to produce the user flow. Knowing the factors of user experience is critical to the success of your brand and products.

The reason why an efficient UI/UX is essential for business growth

For starters, if you’re paying and having a website maintained, you’ll want to make sure that it looks clean and professional on all devices, giving your brand legitimacy and encouraging people to learn more about what you have to offer.

It is essential to emphasize the users’ satisfaction in order to build the brand value and reputation of the business. Users’ emotions are influenced by design, while their behavior is influenced by UI/UX. It’s an essential component that you can’t afford to overlook or undervalue, no matter how tight your budget or how little your company is. What good is it to have the most beautiful website in the world if no one knows how to use it?

1. Captures the customer’s attention

When customers visit your website, you only have a few seconds to make an impression. The majority of customers will only stay if your website is attractive enough; otherwise, they will leave. When you design your website with your users in mind, you will entice more visitors and encourage them to stay on your site for a longer period of time. The longer they stay, the more likely it is that they will see your offerings and purchase them.

2. Encourages Interaction

You don’t want visitors to stand around doing nothing; instead, you want them to take action and interact with your brand. Written content, videos, images, advertisements, and calls to action are examples of visual elements used in UI/UX design that encourage interaction. Potential customers who interact with your website are one step closer to becoming paying customers.

3. Establish your brand reputation

The first impression is the last impression. Therefore, you need to be careful while building the user experience of your website. It is essential to fully understand your business and the elements that your target users need. This will keep you from making critical UI/UX mistakes and will help you establish your market reputation. This is especially useful if you are a small business. A flawless and interactive UI/UX can aid in the establishment of your brand’s market reputation.

Tags UI, User experience, UX, Web design, Web Development

Digital Marketing Marketing Strategy SEO

What Is SEO and Why Is It So Important?

Post author By Christy Falkenberg
Post date March 30, 2021

Search Engine Optimization—or SEO—refers to maximizing the traffic to your website from search engines like Google or Bing. It is a multi-faceted digital marketing tool that can boost your website’s overall visibility. SEO strategies are important for leveraging your website’s online presence effectively in today’s digital world.

That’s why we’re sharing how SEO works and why it’s important. Firstly though, there are some key elements that help us understand where and how we can utilize SEO effectively.

Keywords

Simply put, keywords are the phrases people type into search engines. The keywords you choose for the backend of your website, your content, or any other written material must be picked with care and thoroughly researched.

Unlike the past, keyword optimization is not the only SEO factor prioritized these days. That’s not to say that it’s not still important! Your keywords still need to have contextual significance and relevance to be effective. This is critical as they are instrumental in bringing the right visitors to your website.

Content

Content is one of the most significant resources for optimizing your SEO. It’s the primary way to inform your target audience and draw them to your website. Content includea anything from images to videos to blogs to the very copy on your webpages.

Your content should be meaningful, relevant, and informative. All of your content has the same goal: to give your target audience a clear picture of why your brand, products, or services will meet their needs or solve their problem. That’s why the visitor is there in the first place!

There are many other important areas where you can leverage SEO but keywords and content are a great starting point.

5 Reasons You Want Good SEO

Now, you might be wondering why SEO is crucial for your brand. In today’s digital age, brands and companies need to take their businesses online. With that shift in service and product delivery, brands and companies need to be found. Good SEO is one of the main ways businesses can achieve that necessary traffic. Here are some of the primary reasons why SEO is important for your business today.

1. Authority

Authority refers to the credibility and reputation of your brand and business. The higher your website is ranked in the search results, the more authority your website will have and the more credible and trustworthy your business will be considered by your target audience.

2. Rankings and Visibility

The primary goal of SEO is to boost and improve your brand’s visibility to potential customers. SEO makes your brand more accessible to the broader audiences, which increases website traffic and the possibility of sales.

3. Relevance

Using the correct SEO increases the relevance of your website for your users. Relevance is an important ingredient for user experience. By using the right keyphrases and tactics, SEO can boost the relevance of your website and get the right info to the right people—namely your target audience!

A user–friendly website makes the consumer experience much more smooth and enjoyable when they can find relevant information at the right time. This establishes your brand’s credibility in the minds of your target audience.

4. Web Traffic

Another important purpose of SEO is to, of course, increase your website traffic. This can only happen when your brand’s search rankings (and consequently its visibility) improve. Drawing in more potential customers provides the opportunity to increase brand awareness, sales, and good connections with prospective customers.

5. Growth

Last but not least, the simple fact of the matter is that good SEO can help you achieve your business goals and your vision for your brand’s success. Yes, SEO can help boost traffic to your website and improve your brand’s visibility. But it can also help establish your brand’s credibility and build trust. That’s the type of growth that is beyond value!

At the end of the day, it is this trust and faith that people have in your brand that will ensure the success of your business and take it to greater heights!

What now?

After understanding the elements and importance of SEO, we’re sure you’re excited to get started on improving your website’s SEO. We can help!

At Stone City Digital, we work with our clients to help them improve their SEO and digital marketing strategies and then help them execute them in an achievable way. Reach out to us and let us help your business grow!

Content Marketing Marketing Strategy SEO Website Design and Development

Your Website: The Key to Recruiting Top Talent?

Post author By Christy Falkenberg
Post date January 15, 2021

When it comes to recruiting top talent, is your website working for you? Is it doing all it can?

By now most companies know their website is key to attracting and connecting with their perfect clients.

But this is 2021.

Your website has the potential to proactively attract, create and keep clients, communicate your corporate culture, AND attract and recruit talent to your business. That’s right. In today’s global digital economy, qualified and enthusiastic talent are screening you through your website.

So, how are you ranking in that area? Is your website attracting those brilliant minds of the future, or do they pass you over and keep looking?

Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. The best time to make a change is now and we’ve provided a few key steps you can take to start leveraging your website to attract the best talent and the best employees now!

Mobile-Friendly Website vs. Unique Mobile Experience

If your website is mobile-friendly, you’re on the right track. But the mobile experience is a different story. Your website must be optimized for the mobile experience to measure up and work for you in attracting great talent as well as great clients.

According to Google, there are 27.8 billion more search queries performed on mobile than on desktop. No, this isn’t an SEO-focused blog, but this one stat alone suggests that you as a business should be thinking about mobile-first.

When a visitor makes their way to your website on their mobile, think about these elements of the user experience: Does it load quickly? Are they able to find what they need quickly? If you’re inviting them to take some action, is it simple and fast enough to warrant their follow through?

If you’re thinking that your website should be more about your potential clients, sure, it could be. But in 2019 Glassdoor reported that 58% of job seekers use their mobile devices to search for jobs. Convinced yet?

Your Careers Webpage and Hiring Process

If you have one, great! Now get that button onto the front page of your website in an easy to find location, and create a small primer section that will attract a click to learn more on your careers page.

This is where you make the case that working for your company is the right career move for them. Like a perfect client, prospective employees are screening you for a sense of what it would be like to work with you and your team.

In addition to the basics (benefits, executive bios, corporate values and mission, company history), offer links to your blog and social media pages, and consider adding video. This could be anything from a virtual tour of the office, or interviews with existing employees about their experience working for the company to really give people a feel for your company culture.

Be as real and open as possible. You want to attract the right employees. Presenting a façade will only disappoint you and the candidates when they get to their interviews, wasting valuable time and energy for everyone.

Your Online Application

Don’t forget mobile friendly and mobile experience are key to this process. Your online application form should be simple, fast loading, and easy to fill out. There’s no need to sacrifice function for simplicity. Use a form that will allow your candidates to upload a cover letter and full resume. So many companies don’t and that’s a missed opportunity.

A cover letter invites your applicant to demonstrate who they are and their unique value to you, their prospective employer.

Not to mention, an online form can give valuable clues about their attention to detail, communication skills, and their overall passion for your industry, business, and product or service.

The Rest of Your Website and Digital Visibility

Your website provides a great first opportunity to gather interesting information from your candidates. But it also tells your candidates a lot about what you do, how you do it, and what separates you from other potential employers.

As you carefully craft your messaging throughout your website, newsletters, blogs, and social media profiles, be sure to include subscribe buttons and social links that bring candidates and your perfect clients to your content. Then, create thoughtful and relevant content regularly across every digital channel you can.

The message you’re sending should drive home the idea that you and your company will provide the most attractive and relevant career opportunity for your candidate. Even when the content you’re putting out on each channel is not directly aimed at your candidates, they will convey these messages when they are relevant to your perfect clients.

Just think about what motivates employees to seek a career change: negative work environments, need for growth, and an opportunity to realize one’s career aspirations. When your website and digital spaces are answering the true questions and needs of prospective clients and employees, you will undoubtedly attract more of the perfect applicants when you post your jobs on social media and job boards.

Of course, we’d love to help you get the most out of your website and digital spaces! It starts with a conversation. Call us today at 613.331.3252.

Tags business essentials, careers, marketing strategy, recruiting, Unique Value Proposition

Content Marketing Digital Marketing Lead Generation Marketing Strategy SEO

5 Things I’ve Learned While Marketing for Startups

Post author By Sebastian Alamillo-Falkenberg
Post date August 24, 2020

I have been a part of many startups including a production company, a real estate website, and a tech company innovating a new type of battery. In that time, I have seen patterns emerge that lead to success and I have seen the red flags of failure over and over again. I want to share the top 5 things that I’ve learned while marketing for startups so that you can see the success you can achieve, as well as some dangerous potholes in an already bumpy road.

1. Build, then market.

Before you even start to think about marketing your brand, you need to build it. The excitement of your new startup might motivate you to start running for new connections, but it is so much harder to run before you’ve even put your shoes on. Some key infrastructures that need to be in place are:

Logo/brand image: Can people tell who you are at a glance?
Uniform social media platforms: Will people feel the same way when visiting your Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and website?
One message: Is there a strong “why” behind your startup that people can grab onto?

2. Become or Hire a Generalist.

SEO, social media, lead generation, content creation, data analysis. There are so many factors to marketing in today’s world. Big firms will tell you that you need to get a SEO specialist to ensure that your website gets the right exposure, or that a social media expert is needed to make sure that you connect with your consumer base.

All aspects of marketing are equally as important to startups in their early stages. Hiring a specialist or only learning how to do one thing well may bring you success for that one aspect of your business, but this will hurt you in the long run because have neglected everything else.

Give your business a strong foundation by generalizing. Doing everything well is important to make sure that when you grow you will be ready to bring on specialists.

3. You Will (Probably) Need to Spend Money.

A lot of marketing can be done for free; SEO, content building, developing a social media presence. But you should not be afraid to spend money on it. If people don’t know about your new product or service, who’s going to be your client?

Designating some of your budget for ad spend is just as important as hiring that new part-time developer because if you don’t have a client base, you won’t have a startup for much longer.

4. Don’t Sell, Engage.

If what you are doing is completely new, people probably won’t even know why they need your product or service. At such an early stage, you have the ability to engage your consumer base and share your central “why” behind what you do.

Help them understand why they need your product or service by explaining the future you are creating. You can do this with:

a promotional video;
blog posts; or
responsive communications on social media.

5. Do Not Underestimate the Importance of Your Community.

Being a part of your local community or the community of your peers makes a big difference to your startup. If you scratch their back, they will do the same for you.

Sponsoring a community event can be a great way to gain exposure and to network with people you may need to know further on in your development. When you are involved in the community of your industry peers who are more established than you, you may be able to learn from their mistakes and seek help or advice from them. Don’t forget that networking is an essential part of marketing.

Tags budget, Communication, community, startups