I s s ue24•S e pt e mbe r / Oc t obe r2017
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Cont e nt s 0 2 MessagefromtheEditor 0 3 10CricalFactorstoSuccessfullyExpandYourBusinessAbroad 0 7 AdvanceAccoun ngMistakesandHowtoAvoidThem 1 1 Essen alTipsforNewSmallBusinessOwners 1 3 WhatWillaCashlessEconomyLookLike? 1 7 ShouldYouHireanInternetMarkengExpert? 1 9 HowtoFindtheRightInfluencerforYourBusiness 2 1 DevelopingaContentMarkengStrategy
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E di t or S a ndr aHi ns he l wood
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L a y out&De s i g n S a ndr aHi ns he l wood& J a s mi neHi ns he l wood
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T he r ewi l l be me swhe nwea r eov e r whe l me da nd r e da ndwi l l br e a kourc ha i ns( ae ra l l wea r ehuma na ndl i f edoe sg e ti nt he wa y ) . Howe v e r , ha v i ngbr ok e nt hec ha i nt hei mpor t a ntt hi ngi st o g e ts t a r t e da g a i na ndnott ol ooka ti ta sf a i l ur e . J us ts t a r ta g a i n whe r ey oua r ea nddowha ty ouc a nt oc a t c huport oc on nuewi t h y ourde s i g na t e dt a s k s . S t a r tane wc ha i n! Asar e s ul tofmi s s i ngt hede a dl i ne sI ha v er e v i e we dt hepr oc e s sof c ompi l i ngt hema g a z i nea ndha v enowi mpl e me nt e da ddiona l s t e ps a ndpr oc e s s e st oma k et hec ompi l aonoft hema g a z i nee a s i e r . T hi s ha si nv ol v e dhowt hea rc l e sa r es e l e c t e d, howt he ya r epr oc e s s e d, whe r ei ma g e sa r efil e de t c . Wha tc a ny oudot oma k ei te a s i e rt ok e e pt ha tc ha i ng oi ng ? T oy ours uc c e s s , S a ndr a
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By Marcel de Long 10 Critical Factors to Successfully Expand Your Business Abroad The world is going global and with that comes the cross-border expansion of businesses. Globalization opens up this opportunity for businesses since shift major shift in economic, financial, and communicational integration developed over the past decades.
Here’s the thing: As a business owner, you’ll have to understand important fundamentals such as:
Target market
Local competition
Market trends
What does that mean?
Legal requirements & procedure
SME and start-ups are presented with opportunities to expand their business activities abroad but it also comes with increased risks. It’s therefore important to understand the impact and compare the pros and cons.
I’ve created a list of 10 critical factors that will guide you in the right direction. It’s not a “secret sauce” that will ensure a 100% success rate when moving overseas, however, it will definitely help you out greatly to get to that point.
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Let’s dive right in.
1) Dive Deep In order to fully understand the effect of expanding before moving your business abroad, it’s important to research the following topics:
Create potential customer groups by performing a market segmentation analysis in order to determine whether there’s reasonable demand for your product or service. Compare the actual performance of competitors against potential and desired performance with a gap analysis.
Identify your strengths, weaknesses, potential opportunities and threats.
Identify market size and research future market growth possibilities.
And ask yourself: How long will it take to meet targeted results?
2) Business Plan Market conditions are unique and influenced by the economies, cultures, and governments. It’s essential to conduct research and create a solid business plan with a firm local strategy. Take the following into consideration:
Short and long-term strategy.
Establish company goals & objectives.
Determine what company structure you want to establish.
Create an annual budget.
Set realistic goals to measure growth and progress.
Set realistic deadlines.
3) Product & Service In order to launch your product or service properly, make sure to take the required steps based on the gap analysis results.
Research government rules and regulations, make sure it meets all these requirements. Avoid any translation missteps - local language transition might be required. Register for a trademark of patent rights if applicable. Some Asian countries are notoriously known for stealing business ideas. Maintain high-quality standards. Establish a local network. From where are you going to sell and ship your product?
4) Organizational Structure Are you planning to hire local employees? Be aware of cultural differences, language barriers, customs, etc. What works in your home country doesn’t necessarily work overseas. Learn how to motivate and engage your employees. When employees feel valued and appreciated, they tend to return the favor.
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Re-evaluate your current organizational structure.
Accordingly design policies and procedures.
Establish benefit and compensation systems to motivate employees.
Match your technological infrastructure to the local infrastructure.
5) Marketing Strategy Establish a team with local market entry strategy experience and local marketing experience. How to address the sales department, value proposition, pricing etc. How are you going to differentiate yourself from local competitors? Make sure your marketing & sales team will focus on:
hiring a local agency to handle any legal issues. Generally speaking, it does indeed cost you some money but it’ll probably be worth it. You’ll have to consider:
7) Tax Local corporate tax policies and procedures can be very tricky. Ensure timely reporting of required documentation to the local governmental institutions. You might want to outsource all accounting work if possible. What to keep in mind:
What type of sales model to implement.
What sales methodology to implement.
Introduce parent brand or creation of new brand focused on local customers.
Establish Key Point Indicators.
Compare your potential pricing model to local competition and economic environment.
6) Legal Awareness Try to avoid any legal risks in the new country of entry. Usually, dealing with legal procedures and regulations can be very timeconsuming. Outweigh the pros and cons of
Local industry agreements, regulations, and certifications. Rules and regulations in regards to immigration, customs, import & export, and work-permits. Sort company records and governance.
Local bank account. Establish risk & compliance plan. Research money transfer costs and through what channel. Research local VAT & profit tax, or any other tax regulation that might be applicable.
8) Insurance You’ll need to think about 2 different insurance plans here:
Individual insurance
Business insurance
When you decide to relocate abroad, alone or with your family, get an international
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health insurance plan before flying out. Whether you’ll need to consider a business insurance depends on the business you’re in. Are you going to hire employees? Do you need an office space? Are you planning to sell products that - when wrongly used - might cause harm to someone? These are all things to consider when you determine to get a business insurance plan. It’s often a small investment but it can save you a lot of hassle and potential headaches.
10) Local Businesses Networking is important in any business industry. Perhaps even more so when you’re expanding your business cross-border. Local relationships can be extremely valuable and a great resource to have. Networking can open door to new opportunities, partnerships or alliances. Don’t underestimate the importance of a local network! Especially in a country where you’re not fluent in the language. Let’s quickly rewind...
9) Financial Plan One of the last steps is financial planning. It’s recommended to develop a short and longterm financial plan. Create a budget plan for at least 3-5 years in combination with the earlier established business plan. What else? Don’t just simply create a financial plan and leave it at that. It’s important to keep updating it and reviewing your performance and KPI’s. It’s a great reference and source to improve your business.
As mentioned earlier, this article isn’t supposed to be your golden ticket to success. Expanding your business abroad is not an easy task and you’ll need a strong backbone to overcome unanticipated disappointments. Then why should you do it? There are no big rewards without big risks. It’s common for many business owners that expanding your business abroad means opening the door to opportunities. The aim of this guide is to shed light on the details and the prevention of missing out on important aspects. I hope it will do just that.
About the Author Marcel de Jong is a lead content writer for Now Health, digital nomad, and entrepreneur living in South East Asia for the past 10 years. In his free time, he loves to do outdoor sports such as wakeboarding, climbing, or snowboarding. If not, you might catch him hanging out with his friends or travel and enjoy the beautiful countries in Asia.
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Advanced Accounting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Accounting mistakes are common amongst those who manage their own finances. Accounting is a complex role, so without formal training, it would be unwise to expect yourself to be able to deal with every financial conundrum that comes your way.
working your way backwards from there. However, the maths often become skewed and people find themselves charging less than they need to be, resulting in earnings below what they expected.
Previously, I’ve talked about some basic accounting mistakes that people often make and how to avoid them. However, there are plenty more issues to be covered. Today, we take a deeper look at accounting mistakes, tackling some more advanced problems and offering much-needed solutions.
Let’s say you decided-upon salary is £40k pre-tax. You then divide that by the average number of working hours in a year, which is 1950 (52 weeks x 37.5 hours a week worked). That gives you a rate of £20.51 per hour. But if you charge £20.51, you will not earn £40k. Why?
Setting an Hourly Rate Calculating how much you are going to charge as a self-employed worker is an incredibly important task — and it’s a figure almost everyone gets wrong.
Because you will not work 1950 hours a year. Unlike traditional employment, being self-employed does not account for things like sick days, holiday leave, pensions or training time.
Usually, the process starts with working out how much you should be earning and
Thus, you need to take these types of time drains into account.
Here’s the problem.
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For example, on average, 9% of the working year is spent on holiday time, which means your rate must rise by 9% if you want to experience the same amount of holiday as somebody who is employed in the classic sense. You’ll then need to account for sick days (45 days per year), pension costs (around 10% -15% of your income) and time spent honing your skills through extra training. If we stick to the £40k figure, we’re now looking at an hourly rate of roughly £25. You may be apprehensive about raising your rate, but you fail to adjust your hourly rate to include non-working hours, you’ll find you either have to work excessively to earn a living, or that’ll you’ll never achieve the earnings you desire. Taking into account holiday, sick leave and pension alone, if you were to actually charge £20.51 per hour and work a normal working pattern, you’d actually be pulling in a figure far closer to £30k.
Claiming Unclaimable Business Expenses Claiming business expenses is something all self-employed individuals must do if they hope to keep their running costs as low and efficient as possible. Yet, it’s not an area of tax management than many people fully understand. There are some common misconceptions about claimable expenses that, if indulged, can have serious ramifications for your financial health. It’s important to know what you can claim on your tax return and
it is also important to know what you can’t. There are a number of expenses new businesses believe to be claimable, only to find out later they will see tax relief for them. The result is the business is handed a tax bill higher than they were anticipating. So what expenses are we talking about? Client entertainment is a big one. Many business owners are under the impression that taking a customer out to lunch for a business meeting is claimable on tax returns, but in actual fact, you won’t see a shred of money back for your food. Similar to this is client gifts, like welcome packages or rewards. Other common things people believe are claimable expenses but actually aren’t are legal fees, donations that are made outside of gift-aid, asset depreciation and fines or penalties. Before you start expecting tax relief for expenses, invest time in making sure they are actually claimable.
Charging Customer Expenses Often in the service industry, you will incur some sort of expense for carrying out work. For example, you might use up resources on a job, or you may need to travel. It isn’t something that we like to do, charging a business when they’ve already paid for our services, but it isn’t on you to cover the costs of a job you’ve been hired to perform. Let’s say as a public speaker you have to travel to a conference. Paying for your own
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entrance fees, accommodation and travel is almost certainly going to make the job unprofitable, so you must claim those expenses back. However, far too many people are claiming back costs incorrectly, leading to increased tax bills that could ruin their profit margins.
This method will work, but only to a point. You can only claim so much on a tax return. Eventually, if you incur regular expenses during your self-employed work, you’ll find you are unable to claim back any more costs. That is when you really start to feel the pressure of this extra ‘income’.
Before we can look at solutions, what exactly is the mistake?
Another problem that occurs is if you are paying VAT.
What happens is this. You pay for hotels, flights, etc. You then send an invoice for costs and the business who hired you for your services pays those costs. Let’s say you’ve been paid £1000 for the job itself and the expenses come to £500. All sounds good so far — except it isn’t.
What you may end up doing is applying VAT only to your service, not the expenses incurred. However, as this counts as your income, you will pay VAT on both. Be sure to charge VAT for your service and any costs associated with your work. Otherwise, you’ll be paying extra tax charges.
Now you are paid £1500 by the business to cover costs and expenses. When you file your tax return, you aren’t paying tax on £1000 worth of income; you are paying it on £1500. Over time, this significantly increases the amount of tax you are going to be charged. I know what you are thinking: “I’ll just claim the costs as expenses on my tax return”.
The bottom line is this: don’t pay extra tax for providing your services. Ensure your clients cover all costs of expenses, either by charging extra on your invoice to cover appropriate taxes or by having them pay expenses out of their own business accounts, removing any impact it might have on your tax bill.
About the Author Russell Smith, a chartered accountant from Leeds, is a small business owner and finance expert. Russell is passionate about using his knowledge of finance to help small business owners, and he regularly blogs about important updates, as well as on good accounting practice. www.rsaccountancy.co.uk | Follow on Twitter
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Essential Tips for New Small Business Owners By Carl Turner
When you open up a new business for the first time, you may feel overwhelmed by all the suggestions that you find yourself receiving from family, friends, and even virtual strangers. However, there are some evergreen tenets that you should adhere to for success, regardless of the type of business that you are going into. Here are some of those essential tips and wise words of advice for business owners: Complement your Skills If you want to get things done accurately and quickly in all aspects of your business, it is best to either partner with those of a complementary skillset, or to hire those that can fill in the blanks where you cannot. It is a fatal mistake made by several new entrepreneurs to believe that they can do everything, and do it all well. By bringing in someone to do what you lack expertise in, you are ensuring that all facets of your business are
being serviced with the time and expertise that is required to get off the ground and succeed over the long term. Compromise in the Beginning So now that you have your own company, you may be thinking that it won’t hurt anything to get your office decorated and furnished with the most exquisite chairs and tables, but this is yet another common business mistake. If you are lucky enough to have capital, whether from an investor, or from your own savings, you should put that money into making your business profitable. Marketing and customer acquisition should always come first, as well as fulfilling existing orders. Saving on Advertising If you can, you should even cut advertising costs by relying on social media, blogging, and basic ideas like car wrapping. Do anything you can to save money early on. For example, Chris’s Stuff, a Southern California eCommerce
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company developed a flourishing wine accessory business based on word of mouth and strategic promotion to wineries and gift shops nationwide. Delegate and Automate As a business owner, you may feel that you have to do everything in order to make certain that all facets of the company meet your expectations. However, having an assistant take care of throwaway tasks that anyone could do, can free you up to focus on the aspects of your business that you personally excel at. You may believe that hiring an assistant or secretary will break the bank, but there are plenty of “virtual” assistant companies online that offer help on a contractual basis. These freelancers cost little, since they are not required to have vacations or medical insurance, so they are worth looking into if you find that you have an overflowing to-do list. Automation Saves Time Whatever you can’t delegate, yet can’t afford to waste time working on, such as social media statuses and blog posts, can be uploaded far in advance and automated to post within a certain time frame. Many apps and websites take care of these tasks for you. If you don’t have time to write statuses or web content, you can hire a freelance copywriter to beef up your site, run your blog, and keep tabs on your social media streams. Know your Edge Over Competitors When you start a business in a very competitive space, it is extremely important to acknowledge anything that you do that gives you any kind of edge over competitors. Anything that makes you different, such as
focusing on a particular niche within your industry, therefore making you an expert, or offering coupons or discounts that competing companies wouldn’t even consider, gives customers a reason to prefer your brand of goods and services over others. Filling a Need After all, the purpose of being in business for you is to make money, but your purpose for existence in your leads’ minds is to solve a particular problem that they are having. For example, if you need a dress for a wedding, a boutique can solve that issue for you, or if you have mice in your home, an exterminator is only as good as his ability to take care of this problem. However, since there are many companies occupying each space, each would have to prove their worth by offering some type of edge over other proprietors. You may have heard these tried and true adages before, but they are often repeated for good reasons. Following these essential tips will keep your business afloat and, in time, help it to flourish. So, take the time to commit these ideas to memory before you open those proverbial doors for the first time. About the Author
Carl Turner has worked as a consultant in the startup world for the past 20 years. He is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs make their business dreams a reality, and he’s done so for countless clients all over the United States. When he’s not flying to meet with his newest client, he lives the normal family life at his home in Los Angeles, California.
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What Will a Cashless Economy Look Like? These days, technology influences every
and sell. Instead, monetary transactions
element of our lives. And although we
are purely digital, using credit cards or
have seamlessly merged technology into
mobile payment gateways that connect to
modern life, most of us hang on to the old
the buyer’s bank account.
-fashioned methods, too, as a backup in
In some economies, even credit cards
case something goes wrong. But as the
could become inadequate. Amazon
tech sector advances, one critical element
opened a grocery store in its native Seattle
of our analog days may go the way of the
that could be a prototype for the cashless
dinosaurs: paper money.
economy; customers tap their cellphones on a turnstile as they enter, and sensors
What is A Cashless Economy?
throughout the store notice the items
Professionals in the tech and banking
they pick up and automatically charge
sectors have been advocating for a
their Amazon accounts. No checkout lines,
cashless economy for years. The concept
no cashiers - what the industry-leading
is self-explanatory: a cashless economy is
online retailer dubs “just walk-out
one that doesn’t use paper money to buy
technology.”
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India and Nigeria: Cashless in Action
payments can get access to discounts on
While nearly all countries have adopted
fuel, transportation, and even insurance.
some cashless elements (like credit cards
People also hope that going cashless will
and payment gateways like PayPal), only
help Indian citizens learn to better
two nations have really taken steps to
manage their finances, as they will have
make their economy totally digital. India
access to online banking and apps that
and Nigeria rank among the most
encourage proper budgeting.
populous nations in the world (number two and seven, respectively). They’re also
Nigeria started going cashless in 2012,
global leaders when it comes to
with an effort to modernize the nation’s
developing nations with populations that
commerce and become a global
rely heavily on mobile devices, making
economic leader by 2020. While the
them excellent candidates for testing out
nation has yet to become completely
cashless economy on a massive scale.
cashless, advocates for the Cash-less Nigeria Project have reported many
In India, going cashless has been a matter
benefits since adopting this digital
of incentive and public policy. In 2016,
market. Most notably, Nigerian officials
Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced
have noted a decrease in thefts, as fewer
a mandate to repeal most Rupee notes in
citizens frequent ATMs and fewer
favor of cashless payment methods, a
businesses carry cash.
stark and dramatic shift for one of the world’s most cash-centric economies.
The Drawbacks of A Cashless World
However, the benefits for citizens who
While a cashless economy may seem like
welcome the new, cashless Indian
the way of the future, it does come with
economy may see significant benefits.
several drawbacks that even the fiercest
According to the India’s Economic Times,
advocates cannot yet assuage.
merchants and customers who use mobile
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Digital transactions are incredibly difficult
Because digital transactions are always
for countries with low Internet
recorded (by the credit card company or
penetration, or with a large elderly
the payment app), a customer’s
population that is resistant to new
purchases are always on record. Of
technology. India has struggled to
course, this can be harmless - or an
overcome this hurdle, as only 38% of their
excellent tool for spotting suspicious
population has access to the Internet, and
purchases - but Shay argues that it may
only 26% has access to smartphones. All
not be long before “the health records of
the payment gateways in the world will be
an overweight individual would [make
useless if you don’t have a populous that
sure] any sugary drink purchase they
can use them.
make through a credit or debit card is declined.”
And tech-phobic octogenarians are not the only ones resisting the cashless
The pros and cons of a cashless economy
economy; many voices in the tech sector
are still up for debate, but the technology
worry that a fully digital marketplace
will continue to grow, develop, and shape
would be ripe for identity theft. Scott A.
the future of commerce.
Shay, the chairman of Signature Bank, warned CNBC that a cashless economy could lead be “a huge threat to our freedom” in 2013. About the Author Arthur Jones is a freelance writer and financial consultant. As a former venture capitalist, Arthur enjoys helping business owners from around the world seize their company’s potential in a constantly evolving digital marketplace.
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Focusonyourgoal s , notyourf ear .
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Planning and strategizing
Should You Hire an Internet Marketing Expert? You might have been a successful business marketer for many years but marketing a business online is a whole new game. There are a lot of new things to learn and understand for running a business online like which platform to use for building a website and which hosting service to select. Even if you have got a grasp on how technology impacts your online store there comes a new marketing trend. Doing business online requires continuous technology update and keeping up with the marketing trend and audience pulse. Sometimes it gets overwhelming to control and learn all these aspects along with managing an online business. Hiring an internet marketing expert is a valid reason at this point to help you run your business smoothly. Here are the top reasons to hire an internet marketing expert for both who are old and new to the field of e-commerce.
Hiring an expert will give you lot of knowledge on the current trends and technology. You get help for planning the business, marketing analysis, how to stay ahead of competitors, and identify the niche market. They will be of great use to set targets and make strategies to achieve them. You can get some information on to how to stay within the budget by utilizing new technology using an internet marketing expert. He can give you advice and build strategies around customer retention and increase the online traffic. Instead of stretching your objectives he focuses on short-term goals which can benefit in the long run. Second set of eyes Working alone can be a daunting task and the list of things to do is endless when you want to run a successful online business. When you do all the work by yourself you get blind sighted to the obvious mistakes you make in a marketing plan. It is when you need a fresh set of eyes to look into your plans and goals and point out the mistakes. Hiring an expert helps you to stay focused on your objectives and helps you to look at the big picture when you complete your goals. Technical aspects If you are a novice when it comes to technology after running the business for years then an internet expert is your best hope to give a boost to your online store. SEO is the most technical aspect many marketers are hoping to master. Optimizing your website will not only make your website look clean but also directs a lot of traffic. Keyword and URL optimization will
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help the search engines to easily crawl your website and list it in the top of search engine result pages. An internet expert sheds light as to which tools work best for your site and enlightens you on all the technical jargon. Analytics Everyone needs to evaluate how their business is going on and which strategies are bringing money into the business. You can track anything you want with Google analytics right from customer shopping behavior to return on the investment. An internet expert has the necessary skill set when it comes to marketing the products and services. Analytics helps to track how much traffic your website is getting and how much lead generation is being done. Utilizing these tools and his expertise will give you an edge over your competitors and leads you to be ahead of the marketing game. Social media marketing This opens a whole new area of marketing and gives good prospects to run an online business. An expert sheds some light on to how social media platforms work and what content needs to be posted to attract the new audience. Optimizing image sizes and posting visuals with relevant content is a huge task when it comes to keeping up with the trends in digital marketing. Mobile optimization is an essential aspect of the digital marketing. Websites which have responsive designs and are mobile friendly are ranked better by search engines. An expert comes in handy for giving valuable suggestions on how to advertise properly.
Brand building Audience remembers the brand which serves them with authentic products and gives good customer service. Learn how to connect with the audience on a personal level and collect their feedback to know how your brand is perceived by them. Building a brand and gaining customer trust requires a lot of attention and time. Experts come with skills to lift your brand reputation and design campaigns to market your products. Corporate branding should be given focus by running email marketing strategies and updating websites regularly with fresh content. Hire a certified internet expert to give you competent advice on internet marketing. Do not indulge in bad SEO practices as it may have a negative impact on the visibility of the website. Hire an expert to manage only a few technical aspects for a short period if you are low on budget and make the best use of their expertise and skills.
About the Author Nikhil Aggrawal: I'm currently working as Content Manager with SEO Experts India. I have a great passion for digital marketing and I help small and medium-sized businesses improve their online presence and grow their revenue by formulating effective digital marketing strategies for them. Apart from Digital Marketing, I have a keen interest in Entrepreneurship, Online Reputation Management, Quality Link Building Tech Consultancy, etc.
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achieve with the campaign. It could be to help brand awareness, increase sales etc. That way it would be easy to find an influencer who can give you exactly what you need.
2. Take a peek below the surface
How to Find the Right Influencer for Your Business By Sara Miteva Influencer marketing is currently the biggest trend in marketing and is growing rapidly. Companies have started using it big time and influencer platforms are on the rise. It is a way to get a huge audience which probably would be much harder to get to through other channels. If you have decided to give it a try, here are some tips that could help you find the perfect influencer for your brand.
1. Know exactly what you want In order for the collaboration to be successful, you need to give your influencer the precise task you want them to complete and the conditions that go with it. To give them the task, you should first decide what is it that you want to
Don’t just look at how many followers they have, or how their photos look like. Analyze their posts, define the way they communicate and see if it fits your needs. Know your values and look for them in a person. Think of the person you would like, what are their hobbies and what kind of habits do they have. Remember that this person should be the face, but also the character of your brand.
3. Check engagement If you want to have a successful influencer marketing campaign, your influencer has to have an interested audience ready to receive. Check if they like, comment and share the content the influencer posts and what their reactions are. That way you will know how respected the influencer is and how firm their relationship with their audience is.
4. Pick an influencer who is consistent You don’t want to pick someone who posts once every few months. A good influencer should know their frequency of posting and stick to it. Their followers get
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used to seeing their content and expect it on regular basis. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if they post frequently if the content isn’t of good quality. The audience is smart and knows how to recognize content without value or authenticity.
5. Give what you’re expecting to get If you want your influencer to give you passion, you have to give your best yourself. Show them you’re excited about the campaign to get them excited. Focus on building a firm relationship. If your influencer likes you, that can get you a good reputation on long terms.
6. Use influencer platforms Nowadays it’s very easy to get the perfect person to represent you, thanks to influencer platforms. They have databases of influencer of any fields, like cooking, fashion, sports etc. Communication is also much easier since everything is defined. Most influencer platforms have high quality control and can offer many tools and metrics. Some also offer to measure your ROI.
7. Beware of false influencers There are many so-called “influencers” with purchased followers and false metrics. Be careful not to come across someone like this because your product will never get to the right audience and you will only waste your money.
8. Give them creative freedom Yes, you need to give them the description of their job, but you also have to make sure you leave them enough space for their own creativity and personal mark to the campaign. Influencers have their own style and tone and you can’t take that away from them. The campaign will be much more successful if you let them see your product or service through their own eyes. Influence marketing is not easy and maintaining a good relationship with an influencer is a thing that requires attention and devotion. But if that still keeps you in doubt, just think of the reputation you could get if an influencer starts suggesting to their audience that your brand is good. Don’t get left behind, this is the future.
About the Author Sara Miteva is a content writer at Valoso Hub. She’s passionate about influencer marketing and chatbots. At the moment she is studying marketing at the Faculty of Economics in Skopje, Macedonia.
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Developing A Content Marketing Strategy For Your Business By Chris Giarratana The most successful companies have a content strategy because it provides a framework businesses can use to guide their online marketing efforts. Instead of worrying about what content to produce next, your company can rely on a content strategy and stop worrying about what to create.
your business align the content you produce with your business goals because you will know what to create, how to optimize it, and how to publish it based on your target audience. A successful content marketing approach can help your company:
Even more, a content strategy will help
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1.
Grow new recognition
2.
Build trust by providing valuable information that helps prospects and clients make a decision
3. 4.
5.
Influence product taste and boost sales Generate more quality leads by forcing traffic to your site (bear in mind that search engines benefit sites with quality content) Educate prospects and clients, providing the foundation for a wholesome lead-nurturing program.
Now that we talked about the importance of a content strategy let’s take a look at the top five steps you need to take to create a profitable online marketing plan with a content strategy today!
1. Determine Objectives for Content Marketing Since your business is spending time and money on producing content, you should be able to define the things you want to see come from your online marketing strategy. What value does your business want from improved online marketing?
your industry, market, customer, and competition, some of the goals that many companies look for are:
Generate qualified leads
Boost sales
Teach and keep clients informed
Build brand loyalty
Before you start creating a content strategy, be sure to identify the goals and objectives you want to accomplish. These factors will influence how you set up your marketing strategy and the types of content you produce!
2. Establish Your Organization's Unique Selling Proposition (USP) The primary goal of your content strategy is to create content that is relevant to your customers. The only way you can produce great content is if you know what makes your company different from your competitors. This difference will make your business unique, and your customers will love your message and marketing approach.
Do you want to make more sales, generate more leads, focus on a particular customer segment? The reasons that your business is marketing depends on the end goals that you want to achieve.
Looking at your top competitors' products/services and their internet content advertising efforts will help decide what sets your business apart from them and prospective customers would select your products/services more than theirs. This measure includes:
While the objectives will change based on
Reviewing competitors' sites and
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printed content
Conducting an internet search engine optimization (Search Engine Optimization) assessment includes looking at the top SEO keywords you and your competitors use, reviewing social media accounts, and finding content gaps that you can use to grow your online presence.
3. Define Your Audiences The types of content you produce, and the message you portray will vary based on your target audience. User personas mimic the audiences for your content advertising efforts. Know them just like you understand your family.
track different metrics. The only way to find the content that is working for you is to monitor and measure. Different channels use different metrics to determine the success of content, so be sure to track the right metrics based on your content strategy. This step determines all of the performance metrics you will use to measure and continually optimize your editorial content. Based on what content has been measured, these metrics could include:
Open speeds
Click-through rates
Deciding client demographics (e.g., age, sex, income level, geography)
Conversion rates
Assessing customer psychographics (e.g., values, interests, lifestyles)
Downloads
Total earnings
Developing consumer personas (e.g., literary personalities representing chief target market groups to help determine what guides their choices to Select your products/services)
Internet page views
SEO positions
Facebook enjoys
Twitter retweets
Conducting keyword investigation, which can be employed to discover what info has been consumed on your market perpendicular.
Pinterest pins
4. Discover & Setup Your Analytics To Measure Success The only way to tell what is working and what is not in your content strategy is to track various metrics. You can use Google Analytics and other metrics programs to
5. Produce a Content Execution & Amplification Plan Now that you know who you are marketing to, the message you want to use, and the metrics you will track you can begin creating excellent content. Your content strategy needs to be based around delivering great content for your customers.
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Use personas and client talks to understand the needs and wants of your customers. Where and how do your customers go to find answers to their questions? Understand that, depending upon the funnel phase, clients will need different kinds of content. Create a content calendar to help your marketing team work through the various elements to find the ideal content to post. Then develop a system to create, optimize, and publish content that will increase conversions for your business. Your content strategy revolves around your customer and is fueled by highquality content, so a plan to develop and publish your content is necessary if you want a successful online marketing strategy!
Content marketing goes beyond simply making a sale. It involves establishing an ongoing, relevant conversation with your intended audience and producing content your prospects and customers want and need -- when they're not in the buying cycle. Use the above tips to build a content strategy that will make your business more money by attracting more qualified leads no matter what industry you are in!
About the Author Chris is an Orlando Digital Marketing Consultant with 13 years of experience helping small business owners make more money. He focuses on SEO strategies, freelance copywriting, and PPC management services to help his clients grow and reach their goals!
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