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Email: Still the Best Tool for Growing Your Business

The post Email: Still the Best Tool for Growing Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog . It’s tempting to focus on social media instead of email for marketing when you’re starting a business. Social media is cool and fun, and email seems kind of stale by comparison. It’s also a lot easier to set up social media accounts than it is to build and manage an email list. But email still rules in terms of return on marketing investment, so if you want to grow your business, email needs to be part of your marketing mix. Why Does Email Marketing Still Work? One reason email rules is because it reaches virtually everyone. Sure, there are plenty of people on social media, but not everyone uses the same platforms, and some folks don’t use social media at all. But do you know anyone who doesn’t use email? Do you ever go more than 24 hours without checking your email? Probably not—and email is email, no matter which operating system or email service provider you use. What about Gen Z? Do teenagers even use email anymore? According to a study by OptinMonster , 75% of teenagers consider email part of their daily lives. The study also found that overall, 99% of people check their email every day. Fifty-eight percent check it first thing in the morning, a much higher number than the 14% who check social media first. And it’s not just that people check their email. People engage with marketing emails at a much higher rate than they do social media posts, according to the study. The average open rate for marketing emails is more than 22% and the click-through rate is 3.7%. The average engagement rate for posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is less than 0.6%. Why does email get so much more engagement? In part, recipients are more likely to see email than social posts. An email sits in the inbox until it’s opened or dismissed. But a post may not even show up in someone’s feed, and if it does, it competes with a steady stream of other posts, comments, and links to other media. Broad reach and high engagement contribute to email’s high ROI — $38 for each dollar spent on email marketing , according to the Direct Marketing Association. Over the past ten years, email has outperformed every other marketing channel, from search and social to affiliate programs and display ads. 7 Steps to Making Email Work for Your Business Okay, so you’re convinced that email is a worthwhile part of your small business marketing program. How do you begin? Here are the basic steps. 1. Choose your email marketing software Building and growing a list is not a DIY affair. You’ll want to choose a service like Constant Contact to manage list opt-ins, segment your list, create campaigns, and measure their effectiveness. You can sign up for a free trial to test the features before you choose a subscription plan. 2. Get people to join your list Make your list worth joining. Your opt-in forms should offer something your target audience wants, whether that’s a coupon code, a free gift, a free report to help them solve a problem, or something else appealing. It’s also a good idea to let people know how often you email. People sometimes avoid joining lists because they’re worried about getting emails every day. Your offer can overcome that objection. For example, “Get 10% off your first purchase. Sign up for our weekly email list.” 3. Take care of your list Not every customer who joins your list will be interested in the same offers, products, or services. That’s why it’s important to segment your list. Rather than send one-size-fits-all messages to every list member, you can create separate messages for each segment, to deliver what they’re looking for. Segmentation is important for personalizing offers, which we’ll get to in a bit. Constant Contact lets you refine your list segments by automatically grouping your list based on the links they click in your emails, so your information is always evolving and up to date. Make opting out easy. One-click opt out is the gold standard. It keeps your list members from getting frustrated and reporting your messages as spam, which can reduce your delivery rates. 4. Connect with customers in their inbox Your messages will get more opens, click-throughs, and conversions if they deliver what your list members want. You can personalize offers to segments and even individual customers based on their past purchases, seasonal needs, and the links they’ve clicked on in your previous emails. For example, send preview-sale emails in March to your customers who buy new swimsuits every spring. Or send your premium dog food customers monthly offers for the newest treats and toys. Customers who clicked on your bespoke bags in your last campaign can get a follow up offer on those items later in the week. You can add graphics and videos to your emails to keep readers’ eyes on the page and to showcase your products. Be sure to test your multimedia messages before you send them to make sure they’ll look good in your customers’ inboxes. 5. Test your campaigns Use your email marketing service’s A/B testing tools to see which subject lines, content, and offers get the best responses from your list members. Use that information to make your next campaigns more effective. 6. Monitor your metrics Watch your email service dashboard for each campaign to see how many opens, clicks, and unsubscribes it gets. You’ll also see the peak days and times for email opens so you can time your future campaigns more precisely. Link your email service to your Google Analytics dashboard so you can track visitors who arrive from your email links, what types of devices they use to visit, and where they go on your site, and whether they convert. 7. Refine and repeat Email marketing is a process that should get easier and more effective over time. Use your data from past campaigns, your dashboards, and feedback from your customers to continuously improve your messaging—and your ROI. Ready to grow your business? Get started with Constant Contact today. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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How to Use Facebook Ads to Grow Your Email List in 10 Simple Steps

The post How to Use Facebook Ads to Grow Your Email List in 10 Simple Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog . Email marketing is one of the most effective types of digital marketing. Two-thirds of consumers say they’ve made a purchase because of an email they received, and the average ROI of email marketing is $38 for every $1 spent. But for your business to see results like that, you need an email list. And not one you bought. Paying for an email list isn’t a good way to reach people who will actually care about what you have to say. And according to spam laws, it’s also illegal. What you need is an email list you built — one that’s made up of people who chose to opt in because they care about what you have to say. Email subscribers that chose you are extremely valuable, but hard to find. To build and grow a strong email list, you need a strategy for promoting it. There are a lot of smart techniques you can use to get more email subscribers . A good option that many overlook is using Facebook ads. 5 Benefits of Using Facebook Ads to Grow Your Email List Obviously Facebook ads have a cost in both time and money, so you want to be confident this is a tactic that makes sense for you. Facebook advertising has some strong benefits to offer. 1. It’s where your audience is. “Go where your audience is” is marketing 101. Today, that means Facebook. Even with recent scandals that put the social media network in the headlines, tons of people use Facebook.  The platform has over 2 billion monthly active users and many of those users are on there every day.  In the U.S., the average person spends 40 minutes a day on Facebook. Facebook is such a ubiquitous part of our lives at this point that no matter who your target audience is, you can trust that they’re hanging out on Facebook. 2. Facebook doesn’t offer much organic reach. Anyone can create a Facebook page for their business for free, so you may figure you should just work on reaching your audience on the platform that way.  But over the last couple of years, Facebook has made changes that make it increasingly difficult for business pages to gain followers and for the followers they have to see those updates. That doesn’t mean it’s a waste to create a Facebook page and work on building followers to it, but on its own, that won’t get you very far. To really gain traction on Facebook now, you have to pay for ads. 3. You can reach people in your target audience. If that’s the bad news, this is the good news. By paying for Facebook exposure, you tap into the company’s powerful targeting options. Your ad won’t show up indiscriminately for all of Facebook’s billions of users, you can specify who you want to see it based on factors like demographic categories, interests, and behaviors. 4. You can reach them at the right moment. The marketing ideal is reaching the right person with the right message at the right moment. Facebook’s targeting options include controlling the timing of when you reach people. If the items you sell would make great gifts, you can target your ads to people with an anniversary coming up. If your business blog provides travel tips, you can target people currently planning a vacation. While the goal of an email list is to build an ongoing relationship with potential customers, you can still increase sign ups by ensuring your promotion shows up right when people will most value what you offer. 5. Remarketing converts people who already showed an interest in your brand. A lot of people will interact with your brand multiple times before they make the decision to sign up for your email list. If someone visits your website and never sees mention of you again, they’re likely to forget you completely. But with remarketing, you can serve ads to the people that have already interacted with your brand in some capacity, increasing the chance that they’ll take the step of signing up for your email list before you slip from their memory. How to Use Facebook Ads to Grow Your Email List in 10 Steps Now that you know the why, here are a few tips to help with the how. 1. Develop an email marketing plan. Before you get to the point of using Facebook advertising to grow your list, you need to figure out what you’re going to do with your email list . There’s no point in working to gain subscribers if you’re not ready to follow that up with work to keep them. Create a plan for the types of emails you’ll send out and the schedule you’ll send them out on. You may want to create an email newsletter that goes out every month, or plan on sending a weekly update that includes links to the new content on your site. You can send out more directly promotional emails as well, but don’t make that all you ever do.  Promotional emails work best if the recipient is already familiar with your brand and has a reason to trust you. Your other emails will help build that trust. 2. Select “Lead Generation” as your campaign objective. One of the first steps to creating an ad in Facebook is choosing your campaign objective. After you click the Create button , you’ll see a few options you can choose from in a dropdown menu. Since your primary goal is building an email list, select “Lead Generation.” This ensures that the options Facebook provides as you go through the steps of creating your ads will match up with your goal of collecting email addresses from people in your target audience. 3. Clarify your target audience. One of the next steps is to set up your audience targeting. Facebook allows advertisers to narrow down who will see your ads based on wide variety of factors, including:      Geographic location      Age range      Gender      The language(s) they speak      Education level      Relationship status      The type of work they do      Their financial status      Whether they have kids or not      Their political preferences      Their interests      Their online behaviors      Whether they’ve interacted with you before Think about what your ideal customer looks like. Use this step to clarify who you want to reach with your ads so you get the most bang for your buck. 4. Choose what information to collect. You definitely want to collect email addresses — that’s the main goal here, after all. But Facebook will let you choose additional information to ask for in your ads, such as:   First name   Last name   City   Phone number   Date of birth   Job title   Company name On the one hand, the more information you ask for, the better you’ll be able to provide relevant emails to your new subscribers. On the other hand, adding more required fields for people to fill in before signing up may lose you some leads who decide it’s too much work. Most businesses should be fine sticking with name and email address, only add the others if they’ll help you create more useful, segmented lists. 5. Set your budget. Figure out what you can afford. You can set a maximum daily budget, and select whether to bid manually on your ads or let Facebook do automatic bidding for you. Automatic bidding is generally the best choice for anyone that’s not already an expert in PPC advertising . Keep in mind that the more you’re able to spend, the more people will see and interact with your ads. Try not to be too stingy here, while staying within a budget you can handle. 6. Create eye-catching images for your ads. Now it’s time to create the ads themselves. Social media is a visual medium, so make sure you include an image (or several) in your ad that will attract your audience’s attention, while still being relevant to what you’re offering. 7. Write copy that emphasizes the benefits of subscribing. An image can’t tell the whole story, so couple it with words that tell your audience what they’ll get out of subscribing to your email list. Make sure you focus on the benefits to them. It may be accurate that signing up means learning more about your brand and products, but that won’t convince most people. What problems will your emails help them solve? How will you make their lives easier or better? 8. Include a clear call to action (CTA). You want them to take an action, so tell them what to do. You can test out different language to use here, but be sure you explicitly ask people to “Sign up today” or “Subscribe now.” Facebook will provide some options for you to choose from here. 9. Set up a relevant email drip campaign for new subscribers. Every time someone subscribes, it’s a win! But it could quickly turn into a loss if you don’t manage to keep them. One of the best ways to convince new subscribers that you’re worth sticking with is to set up a series of welcome emails that automatically go out to new subscribers. Use these initial emails to explain to your subscribers what they can expect from your email list, make the case for why it’s worth sticking around, and provide them a reward of some sort for joining (such as a discount offer or exclusive content). Providing value right away while the decision to sign up is still fresh in their memory will give you the chance to establish the relationship and show them you’re worth their time. 10. Test and tweak. You won’t know what will get results until you get started. Pay attention to your analytics — both for Facebook and your emails — to learn what’s working. Test out different images, copy, and CTAs to see what your audience responds to best. Over time, you’ll learn more about your target audience — what they respond to and what they care about. That knowledge will enable you to run better ads, strengthen your email marketing campaigns, and provide better service to your customers. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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How to Use Facebook Messenger for eCommerce

The post How to Use Facebook Messenger for eCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog . Facebook Messenger is no longer just an app you can use to message your friends. Now it’s an app where you can chat with your friends and shop at the exact same time. That’s right, Facebook Messenger is also a powerful tool for eCommerce. According to Statista, there are now 1.3 billion monthly active Facebook Messenger users worldwide. That’s a ton of users that you can interact with. But, don’t open Facebook Messenger and start messaging your followers at random, telling them to buy your products. Not only is that time consuming, but it’s also ineffective — and weird. So, how do you use Facebook Messenger successfully to impress your customers and grow your sales? Here’s how to use Facebook Messenger for eCommerce. 1. Convenient Customer Support With the advances in technology we have today, customers are no longer interested in calling your customer service line or waiting hours for you to answer a customer support email. In fact, 12% of Americans rate their number one frustration with customer service as “lack of speed”. They want lightning fast customer service and support, so your business needs to adapt. Luckily, with Facebook Messenger you can provide quick and convenient customer support to consumers around the clock, no matter where they are. But this doesn’t mean you need to be sitting around, Facebook Messenger app open, and answering customer support questions all day, you can use a Facebook Messenger chatbot to handle customer service for you. With a tool like Many Chat , you can easily create a Facebook Messenger chatbot to answer all of your customers’ pressing questions and concerns — without having to touch a line of code. With this tool, not only can users access your customer support right from Facebook, but you can also add a Facebook Messenger Customer Chat window to your eCommerce website . This way, all of your customers will be aware of your convenient customer support option, not just the ones who follow you on Facebook. 2. Generate Leads and Deliver Content Most users that visit your website will not buy anything from you on their first visit. They might be checking out what you have to offer, comparing prices, or reading reviews before they make the decision to purchase. So, instead of risking losing these visitors, take the opportunity to turn them into a lead. A highly effective way to turn consumers into leads is by offering a free gift like a coupon or exclusive content through an email signup optin on your website. But, for those users who would prefer not to get content via email, you can send their content via Facebook Messenger instead.   OptinMonster , a powerful lead generation tool for your website, now has a chatbot integration feature that allows you to do just that: Simply connect your OptinMonster account with your ManyChat account and you can drag and drop the Facebook Messenger block right inside your optin form. The users who previously would avoid signing up for your email list have a whole new avenue available to them, giving you more opportunity to generate leads. 3. Personalized Recommendations Personalization is important in eCommerce. In fact, 33% of customers who abandoned a business relationship last year did so because personalization was lacking. Luckily though, you can use Facebook Messenger to enhance personalization for your customers too. By using a chatbot for Facebook Messenger, you can give personalized recommendations to give your customers exactly what they want. That will not only impress them, but boost your sales as well. Take a look at this example from Lego. Their chatbot, named Ralph, can help customers find the perfect products by asking questions such as where they’re located , how old they are, budget, and interests. This added level of personalization will help prime your potential customers for checkout and make their overall shopping experience with your online store a breeze. 4. Offer Easy Checkout What if customers didn’t even have to visit your website to make a purchase? After all, the more options your online store provides for your customers to buy, the more opportunity you have to boost sales. Well, you can make that dream a reality with Facebook Messenger. With Facebook Messenger chatbots you’re not limited to giving users product recommendations; you can actually allow users to browse products and checkout right from the app. This option eliminates steps for the consumer; instead of asking them to visit your site to make the purchase, the checkout button is right there, making them more likely to take action. You can even send abandoned cart messages via Facebook Messenger that include a checkout button. So, no more losing out on potential sales. Consider adding urgency with a message like “Last chance to claim this offer!” to increase conversions even more. Your customers will love having the ability to shop at your online store without ever having to leave the Facebook Messenger app. Boost eCommerce Sales with Facebook Messenger Your target audience is probably on Facebook multiple times throughout the day — aren’t we all? Why shouldn’t your eCommerce business be there too? Don’t miss out on using this powerful social media messaging app for your eCommerce business. When you use Facebook Messenger for your eCommerce business you can increase customer satisfaction, generate a ton more leads, and boost your sales. Plus, it’s easy and affordable too. Start turning your instant messaging conversations into sales today. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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How to Use Customer Reviews to Get New Business

The post How to Use Customer Reviews to Get New Business appeared first on HostGator Blog . Social proof is a critical part of any freelancer’s marketing strategy. In particular, customer reviews can offer an inside look at your products and services. By using customer reviews, you can enhance the purchasing experience. Clients appreciate reading your current customers’ comments, assessing star ratings on specific items, and seeing product photos. It’s time to put your work and raving reviews in the spotlight. Here are five ways to take advantage of customer reviews. 1. Add Reviews to Your Website As a freelancer, you juggle multiple responsibilities. You’re fulfilling orders, invoicing customers, and sorting out paperwork. So, when it comes to finding new customers, you may feel overwhelmed and ready to give up. However, you can simplify the process by leveraging customer reviews on your website. You can place reviews on your home, portfolio, or testimonial pages. Give the reviews some flair by adding custom graphics or inserting block quotes. Business Casual Copywriting displays reviews in a prominent area of its website. The graphic adds to the brand’s personality and the review highlights what matters most to future customers. It’s essential to exhibit reviews that talk about your company’s services and business practices. You want buyers to get a holistic perspective about your brand. For example, if you sell animation services, you want reviews discussing your awesome designs and how you offer a speedy turnaround time. Are you ready to update your website with new reviews? Check out HostGator’s shared web hosting for an easy and affordable experience. 2. Mention Reviews in Paid Ads Most freelancers cringe at the thought of paid advertising because it can be complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. You can ease your worries by using reviews to acquire new customers. The tangled web of paid advertising focuses on one primary thing—your copywriting. How you communicate with clients impacts the brand interaction. If your copy is too edgy, you could upset your customer base. But if your words are too vague, you may not attract any new buyers. A good starting point is to insert customer reviews in your ads. Unique testimonials provide a different viewpoint and will separate your brand from other competitors.   When venturing into paid ads, you’ll want to conduct lots of experiments on your copy. Chad Kearns , vice president of client solutions at Portent, elaborates about ad testing: “Writing great ad copy doesn’t always happen on your first try. By implementing ad tests you can see what resonates and what doesn’t with your customers. Continuing to test to find what works best is how you continue to find and write great PPC ads as your account management continues.” So, shake up your paid ad copy with customer reviews. It’s another avenue to present your solopreneur portfolio. 3. Share Reviews on Social Media Social media is a prime location to publicize customer satisfaction. According to Sprout Social , “social networks are the biggest source of inspiration for consumer purchases with 37% of consumers finding purchase inspiration through the channel.” Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, you have an opportunity to invite more customers to your creative services. You can post exact quotes from customers and tag them in the comments. With their permission, you might consider including a photo of the individual to add credibility to their words. You can make it a part of your weekly schedule and post only reviews on a specific day. Below, email marketer Val Geisler posts a tweet highlighting praise from an individual in her Email Masters Incubator program. This message brings authenticity to her work and her clients’ success. You also could repost reviews directly from customers, so they appear in your timeline for followers to read. And don’t shy away from negative reviews. By replying to unfavorable posts, you show potential customers your commitment to offering high-quality service. It’s a win-win! 4. Spotlight Reviews in Online Community Groups Community groups have become an integral part of online culture, especially with the launch of tools like Slack. People are congregating to talk about everything from sports to pets. With a freelancing business, online community groups can serve as an effective way to meet new partners and introduce your services to potential customers. Start engaging with groups tailored to your customers’ needs. For instance, if you sell customized designer bracelets, you may want to join high-end fashion groups. When showcasing your solopreneur portfolio, you don’t need the highest customer rating or an overly bodacious review. Taral Patel , a digital marketer, explains: “They are not always a perfect rating either, and can contain suggestions and even negative feedback. However, all word of mouth advertising has value – good or bad – and it is important for brands to resist the urge to edit comments and reviews left by customer.” Moreover, be honest in your online community groups. Share real reviews from real customers. If someone has questions, give them a truthful response and your goals for improving the overall customer experience. 5. Include Reviews in Promotional Emails Constant Contact reports that 80% of professionals credit email marketing as a driver of customer acquisition and retention. When executed correctly, email becomes a powerful source to connect and persuade customers. Using email to deliver customer reviews is a sound strategy for communicating with your subscribers. Rather than tooting your own horn, you have a chance to send social proof to their inboxes. Reforge Growth Series adds multiple customer reviews to its emails to help boost trust about its program. These testimonials speak directly to what the individual learned and how they felt. Avoid overloading your promotional emails with unnecessary information. The clutter will only distract your recipients and cause them not to redeem your promotion. You also can reduce unnecessary spam to your email account with domain privacy . Promotional emails are practical for encouraging current customers to submit reviews. You can entice them to participate by giving away a cool swag bag or inviting them to a VIP customer event. Email marketing is a direct line of communication to your audience. Customer reviews improve the conversations. Earn More Customers with Reviews Customer reviews can connect your small business with more customers. Whether the reviews live on social media or paid ads, it’s a chance to tout your accolades. Need help getting more reviews for your business? check out our guides for small business owners and solopreneurs . Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading

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High clicks to my site, but no one uses the tool advertised

I advertise my website on Facebook and Google, and they say I’ve now received almost 10,000 clicks to my site. However, not a single one of… | Read the rest of http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1762202&goto=newpost Continue reading

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