Instagram As a Retail Tool

Instagram isn’t just an everyday social media for people to share photos of their food and pets. Instagram is a crucial tool for your business. It features a way to shop and sell. The e-commerce feature is just another thing to take advantage of when building a business.

Working with Instagram Stories

Stories are a way to link images on Instagram and set to last for 24 hours. Shopping on Instagram is enabled on the Stories feature as well, when it’s a limited-time sale, for example, a user can post the various products on their own Instagram story. E-commerce features like tags are built into Stories as well so that people can tap or click on tags and quickly make purchases. With the right application and proper marketing, Instagram Stories can be another great vehicle for selling products.

Image is Everything

To boost sales, making a solid investment in beautiful photography will make the company and the products really pop. Instagram is about images, and the vast majority of Instagram users respond with visceral enthusiasm to beautiful or striking photography.

The most successful businesses on Instagram, for example, have enjoyed a boost in business because they invested in creating professional, appealing images. Now, take the unique opportunity to really show the potential customers every angle of the product and boost sales.

Get Noticed

Simply leveraging the ease of Shopping on Instagram is only part of selling on the platform. You’ve still got to get people to pay attention. Judicious use of photography and smart organization of products is one way to achieve this, and if you have the budget, you can pay for advertising on Instagram itself. Because Instagram is owned by Facebook, user data is easily accessible. To benefit from great user metrics, and more precisely target your promotions to a chosen demographic, you can invest in paid advertising to complement your efforts in developing the organic spread of your social media efforts.

Conclusion
Whatever you do, don’t be dull! If you don’t find your product images very appealing, then users on Instagram probably won’t either. Always make sure you present the products in their best light when it comes to shopping on Instagram. With over one billion users every month, Instagram offers vendors one of the greatest e-commerce vehicles available.
Always make sure you present your products in their best light when it comes to shopping on Instagram. With over one billion users every month, Instagram offers vendors one of the greatest e-commerce vehicles available.

How Search Engines Work

Information, e-commerce, advertising, and entertainment are all readily available on the internet. It’s true you search for them, but how exactly do you find them? This article explains how search engines work and how SEO can help your business.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

As a digital marketer, knowing how to get your brand, website, or company found by searchers is a core skill, and understanding how SEO is evolving will keep you at the top of your game. 

Technical Optimization

Completing activities on your site that improve SEO but are not related to content. It often happens behind the scenes. 

On-Page Optimization

The process of ensuring the content on your site is relevant and provides a great user experience. Using a content management system, you can then target the right keywords within your content. Common examples of content management systems include WordPress, Wix, Drupal, Joomla, Magento, Shopify, and Expression Engine.

Off-Page Optimization

A process of improving your site’s search engine rankings outside your website. Link building is a crucial part of building a site’s reputation, which is largely driven by backlinks. However, while SEO changes frequently in small ways, its key principles do not. We can break SEO into three components:

What Happens While Searching?

Search engine algorithms are computer programs that look for clues to give the searcher the exact results they are looking for. Search engines rely on algorithms to find web pages and decide which ones to rank for any given keyword. There are three steps to how search engines work:

1. Crawling

This refers to a search engine’s ability to send out “crawlers” to discover new pages based on the website’s themes and topics. Also, check previously discovered pages to see if there have been any updates or changes made.

2. Indexing

When the crawlers have concluded their search, they will index a website based on its evaluation. Then registration will then store the website within its database, linking it to certain topics. A web page may not be indexed if:

• Not mobile-friendly
• Content is considered duplicate
• Content is considered low value or spammy
• Couldn’t be crawled
• Page or domain lacked inbound links

3. Ranking

 For any given keyword, search engines sort or rank the results to give the searcher the most useful and relevant results they can find. There are more than 200 ranking signals that search engines use to sort and rank content, and they all fit under the three pillars of SEO: technical optimization, on-page optimization, and off-page optimization. Some examples of signals that search engines use to rank web pages are keyword presence in the title tag, the loading speed of the web page, and website reputation.

Digital marketing weaves a complicated web. As the internet continues to grow and we shift further and further into the digital realm, so does that metaphorical web. Digital marketing isn’t just about having a pretty website and calling it a day; it takes work. It takes work to not only maintain your place in this ever-expanding digital landscape but to grow and prosper as well. This task may be both more and less difficult as you would imagine. There are plenty of myths floating around about what it takes to be successful, so it could be confusing to navigate at times, but we are here to put some of those myths to rest.

Myth #1: Cross-platform isn’t necessary

False

Digital marketing and prospering as a business in this modern time require you to have your hands in many pots. You can certainly survive as a business by only focusing on one element of your marketing practice, but you won’t flourish. The more involvement you have in your marketing the better you will succeed. Increasing your reach via mobile, social, and search is the best way to push your brand and products. More engagements equal more customers equals more growth.

Myth #2: Posting content isn’t important

False

Your online presence is more than just your website. Having a fancy good looking website is great, but it is only the beginning. While it is important to have a nice website, what matters is how you are bringing traffic to your page. The creation of content is key. Not just any content, however, but content that is both relevant and visible to whoever your target audience may be. The importance of this can’t be understated, as content marketing is becoming a larger focus for more and more online businesses. But wait – that sounds super overwhelming. Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as it sounds. Just post relevant as regularly as you can, the more the better, and you will see an uptick in traffic. 

Myth #3: Tech is everything

True and False

Yes, technology plays a massive role in digital marketing and continues to grow. But at the end of the day, marketing is still marketing. The digital aspect of everything just speaks to the current landscape and format. Traditional marketing practices and techniques are still the foundation for everything, so it’s important to not view them as separate disciplines. 

Myth #4: One-to-one marketing is impossible

False

It may seem like an elusive goal but one-to-one marketing isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Personalizing your digital marketing can increase your brand’s credibility as the go-to place for your product or service. Knowing your customer and what makes them tick will make this a breeze, which is why analysis and measurement are key. Things as simple as having the recipient’s name in the body of your emails will give your customer a more trustworthy feel for your business. Analyze your online marketing and see what will work for you.

Myth #5: There are too many social platforms to keep up with

True and False

I mean let’s be real, there are a lot of social platforms available right now. Front runners like Facebook (soon to be Meta), Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest are some of the go-to’s for consumers and businesses alike. While the number of platforms may seem overwhelming, it’s important you don’t let it get the best of you. Whether you’re new to the social sites or a seasoned veteran, you are more than capable of prospering from them. Your business’ presence on social media is vital. Each may attract a different clientele, giving you an increased opportunity to boost your audience and gain new followers. These are great resources to have so be sure to take advantage of them.

Digital marketing can be overwhelming sometimes, but don’t let that shy you away from your business’ success. You don’t have to do it alone. Contact WJ Mediagroup for consultation and get your business moving in the right direction today.