Author: A.H.

A.H. Sagar is Operations Manager at CYONWO, a company that committed to helping businesses with online marketing. A.H. has more than 6+ years of experience in digital marketing. His expertise helps him to be a professional blogger and he loves to share his ideas, tips, tricks and information by blogging.

Local Marketing

Open an online store: The top 10 free eCommerce platforms

Post author By A.H.
Post date May 8, 2019
No Comments on Open an online store: The top 10 free eCommerce platforms

How to open an online store? Which eCommerce platform to choose?

Opening an online store is an essential activity for any company. The incessant growth of the e-commerce phenomenon, in fact, knows no limits with a net + 15% in the last two years.

The data recorded by the latest Nielsen research leaves no room for doubt: consumers prefer online purchases. 95% of users active on the web have made at least one online purchase. The eCommerce market playing in billions. What are the reasons for this development? Simple: ultra-fast shipments, 24-hour purchase options and excellent payment authentication systems. Opening an online store is therefore an inevitable step for any successful business.

But how can you open an online store? There are two different methods that require different financial resources …

Create an eCommerce customized with a programmer or a web agency

It is possible to create a totally personalized e-commerce site designed specifically for your business, but it is also very expensive. To process an eCommerce of this type it is, in fact, necessary to contact a computer programmer or a web-agency. These professionals will be able to create tailor-made web pages that perfectly meet the merchant’s requests. A job of this type undoubtedly requires a considerable economic expenditure. Established company brands or already well-positioned online businesses can afford to choose this type of route without any problem. Smaller and more novice companies with the online world need other cheaper solutions.

Choose an open source online platform

For small businesses or companies still outside the eCommerce world, the ideal solution to open an online store is simple: use an open source platform. In fact, there are many online platforms with free registration used to create online stores. These softwares allow you to design eCommerce immediately from operational in a simple and intuitive way, without the need to contact third parties. The unique feature of open source platforms is the public use license. In other words, anyone who downloads this software will have the opportunity to view and modify the source code in a free and simplified way. The open source platform allows the merchant to independently create his eCommerce, most of the time with the help of a qualified support team 24/7.

Open an online store: The 10 best open source eCommerce platforms

Open source platforms are the cheapest and easiest way to start an eCommerce store, let’s find out which are the top 10 online:

1) WooCommerce – WordPress

WooCommerce is one of the most used eCommerce platforms and is a plug-in of the well-known WordPress CMS. To install WooCommerce it will therefore be necessary to use WordPress and use the appropriate free plug-in. This platform is great for small / medium sized businesses. The use is intuitive and simple: in about half a day it is possible to learn to use the software in a discreet and complete way. WooCommerce is also excellent for SEO purposes. With the “Yoast” feature of WordPress, it will be possible to optimize all the contents of your site for search engines. The extreme simplicity of WooCommerce could constitute a limit: the graphics and templates are not very elaborate. A unique feature of this software is the ability to have a blog integrated into your online store. WooCommerce is able to easily connect to all payment gateways. PayPal is provided as the primary payment method while all payments are accepted e-wallets such as Amazon Pay or Apple Pay. A final winning feature of this platform is the enormous availability of the support team. Opening an online store with WooCommerce is therefore recommended for novice businesses with e-commerce that are already using WordPress.

2) Shopify

Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms on the market: there are currently around 200,000 online stores that use Shopify. This platform is simple and intuitive, excellent for novice stores. Shopify provides many free templates with excellent graphics and a wide range of customization options. Shopify technical assistance is among the most prepared in the sector and is available 24 hours a day with email and direct chat. The platform has several plug-ins – free or paid – that can optimize your online store. Through plug-ins it is possible to create a dual language store, optimize the quality of the images and still manage the contents from a SEO perspective. Another particularly positive feature of Shopify concerns the level of security. All check-out and payment procedures are previously set according to high standards of online security. Shopify is undoubtedly one of the most recommended solutions for every reality that faces the ecommerce world.

3) Magento

Magento is the most complete open source platform available online, but not the simplest. A detailed and sometimes complex software, able to professionally manage any eCommerce. If Shopify or WooCommerce are limited platforms, but easy to use, Magento is the exact opposite. This platform works like a CMS and has countless advanced features. Magento is perfectly integrated with eBay and PayPal and has its own multilingual system, perfect for franchised stores. Magento is a mobile friendly platform able to manage catalog, warehouse and sales process in an optimal way also from mobile. With Magento you can manage orders quickly and easily, create automated reports, use effective marketing tools and share promotions and coupons with your customers. This is a platform suitable for already “expert” web and eCommerce personalities: its use is not immediate and often may require the help of an IT expert. Magento is therefore recommended for established companies that want to optimize their online store with professional features. For small shops that interact for the first time with the online world, simpler and more intuitive platforms are recommended.

4) Squarespace

Squarespace is a simple and intuitive open source platform, known for its potential in terms of design. This is an economic software in terms of hosting, but it has less functionality than the already mentioned Shopify and Magento. Just like the other platforms, Squarespace is also mobile friendly and responsive. The strong point of this eCommerce software is undoubtedly the graphics. The editing and design potential of Squarespace is not matched by any other open source resource. For online stores that rely heavily on visual impression, this platform is the right one! If the priorities are functionality and practicality, Shopify or WooCommerce are the best choices.

5) PrestaShop

PrestaShop is the young French platform that is developing a significant increase in membership in the last two years. There are about 150,000 online stores that currently use this software. Using PrestaShop is intuitive and simple compared to the more complex Magento with a user-friendly interface. With this software it will be possible to automate the management of your online store, customize it and connect it to the best Market Place. Among the most developed features of PrestaShop are sales management, recovery of abandoned carts and automatic newsletter planning. Another positive feature of PrestaShop is the presence of countless diametrically different themes and templates. Even the installation of plug-ins is simple and intuitive with PrestaShop. This platform, like Shopify, can be the ideal solution for small companies wishing to open an online store. For more established and established entities, more elaborate platforms such as Magento are recommended.

6) BigCommerce

BigCommerce is another popular platform for selling online. This program is very similar to Shopify for functionality and plug-ins, although many users prefer the latter in terms of performance. Over 50 thousand online stores are active on BigCommerce. The platform offers over 65 different payment methods and more than 100 different graphic templates. BigCommerce is mobile friendly, but, unlike other software such as Magento, it is not multilingual. This solution is also ideal for small and novice realities with the eCommerce world.

7) OpenCart

OpenCart is one of the youngest open source platforms in the online market. Opening an online store with OpenCart is quick and easy. Just like Shopify and BigCommerce, also OpenCart is particularly intuitive with regards to use. The features are not different from those of other platforms: list of unlimited products, enabling different payment gateways and SEO optimization for search engines. The OpenCart templates are simple and functional and there will be no need for special additional plug-ins to create a unique site. Even OpenCart, like most open source platforms, provides a single interface to manage multiple online stores. Using this platform users will be able to enable comments. OpenCart,

8) Volusion

Volusion is a platform of American origin and is one of the best software on the market to open an online store. Firstly it is simple to use, has an excellent security system and is perfectly integrated with the best Amazon and eBay Market Place. Volusion is mobile friendly and has more than 80 completely free templates to create a unique and innovative online store. This platform is perfectly connected to the Facebook social network. Another particularly positive feature of this platform is customer service: telephone and online assistance available 24 hours a day. Volusion is a platform suitable both for novice realities and for already established online stores.

9) osCommerce

Opening an online store with osCommerce is simple: it is famous for its ease of use and is one of the first eCommerce solutions launched on the market. This online cart is very similar to WordPress. It is intuitive and has multiple plug-ins to improve its performance. Unfortunately osCommerce is not updated enough to keep up with the times and this makes its features often less effective than those of other platforms. The most well-known Shopify and PrestaShop are therefore preferred to osCommerce, similar in setting, but more modern in terms of functionality. However, this software remains a valid open source solution for start-ups and small businesses.

10) JigoShop

JigoShop is a platform very similar to WooCommerce in that it is aimed at sites that use WordPress. Just like WooCommerce it is simple to install and completely free. JigoShop is also very easy to use and allows you to manage every aspect of the eCommerce website from a single dashboard. JigoShop offers the customer the possibility to test all the free templates in demo version, to check which one is actually the best for their products. Unlike Shopify or WooCommerce, however, this platform does not have a customer service via chat or by phone. All information requested by customers can only be found within the forum or community. JigoShop and WooCommerce are an excellent ecommerce solution for WordPress users.

Do you want to grow your business and improve your business results?

The 12 best cities in the world where to shop

Tags Business, e-commerce, eCommerce, Online Shopping Cart, online store

Local Marketing

5 things to do immediately to boost your online business

Post author By A.H.
Post date April 10, 2019
No Comments on 5 things to do immediately to boost your online business

It is now known … digital marketers have well understood the fact that the Internet is the most powerful means to sell, promote and advertise any product or brand. Traditional media have been easily overcome. The present is already evolving. The future goes towards augmented reality and virtual reality.

Therefore traditional advertising media, such as radio and television, may soon know their definitive sunset.

Tags local marketing, online business

Local Marketing

Google My Business: Create a business website at no cost!

Post author By A.H.
Post date April 1, 2019
No Comments on Google My Business: Create a business website at no cost!

Google my business: The winning web marketing strategy for SMEs …

In less than 40% of small businesses have their own online space, investments to structure an effective website require considerable efforts: Google my business is the free tool that opens the doors of the online market to SMEs and businesses locals.

The data emerged from the research carried out by experts in Local Search Marketing, leave no room for doubt: due to the scarce resources and high costs, the number of commercial realities that invest their resources in the creating your own web page. Google therefore provides an innovative and totally free tool: Google My Business.

What is Google my business?

Google my business (GMB) is a tool made available by Google for business activities: thanks to this feature any type of physical business gets the chance to be present on the search engine and on Google Maps with its own detailed card.

Google my business requires the activities to share constantly updated information with the search engine regarding various topics of interest to users: images of the activity, geographical position, contacts and opening and closing times.

An analysis by Ipsos Study states that 41% of online searches aimed at physical companies involve, when possible, a user’s on-site visit: a company that wishes to promote itself locally and intrigue new potential customers cannot ignore the potential of ‘innovative Google tool as it provides fundamental tools to assert its identity on the web.

My business, however, is not aimed solely at the local market: the latest innovation introduced by GMB to lead small businesses in the online world is, in fact, the possibility of creating their own website at no cost. The potential web page has a customized domain, is optimized for mobile devices, has no menus and reports information retrieved directly from the my business card.

Google My Business: Features

What can you do with Google my business?

1) Insert and modify personal and multimedia contents related to the company from a single page: all the information entered in the descriptions of GMB are updated in real time on the search engine;

2) Know the users’ comments about the activity, respond in real time to consumer questions and monitor reviews and feedback;

3) Through the use of personalized statistics and interaction with AdWords Express, it is possible to identify the communication channels through which users come into contact with the activity;

4) View in real time the number of clicks on the web page, on the multimedia contents and on the contacts;

5) Manage all information and updates using a single specific application available for any iOS or Android operating system.

Google My Business: Create a free website

To develop a website with GMB you must be registered on the Google my business page. Using the Google tool is very simple: just go to the specific my business page, enter the personal information of the activity and add multimedia content to improve the company’s web reputation.

After registering on GMB you can design your own website at no cost, let’s see how …

1) The first activity to be carried out to activate the Google my business web site is to access your GMB panel, click on “Manage site” and then on the “Website”, in this way Google can automatically generate the company site;

2) After accessing the website it is possible to start the customization activity. The first element to change is the cover: it is necessary to choose a cover image that coherently represents one’s own activity. The selected photo should be uniform and free of text as it is not only the cover on the page, but also the background for presenting some company information;

3) Google my business provides the user with ten different themes: it is essential to identify a template with characters and colors that well represent the company;

4) The choice of the theme enables the possibility of modifying the cover title: the title must be short, intuitive, and consistent with the activity. The my business website is automatically generated by the search engine based on the information found in the information sheets: the present title should therefore already be optimized with the keywords previously selected;

5) Another essential element for a performing website is the description: GMB provides users with a description of about 140 characters in which to describe their services and enter the reference keywords;

6) Google my business provides a further possibility of customizing the template by inserting a summary title, in other words a short text of about 40 characters with the aim of communicating a feature that distinguishes its business thus diversifying it from potential competitors;

7) A further indispensable feature for an efficient website is the description of the activity: in this section GMB does not insert character limits and allows the company not only to specify information of an informative and commercial nature, but also to insert links and keywords aimed to a good positioning of the page on the search engines;

8) After having taken care of the informative aspect of the website modifying the textual contents, it is necessary to take care of the multimedia functions by inserting images and photos depicting the activity and its services. All the photographs included in the web page are automatically transferred to the my business tab;

9) The last activity to be carried out to reach significant online goals is related to the website settings: in this phase it is possible to define the URL of the online page. Google my business autonomously generates domains ending with “.business.site”, the modifiable part is therefore the one before the point in which it is recommended to enter the name of the activity and the relative reference keywords.

Google My Business: What are the advantages?

Google my business optimizes various specific activities aimed at acquiring new potential customers, see which ones …

1) Improve the online visualization of the company

GMB allows users to easily trace a local business: through the information shared on my business information sheets, in fact, companies can become visible on search engines and on Google Maps;

2) Affects the positioning SEO

My business allows companies to positively position themselves in the Google ranking: a company with a business profile can easily be traced thanks to a local SEO automatically created by Google;

3) Optimize the corporate web reputation

Creating a GMB card allows users to leave feedback about the company activity: reviews are fundamental for the company as they optimize its web reputation and online image;

4) Increase interactions with users

Feedback and reviews are an important tool for identifying points of contact with their customers: a company that is present and attentive to customer care has greater chances of success online;

5) Monitor the performance of the business

Google my business provides the company with accurate statistics on user behavior: every type of interaction between customer and activity is recorded by GMB, thus allowing the optimization of business communication strategies;

6) Use a responsive template

My business card is “mobile friendly”: all information is displayed in an optimized way, even on a smartphone or tablet, giving an image of the company that is always positive;

7) It offers the possibility of creating a constantly updated website and with a personalized domain

Google my business allows the commercial reality to create a website at no cost, with a personalized domain and continuously updated in real time based on the information contained in the GMB sheets.

Do you want to grow your business and improve your business results?

Tags Business, GMB, Google, Google My Business, website

Reviews

Chatbot: What it is and why it is important for companies?

Post author By A.H.
Post date March 6, 2019
No Comments on Chatbot: What it is and why it is important for companies?

Chatbot messenger: artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize business strategies.

The immediate interaction between company and customer is a fundamental tool to achieve significant business success: about 30% of consumers interact with virtual agents at least once a week constantly increasing the global turnover of chatbot services that will arrive in 2024 close to 995 million dollars.

The data emerging from the research of the digital communication company Amdocs and the reports of Transparency Marketing Research, a leading organization in the field of market research and analysis, leave no room for doubt: instant messaging systems, commonly known as chatbots, represent the last frontier of digital marketing 4.0.

Instant Messaging Apps are now an integral part of every individual’s everyday life, people love to communicate in an immediate and essential way, not only on a personal level, but also in the commercial sphere: according to Facebook, about 63% of users register a particularly positive opinion companies willing to communicate directly with their customers.

Within a market strictly dependent on the direct interaction between brand and customer, it is essential for company marketers to develop personalized communication and promotion strategies that are particularly focused on the needs of the specific user: a chatbot is undoubtedly the most appropriate tool to obtain considerable results in the innovative world of online sales.

What is a chatbot? What are its characteristics?

The chatbot is a software based on artificial intelligence that can simulate a one-on-one conversation with the user and provide the answers necessary to meet the needs of customers: in other words, it is a conversation window managed directly by the companies for entertain direct and immediate relationships with its consumers.

The particularly innovative features that distinguish the chatbot are the immediacy of communications, the ability to record multiple data and the ability to provide the user with an interactive and immediate experience: any business with the aim of differentiating themselves from their competitors and building a valid online reputation will have to invest its resources in the implementation of its marketing strategies with artificial intelligence and machine learning.

There are two particular types of smart platforms …

1# Informative chatbots

software that base their functioning on well-defined and previously planned rules. Information bots have basic and limited functions and are usually used to find information about the user.

2# Utility chatbots

Complete and structured platforms with advanced technologies, able to automatically learn multiple information and to provide the user with detailed and qualified indications through fluid and natural conversations. Online chatbot utilities do not require programming and are able to understand natural language by constantly optimizing its performance.

Chatbot: The possible functions of the software within a company

The chatbots can be essential tools to optimize your web marketing strategies, we find out what are the most common application areas of smart instant messaging systems within the commercial realities …

Customer service and customer support

The support activities and customer care are without scope the ideal fields of application for chatbots: the instant communication platforms allow the company to provide constant support 24 hours on 24 to their users by sharing qualified information and answering the most frequent questions of customer center. A chatbot is the ideal tool to automate the communication between brand and consumer and make it efficient and immediate.

Business automation

A chatbot platform is able to automate business processes and functions significantly optimizing costs and timing: with the implementation of an artificial intelligence system, the company will be able to perfect the use and analysis of business data.

E-commerce

A smart bot system can be an indispensable tool to optimize the shopping experience by increasing sales and conversions: the automated chat is able to easily develop targeted marketing messages convincing the user to perform a specific action.

Information and entertainment

A chatbot messenger software can be essential for developing relational marketing and entertainment: the distribution of personalized content, based on information obtained through automated chat, is an activity aimed at improving the corporate image and sharing a customer satisfying experience.

Outbound activities

The implementation of its corporate communication strategy with the use of a chatbot messenger within the Social Network can be the winning tool to establish a relationship of mutual trust with the customer: a company present and willing to communicate with their consumers in an immediate and informal way is particularly appreciated by their target audience.

Chatbot: The benefits of smart communication for your business

A recent US business survey conducted by BI Intelligence highlights the constantly growing trend of the business regarding smart communication: automation through the use of chatbot has enabled US companies to save about $23 billion in 2017.

It is evident that artificial intelligence and the immediate communication technology systems do not only lead to an improvement in business performance in the strategic field, but also guarantee a considerable optimization of resources in economic terms.

Let’s find out what are the benefits that the use of a chatbot guarantees to a commercial reality …

Improving assistance and communication

The use of a chatbot guarantees the customer constant assistance 24 hours a day: immediate and instant communication contributes to the promotion of an authoritative and qualified company image.

Automated data collection

The chatbot software is able to store user requests and store useful information to personalize the marketing campaigns of email marketing and digital marketing: the artificial intelligence system automatically categorizes the collected data and provides a quick and immediate analysis.

Optimization of the purchasing process

An automated chatbot is able to guide the user during the buying process by providing immediate and personalized information and optimizing the corporate image in the eyes of the consumer.

Incentivisation of loyalty

The chatbot platforms are particularly suitable tools for sharing and promoting discounts and personalized offers: the one-to-one communication guaranteed by the instant messaging service is able to dedicate to each contact a unique and original type of communication, encouraging customer loyalty.

Brand personality

With the use of a smart bot, the company brand assumes a virtual identity: the user, through direct messages, has the perception of communicating directly with the company, establishing a personalized contact with the customer and directed to loyalty.

Chatbot: 5 tips to start using an instant messaging tool

Here are 5 useful tips to start using a chatbot software in an appropriate way …

1) Develop a suitable digital marketing strategy

A smart bot system is an indispensable tool for implementing the functions of a company, but before investing its resources in creating an instant messaging business platform, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of its objectives and its marketing and communication strategy: the chatbot is a tool to be integrated within its own communication plan, by itself it is not enough to obtain significant results.

2) Define the primary features

Analyzing the objectives to be achieved, it is possible to elaborate a list of functionalities to be assigned to the chatbot: it is recommended to start with the priority activities and then implement the operation at a later time.

3) Design conversations

Designing conversations and planning the user experience trying to predict the user’s actions is an indispensable activity to ensure the proper functioning of the chatbot software: trying to analyze the user’s needs the company will be able to provide authoritative answers in any situation by creating a real workflow of your bot.

4) Monitor the chatbot with training systems

The activity of a smart bot starts with a training phase and then continues during the actual online use: the chatbot is a smart system able to constantly optimize based on the information shared by the users and for this it requires an initial period of tests to test their functionality.

5) Periodically analyze the collected data

A chatbot is a tool able to find innumerable information about the user thanks to the direct interaction system: the company must periodically analyze the collected data in order to optimize its marketing and communication campaigns, personalizing them and making them targeted based on the different needs of consumers.

Do you want to grow your business and improve your business results?

Tags artificial intelligence, Business, business strategies, Chatbot, Chatbot messenger, companies, local marketing, Social Media

Social Media Advertising

WhatsApp Business: What it is? Why it is important?

Post author By A.H.
Post date February 27, 2019
No Comments on WhatsApp Business: What it is? Why it is important?

In 2018 about 1.5 billion people use WhatsApp direct chats: 67% of users assume the possibility of directly contacting business realities through the application and 53% would prefer to rely on activities available using instant messaging systems: WhatsApp business it is the company chat that revolutionizes the marketing of SMEs.

The research carried out by Morning Consult and the statistics analyzed by Hootsuite clearly describe the constantly growing trends of the WhatsApp app: users no longer limit their messaging activity to the private sphere, they perceive, in fact, the need to establish a direct contact also with the business realities. WhatsApp business is the first instant messaging app that can establish direct communication between the company and the customer by developing an optimized experience for both parties.

What is WhatsApp business?

WhatsApp business is an application designed in 2018 specifically for SMEs: the app is a direct channel of communication between businesses and customers and is aimed at optimizing the brand and corporate web reputation and constantly improving the consumer experience. WhatsApp is a free app currently downloadable only at the Google Play Store of Android: the application can also be used in the Web version on any type of device, but there are short-term projects to make usable business service even on the iOS mobile device.

The new business chat maintains the standard setting of WhatsApp, remaining essentially an instant messaging app, introducing however some significant innovations: WhatsApp users can create a profile of their business activity and insert details such as company page, geographical position and contact information of the activity. WhatsApp business is therefore a system designed and designed solely for business users in order to automate and organize one-to-one business communication methods.

WhatsApp Business: How does it work?

The WhatsApp for business application allows companies to process messages that are targeted and directly shared with their users: it is important to underline that business content is different from classic advertising, in fact, consumers can decide whether or not to receive information from company accounts.

The new WhatsApp chat provides two types of different business profiles …

Verified Business: Verified accounts are profiles directly supervised and approved by the WhatsApp team itself. This type of account is characterized by the presence of a specific emoticon corresponding to the name of the activity.
Unverified Business: Unverified accounts are company profiles that have not received prior approval from the application itself. All the business features of an unverified profile are active, it is simply recommended that users pay more attention to shared business content.

WhatsApp business provides its members with various innovative features not present in the messenger version of the application …

Creating a company profile

Even WhatsApp business, just like the other platforms dedicated to the corporate world, offers the user the possibility to create a real company profile with references to the web page and the company’s direct contacts. You can choose the name associated with your account, which cannot be changed, and select a profile photo, which can be replaced or updated repeatedly and at any time.

Set default messages

WhatsApp business offers a communication service always present to its customers: it is, in fact, possible to set automated and predefined messages to be shared periodically with your contacts. The application allows business users to create three different types of pre-set messages: welcome messages, aimed at the warm welcome of all new potential customers; quick answers, set up in advance for the purpose of automatically answering questions asked with particular frequency; and absence messages, created to communicate their availability and inform the customer about the activity hours.

“Structured messages” functionality

Corporate communications can be shared in different languages thanks to the “structured messages” function, which is a type of message that can be automatically translated into multiple languages without having to previously set any type of change.

Availability of tool analytics

WhatsApp for business allows business accounts to constantly monitor the effectiveness of their activities: through the use of specific tools it is possible to analyze which content is most read, appreciated and shared by its customers.

Possibility to segment customers

The business application offers an interesting marketing feature: it is possible to segment your contact lists, create different categories based on customers’ shopping experiences and to share personalized and particularly targeted messages with the different types of users.

How do I set up a WhatsApp business profile?

Here’s how to properly configure a WhatsApp for business account …

1) Configure the telephone number

After opening the application, the first action to be taken is to accept the terms and conditions of the service, the following are required to enter and verify the telephone number that you want to associate with the business profile. The fixed number of the company can also be set as default contact: in order to use WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp business on your device at the same time, you must associate the accounts with different numbers. unlike facetime for windows 10, whatsapp can be used in multiple platform as well.

2) Choose the name of the activity

Following registration, the first information requested is the name of the activity: it is important to choose carefully and correctly enter the company name as, following the first confirmation, it cannot be changed.

3) Enter the contacts and the required information

WhatsApp offers the business user the opportunity to enter company contacts, references to company web pages and a brief description of their work: it is important to accurately enter this information to be credible and reliable in the eyes of potential customers.

4) Try to get the verification from the WhatsApp team

To not have problems of reliability it is essential to try to get the official verification of the company profile by WhatsApp: users put, in fact, more confidence in the business profiles already verified.

WhatsApp Business: Why is it important for SMEs?

Some Morning Consult research reports that 69% of SMEs consider WhatsApp for business an instrument able to greatly facilitate interaction with customers. It is clear that the new WhatsApp chat business allows companies to carry out in a simple and innovative way some marketing activities essential for optimizing their communication strategies …

Communicate directly with the customer

WhatsApp business offers the business user the possibility to establish a direct and informal relationship with the customer: chat communications are short and intuitive, the use of emoticons can be an essential tool to intrigue and entertain consumers and the possibility to formulate Informal answers can greatly optimize the company-client communication experience.

Develop new marketing strategies and share promotions via chat

WhatsApp’s business chat can be an indispensable tool for devising new methods of direct marketing: surveys, special promotions, interactive messages and sharing of targeted multimedia content are the innovative tools that WhatsApp business uses to promote its contents in a direct and informal.

Constantly support the customer

A company WhatsApp account is an essential tool for customer care: customers do not like communicating by voice using phone calls, they prefer, in fact, a fast communication with instant messages. To effectively use WhatsApp business you need to be available to your customers: an unanswered chat message is considered to be particularly negative and can undermine corporate reputation.

Know the opinion of users

Knowing the needs of its customers is an essential activity to plan their marketing activities: WhatsApp is a platform particularly suitable for promoting surveys and questionnaires as communication is particularly clear and rapid.

Monitor your activities

WhatsApp’s business app allows its members to constantly monitor their activities: for a company it is important to know which communication strategies have been more successful in order to select new and previously planned marketing solutions.

WhatsApp Business: Tips to get started

WhatsApp business is a potentially very effective tool to increase the visibility of your business, here are some useful tips to use the application in an optimal way …

Attract customers’ attention using surveys or interactive promotions: customers are more involved in activities that involve direct feedback and see them as protagonists in the first person;
Share your WhatsApp profile on Social channels and on the company website;
Promote “personal shopping” activities: divide your contacts into groups and create personalized promotions based on the specific experiences of each user;
Set automated and predefined messages to be always available: customers want to get immediate answers especially when talking about chat communications;
Use images and videos: multimedia content is appreciated by a greater number of users as they attract more attention;
Try to develop direct and informal communication strategies: WhatsApp is a platform used routinely to exchange friendly messages, maintaining an informal and personalized profile can increase the trust placed by the customer in the company.

Do you want to grow your business and improve your business results?

Tags Business, Social Media, Social Media Advertising, Social Media Marketing, WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business

Social Media Advertising

How to sell on Instagram? 10 tips to improve your business

Post author By A.H.
Post date February 20, 2019
No Comments on How to sell on Instagram? 10 tips to improve your business

You want to sell on Instagram, well you are not alone as it is an indispensable activity for every company: the Social Network has reached the figure of 1 billion users in 2018, 400 million people use the application every day for about 50 minutes and 72% of consumers declare to at least once purchase a product previously viewed on Instagram.

The research conducted by the US information network ‘The Verge’ underline the positive and constantly growing trend of Instagram: the Social Network is no doubt confirmed not only the most used platform, but one of the most effective marketing and communication channels. Selling on Instagram thus becomes a priority activity for any business with the aim of positively positioning itself on the online market.

Most business subjects have now understood the importance of structuring Instagram marketing strategies to achieve significant results: the effectiveness of communication through images and the extremely intuitive functioning of the Social Network allow marketers to develop effective and targeted communication strategies, aimed at the active promotion of products and the loyalty of the potential customer.

Instagram has recently implemented its functionality with the Shopping tool, a business tool that allows you to advertise products by adding specific tags within their posts in order to redirect the user to the reference e-commerce. The persuasive impact of the image and the ability to add filters or captions to their photos are considered by the professionals of the industry real tools of Content Marketing: sharing post-shopping the company has the real possibility of directing users to their own store guaranteeing them an unparalleled shopping experience.

How to sell on Instagram: 10 tips to optimize your business

If you are reading this article, it is because you have understood the actual potential of the Instagram Social Network. Here are some useful tips to effectively implement your communication and sales strategies with this platform …

1) Open an Instagram business account

The first activity to be carried out for a company that wants to sell on Instagram is undoubtedly to open a company profile: the transition to a corporate account Instagram provides the user with many useful functions to analyze the behavior of followers and improve the flow of users of the profile. Direct connection with the Facebook page, tools for processing statistics and insights about the behavior of the target audience, direct links to company contacts and free access to advertising are just some of the features of Instagram business. The Instagram company profile must be carefully and carefully set up: the presence of a simple and visually impacting logo allows the user to intuitively recognize the brand and the addition of contacts communicates a present and reliable corporate image.

2) Share quality images

Instagram focuses on the image: posting photos with catchy and original photos is an essential activity to achieve significant goals with your profile. With professional and high quality images, shared products are more likely to be successful: a product appreciated by users not only helps increase sales, but also greatly enhances online image and reputation business. A marketing strategy widely used within the Social Network consists of the re-sharing of images posted by consumers themselves: photos of satisfied users following the purchase of a product are the most effective tool to communicate to their public the effectiveness of own commercial proposals. Another essential activity to sell on Instagram is the creation of constantly renewed and different scenarios as the background of their offers: the product is important, the context is fundamental.

3) Use Shoppable Post

An essential innovation for companies that use Instagram for commercial purposes is the Shopping feature: by inserting specific tags within the published photos, it becomes possible to link the products shown in a specific post with the e-commerce of the brand of reference. The intuitive potential of image communication combined with the presence of functional tags for e-commerce is undoubtedly an indispensable tool to achieve considerable profits. Rapidity and continuity are the characteristics most appreciated by users during the purchase flow: through the use of post-shopping the company guarantees its consumers a revolutionary, original and very intuitive consumer experience.

4) Tell stories with Storytelling

To achieve optimal business results and be able to sell on Instagram, you need to plan your production flow: an editorial calendar and a Content Marketing strategy based on the use of Storytelling are the tools that you cannot do without. Posts must be published according to a precise previously planned logic and the images must be able to tell stories: post creative, catchy and able to show the benefits offered by products in the window are the perfect solution for any Instagram business.

5) Use effective hashtags

#Hashtag is a key tool for sharing successful posts: you need to carefully select popular hashtags that perfectly communicate the idea of your company brand. Hashtags are particular keywords that give the post a precise identity thanks to an immediate and intuitive communication with the user. For a company that wishes to establish itself in its own sector of reference, it is not impossible to create a custom hashtag: this tool can be used in photos shared by its customers to create communities or to plan original brand positioning strategies.

6) Suggest a lifestyle

The real success of Instagram is based on the ability of users to offer glimpses of their daily life through the sharing of images: even the brands, to get profit and success with this Social Network, should transmit a particular idea about the lifestyle that its products give to those who use it. The coherence of multimedia content shared on your Instagram profile is essential to create a solid and original image of your brand: a winning business does not plan its communication solely to sell on Instagram, but to create a community of users with whom to constantly share their real experiences and the realization of their products.

7) Create partnerships with Influencers

The growing popularity of Instagram has given rise to a very large network of Influencers, in other words public figures with a considerable amount of followers. Building an effective Influencer relationship program is undoubtedly a win-win activity for companies with the goal of making profits through Instagram: successful Instagrammer product sponsorship (in exchange for a payment or free products) may turn out to be the winning strategy to establish itself in its own niche market in an original and completely natural way.

8) Interact with followers and with the community

Instagrammers love to follow the most active profiles: it is important to post content with a good frequency in order to thrill users and give credibility to their brand. Followers love interactive brands: republishing photos shared by users, responding to comments, taking part in community activities and socializing with other accounts are essential activities to strengthen the relationship between company and consumer.

9) Create promotions reserved for Instagram

It is well known: users love discounts. Instagram is the ideal place to share promotions with its customers: posting images or captions with promotions or discount codes to be used in online stores, you can create traffic to your Instagram page and then increase accessibility and turnout. In this way, users will be prompted to frequently consult the company’s Instagram profile, optimizing the combination of Social Network and e-commerce.

10) Use Instagram ads

Instagram, just like Facebook, provides its users with innovative business interfaces for purchase announcements and original promotions directly from the App. Selling on Instagram is not difficult: after activating a business account, the activity can determine the budget to be invested, the online time required for the advertising activity and the reference Instagram target. This feature allows the company profile to get more visibility and to share its contents with all users who are nearby, greatly optimizing the relationship between brand and consumer.

Do you want to grow your business and improve your business results?

Tags Business, Instagram, Sell on Instagram, Social Media, Social Media Advertising

Web Design

Website restyling? 3 basic elements you do not think about

Post author By A.H.
Post date February 13, 2019
No Comments on Website restyling? 3 basic elements you do not think about

If your website needs to be updated, to adapt it to the new sales strategies of your company, you will probably have turned to a web agency that has proposed you to make a graphics redesign. But is it enough to have a website restyling that will help you sell in 2019? Unfortunately, web marketing agencies often forget that …

A website must be your best seller.

It should not only be beautiful, it must also work to attract qualified traffic, create a database of contacts and help you find customers.

What do you miss then to have a really useful website restyling?

1 # SEO on the site is not enough

How many pages does your site have?

Already imagine the scene: once you put online the new site, you will think you have finished because the pages you had before (now more beautiful than ever) will do for the purpose. You will not have an editorial plan to make the number of pages increase from month to month. The number of pages will always be those until the next redesign (in a few years).

BAD NEWS. This is not enough! The more pages you have online, the more you are active to publish new ones and the more Google rewards you with good indexing. So, you should not limit yourself to optimized SEO pages that you already have, but you also want to open a blog area!

2 # A site that presents your products is not enough

How many of your site visitors become contacts in your database? If your answer is “I do not know” or “less than 1%”, it means that whoever created the site has forgotten a fundamental part of its effectiveness: the Landing Page.

A Landing Page is a page with a form that allows you to collect the data of potential customers who are visiting your site, and to create a database of contacts.

I’ll give you an example that happened to us: We met a company in the B2C, with a great need to collect names of potential customers. The last agency that had followed the online strategy, had managed to procure only 36 contacts in a year. By adding the right landing pages to the right place, we were able to convert 37 people into contacts on the first day only. After 2 months, we have created a database of over 1,000 contacts!

This is the difference that can make a proper lead generation strategy on your site.

3 # Explain who you are is not enough

You know that in 90% of cases (in 99% in B2B) the page most viewed by your potential customers is the page “who we are”?

Now try to make local mind …

What does this page transmit on your site?
What do your potential customers understand about you?
Did you happen to write that you are an industry leader like all your competitors?
Is it a poor page of images and content?
Would you buy from your own company after seeing it?

Here are a couple of ideas that you absolutely must not underestimate for website restyling.

Study your buyer well and try to understand what you are looking for from your company. Learn by reading this article to identify your needs and desires, try to bring them back (through images, texts, links and videos) in your “who we are” page. When a user lands on this page he/she must understand on the fly that he/she has found the company he/she was looking for.

Add for example …

Team photos (if you are in the B2B also the professional role and a bio),
Reviews of your best customers (even video reviews!),
The differences between you and your competitors (on this point, try to go deep and do not just write that “you’re better because your service is turnkey”),
The “Why choose you?” and all that can make you feel like the best company they could turn to solve their problem.

Tags Web Design, Website Redesign, Website restyling

Local Marketing

Big Data: How to find the ones useful for marketing?

Post author By A.H.
Post date February 6, 2019
No Comments on Big Data: How to find the ones useful for marketing?

On any Sunday you find yourself walking in a shopping center: you buy something, using one of the many loyalty cards for the discount of the month, you connect to WiFi, or wander through various shops not having a clear idea of what that we would like to buy. Willy-nilly, only with our disinterested passage, we can generate a large amount of data that can be reworked and used in a variety of ways by that mall. This logic can be easily applied in companies that have the resources to analyze and interpret collected data, also called “Big Data”.

What are Big Data?

Now we hear about it more often, but maybe you do not have a clear idea of what they are in the specific. The same term can be misleading as instinctively we associate it with a great deal of data, not knowing that our intuition is only partially true.

To better understand we can say that every day we produce a huge amount of information through smartphones, credit cards, sensors installed almost everywhere, and much more; this mass can be identified with the name of Big Data only after having been properly processed and analyzed to find objective comparisons.

Basically, what matters is the algorithm used to manage the amount of information collected and the many variables considered in a short time and with few resources compared to the past. The result is a more visual approach that suggests models of interpretation and new patterns.

A welcome feature is the fact that they are usable not only in the IT industry, but also in completely different markets like healthcare, retail, manufacturing, finance and many others. Practically this approach is functional for any sector foreseeing marketing actions.

Big Data is an ally for agile marketing

Among the billions of terabytes collected, there is a treasure of marketing data that companies need to analyze and understand to know what is relevant and what is not and how to use it to achieve better business results.

It’s not an easy job considering that according to some surveys, companies waste 40% of their marketing budget due to the inadequate use of big data. Big data is naturally all-encompassing and can be difficult to manage or use effectively.

They include structured and unstructured data that comes from many devices. With this wide range of information available, the company’s marketers need to focus on high-impact information – the data that can drive the company’s strategic decisions.

The only way marketing managers can exploit the right form of data is to know what is relevant and what is not. This helps a company to differentiate itself from the competition.

How to understand which data are relevant to marketing? Here are some suggestions …

Use goals to focus

Better analysis of marketing data can reduce ROI from 10% to 20%. But to take full advantage of this, you will need to determine the most relevant data for your business goals and then focus accordingly. About 50% of the companies interviewed by McKinsey showed that companies are struggling to know the effects of digital marketing on profits and sales. There seemed to be a chasm between the information available and the sellers’ ability to link the data with the results. For example, a retailer who wants to increase conversions on one of the web pages should take a close look at the keywords that help drive traffic and then link the metrics with targeted results, such as revenue and conversions. Using this intelligence, the retailer can design a plan that regulates the keywords to provide a positive impact.

Precision of priorities

Regardless of the relevance of data, it is only useful when these are reliable. If certain specific types of data do not fall within core competencies, but are meaningful to the business, do not ignore them. Rather, make sure that you consider alternatives that can help fill in information gaps. When possible, leverage partnerships to obtain reliable sources that provide accurate data. For example, you can collaborate with a company that has close relationships with Twitter when examining social network information.

Group information

The multidimensional and immense nature of Big Data becomes “digestible” by the company and useful only when you look at the specific instead of considering the entire universe of existing information. Rather than checking all the information it is better to group them so as to have smaller and more homogeneous areas. For example, when you see a chance to improve the performance of your mobile devices, take a look at the sharing you have and compare it with that of your strongest competitor. Analysts can use big data to generate information about customer experiences and behavior. This information can then be used to better understand customers, allowing them to meet their needs more effectively.

How useful Big Data can be?

You can focus on the relationship of the Brand with the customer on digital channels, a challenge that becomes more complex day by day due to mobile and IoT. To cope with this difficulty, companies need to be flexible, have an agile marketing and develop more and more skills.

Many of these new skills, which include the ability to select and interpret the collected data for strategic purposes, are still missing in many companies. According to a research by the Boston Consulting Group, 60% of companies underutilize data or do not collect them systematically as they would like.

A rather discouraging fact because the applications of an analysis of this kind are numerous and potentially useful for improving performance and ROI.

For example, Data Driven Marketing investigates among the innumerable information on the customers gathered – demographic, behavioral data, related to the relationship with the company – to identify the best strategies to acquire, maintain or regain customers. In this case, the magic word is customization: being able to interpret the needs of the consumer in more depth allows us to offer goods / services that are more suited to their satisfaction.

Through Data Mining it is possible to identify unusual and potentially useful correlations. For example, according to some research evaluating the financial risk of a person, it has been noticed that the subjects who buy furniture felts can be among the best clients for the lenders, because they are less likely to contract debts.

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Tags Big Data, local marketing, Marketing