Do you ever have that dream where you’re screaming at the top of your lungs but nobody can hear you? Despite your best efforts no sound emanates from your wide open mouth. It’s a terrifying and infuriating experience in the dream world… But in the real world it can be even more distressing and frustrating. There are few feelings in life more frustrating than having something worth saying that falls upon deaf ears. So it is when you’ve worked tirelessly for months or even years crafting the perfect business plan, carrying out tireless market research and building your SME up from nothing… Yet your brand is launched not with the mighty bang you expected but a tiny whimper.
You’ve gone to great lengths to ensure that you offer your target market something that your competitors do not. You invested heavily in recruiting the best candidates and training them to the highest standards. You spent forever devising your processes to make sure that they were as streamlined and efficient as possible, and when you couldn’t do that, you outsourced. On paper, you did everything that’s needed to launch a successful business… But for whatever reason your message just doesn’t resonate with your target market. You’re staying afloat (just about), making sales, converting prospects and securing repeat custom but the market isn’t reacting to your presence with an enthusiasm that’s proportionate to your efforts.
Simply put, your voice isn’t being heard by your target market. Let’s take a look at why that may be and how it can be remedied for ongoing success and prosperity.
Your blog is your mouthpiece… Do you know what it’s saying?
Most businesses today know that a blog is an important instrument in today’s market. It’s the backbone of your content marketing strategy and an essential tool in giving your business a voice. It establishes you as an important voice in your chosen industry and showcases your industry and business knowledge to engender trust in your target audience. What’s more it gives your clientele that all-important something for nothing; a reason to keep visiting your website, engaging with your posts, develop a personal relationship with your business and an emotional investment. All while giving your SEO a nice little organic nudge so that you stand head and shoulders above your competitors on search engine queries.
However, despite the importance of blogging for business, few enterprises can spare the time or resources to post new content several times a day. As such, many may rely on outsourced content generation by a third party provider. While this is absolutely fine, it is most certainly not an area in which you can afford to cut corners. If you outsource your blog posts to a low-cost, low-quality overseas content farm you may well enjoy a steady stream of fresh new content… But it will not be of any real value to your readership. Moreover, if it’s of poor quality, fluffy and lacking in substance and research it can actually diminish reader trust in your brand.
Since your blog is the mouthpiece of your business, it behoves you to pay close attention to exactly what it’s saying.
The future is mobile… Is your content?
The advent of smartphones and mobile devices and our increasing reliance upon them has irrevocably changed the way in which we consume digital content. Today, the majority of us now use mobile devices rather than desktop devices to consume content and make ecommerce purchases.
As such, when we do not ensure that our content is responsive, we risk alienating the majority of the market. A poor user experience on mobile devices can prove a huge impediment to the kind of genuine engagement that builds consumer loyalty while being prized by search engines for SEO. In fact, a page load time of just 7 seconds can increase your bounce rate by over 30%. That’s a portion of the market that few businesses can afford to lose.
Your very own app is a great way to ensure greater user engagement, and with Mobile App Development an increasingly common and affordable service for businesses you need a seriously good reason not to at least considering having an app of your own. Merely having a presence on the iOS and Android app stores can be a great promotional tool.
What’s more, while blogging should be an important aspect of your content marketing, bear in mind that people increasingly consume content on the go and in short bursts. This isn’t always the best platform for long form content. Many believe that when it comes to engaging audiences on mobile devices the future is video.
Do your social media platforms match your target market?
We all know that social media platforms are a free and effective way of engaging with your target audience. But if you assume that a presence on Facebook and Twitter is adequate to build genuine engagement with your target audience, you may find yourself disappointed especially if you’re trying to target the younger market.
Increasingly young people are migrating away from Facebook, while the platforms search protocols have become increasingly prohibitive for businesses, prioritising social engagement over interaction between businesses and their consumers. If you’re trying to target younger affluent consumers with disposable income you may find greater fortune using visual platforms like Instagram.
Never underestimate the power of the CTA
For many your business will be their first exposure to your brand. Unfortunately, for some it will also be their last. While a beautiful and professional looking website is essential in business, it’s important to remember that even in digital realms, beauty is only skin deep.
As well as looking pretty, your website should have great UX (User Experience) which subtly influences user behavior when they browse. Nowhere is this more important than in your CTA (Call To Action). A CTA is just a few words but it can be an extremely powerful tool. The right CTA can boost your conversion rates while facilitating genuine engagement. Just taking the time to really think about your wording on a CTA can make a world of difference. Take a look at these 6 characteristics of high-conversion CTAs.
If your voice isn’t heard by your target audience, it’s time to address the reasons why and speak up.
