4 Brand-Building Tips on Using Instagram for Your Business

How to Create a Powerful Instagram Social Media Marketing Strategy

One of the most powerful marketing tools marketers have today is social media. From Facebook posts to tweets on Twitter, sharing your products or services on social media platforms is a great way to increase brand awareness, engagement, sales and leads.

However, many people are left scratching their heads when it comes to marketing with Instagram.

Many of us use Instagram as a personal account to post photos of our family, friends, vacations and food - but how can it tie into business? And should it?

With the speed of which Instagram is growing, don't underestimate its value to boost your brand and marketing efforts.

It has grown into an incredibly valuable marketing platform and even though the 18-29 year old's are still prevalent users, the higher age groups are catching on and catching up fast.

Some 2018 Instagram stats from Sprout Social are telling:

• 7 out of 10 hashtags on Instagram are branded

• 80% of users follow a business on Instagram

• 65% of top-performing Instagram posts feature products

If you feel the tug to explore Instagram as part of your social media marketing strategy, check out these initial pointers to help you get started:

1. Use Hashtags Wisely

You don't need to cram every hashtag you can think of in one post, but you do need at least a few.

A hashtag is the # sign followed by descriptive words about your image as in this example, I used #marketing and #ctaconf, which was the conference I was attending at the time.

When a user clicks/taps on a hashtag or types a hashtag into the search box, it brings up all images that use that hashtag. The user can even subscribe to continue to follow that hashtag.

The hope is the user will see your photo, head to your profile and best-case scenario, follow you and get engaged with more of your posts!

However, when hashtags are extremely popular, the competition to show up in the results is fierce. Similar to SEO keywords, the more popular a term is, the harder it is to stay at the top of the search results. Thus, my example of using #marketing really was futile if I wanted to get any traction from that post.

You want to make your hashtags relevant to your business and location, but also engaging enough that a user would type them into Instagram's search box.

For instance:

• Say you have a pizza joint in Vancouver. You post a pic of your Pepperoni pizza with the hashtags #VancouversBestPizza #NicolosRestaurant #DeliciousDeepDish

• Or you're a Toronto wedding planner. You post an image of a bride and groom's first dance with the hashtags #TorontoWeddingPlanner #LoveWins #WinterWedding

Holidays and special events are an excellent time to promote your business and gain Instagram followers. Whether it's a sale on Black Friday, a Thanksgiving-related use for your product or a product shout-out on National Dog Day, they are all ideal opportunities to showcase your business brand in a non-salesy way.

2. Thank Your Audience for Showing Up

You don't just post a bunch of photos and hashtags and wait for the likes to roll in.

To gain Instagram followers, engage with your audience and grow sales or leads, you need to put in the time.

See an example here from video expert Michele Moreno where she responds back to each of the comments left on her video post.

So if someone leaves a comment or question on one of your posts, take the time to reply and thank them/answer their question.

Take a look at their profile, and if you like what you see, follow them.

Businesses often follow commenters first, in the hopes that they might return the favour.

You can also look for people who might be interested in your product, then comment on their photos and/or follow them, but don't spam them with an ask to follow you right away.

3. Interact with the Right Influencers

Influencers are Instagram users who can influence your target audience because of their popularity and/or social media following.

Danielle Bernstein is a good example of an influencer who worked with a brand. You may not recognize her name, but the 1.8 million followers of her Instagram account WeWoreWhat do.

Bernstein and FIJI Water worked together to create BodyWoreWhat, a marketing campaign offering 8-minute workout videos with her and her personal trainer.

That may be an extreme example, and unless you have deep pockets you probably won't be able to attract an influencer with almost two million followers.

But don't despair. From mommy bloggers to local foodies, you can always find someone who your target audience follows, likes or admires. Maybe they'd be willing to review your product or take a photo using it - use your imagination!

4. Don't Just Shill Your Products

Instagram is not the place to simply share product shots all the time. Think of the experience people have using what you're offering, or the benefits it gives people.

Even better, show real-examples. Asking for user-generated content from your audience is one way to do this. That means that users share their photos using a hashtag you provide.

The online furniture store Wayfair.com does user-generated content very well. They have a user-generated campaign that lets customers share photos of their stylish Wayfair-filled homes using the hashtag #WayfairAtHome.

Be sure to let people know that their images might be featured on your page and you can increase your Instagram content big time - for free!

No matter how you use Instagram for your business, be authentic and true to your brand. It's what the platform is all about, and it's going to help you grow your business, gain Instagram followers and attract sales or leads.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10003805

2 Easy Steps to Increase User Engagement for Small Businesses

Posting to social media is a great but even better is creating conversation.

For years companies all over the world have been leveraging the power of social media to grow their business. But many fall short when it comes to the true intentions of content marketing.

When you post something that is intended to appeal to your ideal users, don't walk away. Those notifications letting you know how the post is performing are the important part.

Engagement refers to any time you and users following your business's profiles interact. That interaction can not only lead to high quality leads, it will lead to more followers who are genuinely interested in what you provide.

How did you grow your Instagram Followers? If you made the mistake if buying them then try our previous article: Why You Shouldn't Buy Instagram Followers

How can you optimize your content for user engagement?

Optimizing your content marketing to improve user engagement isn't easy. Many people limit their activities to a blog post and then hope for the best.

Many small business content marketing strategies consist of Googling a topic and rewriting one or more other pieces in a new voice. Video content is guilty of this with many videos borrowing, or outright copying a previously successful video.

In either case a user has already seen that content so why would they act on yours when it's the same thing?

Here's some more effective ways to create content specific for user engagement:

Step 1 - Create Something New

Your first step for your content is to accept that you will have to take some risks.

That risk pertains to the way you present your content, what you have to say, and how your brand brings something new to the subject.

This graph shows how this task is seen as the most difficult for businesses when trying to improve their online presence. While it's focused on B2B, anyone working in B2C should pay attention.

This initial step is crucial because it forces you to do more than dismiss your marketing as a task to set aside.

A lot of businesses leave their content marketing strategy entirely in the hands of an agency, which will not be effective. An agency or consultant is an expert on the how to distribute the content, but not an expert on your business, so you will have to work with them.

This means holding meetings where they can get input from you on what you do and why any user would want to buy from you or be your client.

A solid content marketing strategy for small businesses involves a consistently collaborative process.

Working together is your best route to creating great content.

Great content means the combination of your skill set with that of the person or people you're working with to make sure it gets seen by the most eyes and is structured to benefit your overall online presence.

Step Two - Engage, Adapt and Refine

The second step is to watch the reaction.

Look for peaks in Likes, Shares, or new Follows and notice the subject matter users have expressed more interest in. This can show you a lot about what value your users see you providing.

If you post regular blog posts or videos and see 5 -10 likes and no comments, and then you post something that receives double that or gets users commenting, you know to explore that subject in future content pieces.

If/when you do see comments, then you should absolutely respond.

The worst thing a brand can do is leave engagement hanging empty. Not only will the user who took the time to comment be put off, you'll be showing every other person who sees that comment without a response that your company isn't really paying attention.

Moreover, many users see social media as a great way to get a company's attention when they have a problem. So when they see that they can't even reach you on Twitter or Facebook they will naturally question your support in general and likely look for another vendor who does engage their users.

Look at the phenomenal traction Facebook groups have for people who are interested in a particular subject.

Your niche may not be large but if you capture an audience within it, your engagement will benefit your business by showing users your expertise, your willingness to interact with them (and potential clients), and your commitment those that buy from you or become clients.

To make it easier, it's best to have an internal set of canned responses ready for whoever monitors the accounts to reference. Chatbots are a new product that automate this process through Facebook messenger and they exist for a reason. Many business owners aren't able to juggle their responsibilities and learn and monitor their accounts.

For social media your best bet is to hire a professional and work with them. You can draft a set of responses to frequently asked questions and when in doubt they will email you so you can respond on your own time. This again speaks to the cooperative nature of having a professional help you with your social media.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10036457

How to Calculate Twitter ROI

Get to Know Your Social Media Metrics
It doesn't matter which social media platforms you're using to promote your business?-if you're not measuring your results, you're wasting your time!

You need to be tracking things like which posts perform better than others, and which types of content your users like best.

According to Twitter, 336 million people use the platform every month. But early on, I was struggling to see the value of Tweeting. It was hard for me to justify the amount of time and effort I was spending on it, before I understood how to properly market there and calculate Twitter ROI (return on investment).

Yes, I saw many celebrities and big brands joining the platform, and it became an active community to Tweet about politics-Barack Obama even announced he'd won the 2012 presidential election on the platform.

But how could it work for me and my clients?

I see things differently now, and put a lot of effort into marketing on this platform (as you'll see by going to our account. I Tweet a lot)! But that's because I know how to calculate Twitter ROI, so I know what's working and what isn't.

Too many entrepreneurs don't effectively measure their efforts on social media. They also fail to realize how valuable their time is. They'll choose to DIY something to save money instead of hiring an expert to do it for them.

They don't consider the time they spend learning to do the task, the time they waste by not focusing on their business, and the fact that the expert probably could have gotten them far better results.

From my perspective, I see a lot of value in the social networking sites when it comes to visibility, brand enhancing, building relationships and being recognized as an expert in your industry.

But the key is to allocate your time wisely.

Put in enough time to achieve your goals and then move on to other important business-building activities. There's nothing wrong with spending some of your time on social networking, but spending hours a day at it is probably not the best thing for your business or your ROI.

Here's how to focus your time wisely on Twitter metrics:

Set up your goals.

Is it to get people to download a white paper on your website?

To fill out a form for a free consultation?

Only then can you effectively calculate ROI. You need to be able to see what people are doing, like clicking on a link you posted to get to your website.

Part of setting up analytics (Google Analytics or a paid platform) will be creating a tracking token per goal. Most marketers have more than one goal: on the home page it may be to sign up for a newsletter, while on an inside page it may be to download an eBook.

You want to be able to see which actions had which results, rather than ending up with a giant pool of stats you can't make sense of.

There are online tools that let you generate these tracking tokens, or you can hire a professional marketing company to make analyzing metrics much easier on yourself.

Get to know Twitter Analytics.

You'll find stats on everything from audience demographics to engagement rate here. I find some of the best insights here include:

? Tweet engagements and engagement rate. Engagements are the number of interactions a Tweet gets, while the engagement rate is engagements divided by impressions.

? Event and trending topic data. This shows you holidays and trending conversations so you can join in when and where it's relevant.

? Video content performance. According to Hootsuite, Tweets with video attract 10x as much engagement. When you've started Tweeting your video content, you can see how people are interacting with your videos, like if they're watching them to completion. Read 'Why Incorporating Video on Your Twitter Account is Good For Social Marketing'.

Don't forget the hashtags.

Hashtags can be a really effective marketing tool, but many marketers don't understand how to track their ROI.

Not sure what hashtags are? Check out 'A Newbie's Guide to Hashtags on Social Media'.

You can track the number of interactions with your hashtag (how many people like, share, comment or retweet the content) to see how well a particular tag is performing.

It's just one of the ways to see if the time and/or money you're putting into social media is paying off.

Check examples from the BizGalz, a global community of women and the men who support them as they "challenge the world, think big, & make change." During one of their recent Twitter Chats, they've asked people to name their favourite conference using the hashtag #BizGalz so they can easily see who's engaging with the chat.

Keep on tracking.

Depending on the size of your business, it may take some time to uncover viable stats. That's okay! Keep tracking and tweaking as you go along.

It's important not to lose focus on things like how many followers you're gaining or losing over time, how many shares your posts are getting, how certain hashtags are performing and so on.

While it may be a bit more difficult to calculate Twitter ROI than it is to simply see if someone has filled out a form on your site, it's worth it to spend some time focusing your marketing efforts there and getting familiar with your analytics. Chances are, your competitors are!

Find it challenging to find enough time in the day to get your business tasks done, nevermind social media? Or maybe you're just not sure where to even start.

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10145760

Selling on Social Media Without Driving People Away

5 Social Media Selling Tips & Warnings

Social media is one of the best marketing tools out there: you can grow and reach a large audience with content and ads, and people who like and/or follow you are your fans, so they're already your target group.

However, people can be resistant to selling on these platforms. They see sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as places to share content and interact with friends, families-and nowadays, brands.

You really have to approach this the right way or you could alienate your audience, causing them to unfollow or unlike you because they expect a two-way conversation and engaging content, not to be marketed to.

It's also important to clarify that social selling doesn't mean advertising your product or service online for people to buy.

Social selling means you're using social media to connect with sales prospects and nurture relationships to hopefully convert them into customers.

For example, I recently did a Tea Time Tip about things that you need to consider before you start building your website. People could comment and asking questions in real time, and the Facebook Live had a lot of information about hiring a professional web development company.

So, I wasn't simply talking at people to hire us for their website-building needs; I was sharing pertinent information and nurturing those leads who might be looking for a company to help them out.

Now that we've defined social selling, let's discuss what you can do to increase your odds of success:

1. Think relationships, not dollar signs.

Make sure you're posting relevant, non-sales content. You want to become an expert resource in your industry, so focus on adding value to your users' feeds.

According to a study performed by LinkedIn, buyers who are active on social media welcome input from industry experts. In addition, 76% of buyers are ready to have a conversation with potential providers.

Get to know your potential customers by asking them engaging questions, answering their questions in a timely manner and responding to comments. The more trust and loyalty you build, the better your odds of converting a follower into a paying customer.

Read: The Power of Social Media Storytelling

Once upon a time your strategy was probably largely focused on sharing links to third-party content with your audience. Well, those days are over, and if you want to stand out in the crowded and noisy online environment, you need to focus on content marketing storytelling.

2. Take the time to build out your accounts.

Make sure that your bio and profile are filled out on all the platforms you want to use for social selling. You should include your website URL, About Us, phone number and any other relevant contact info.

It can also help to pin relevant posts, make sure your branding stands out and have high-quality images to attract followers' attention. Again, this builds trust and loyalty, making people feel more comfortable and secure doing business with you.

See how one of our clients, A Family Law Firm, has taken the time to not only fill out their contact info, but also the "Our Story" section on Facebook.

3. Choose your messaging wisely.

What works on one platform may not work on another. Where do your potential clients hang out? Where do they talk business, or go for restaurant recommendations? Generally:

* LinkedIn is more business-focused, so people are more comfortable with marketing messaging there.

* Twitter has a great search function, so you can more easily connect with prospects, and find relevant topics.

* Facebook has many communities that you can join and network in (remember, don't be pushy!)

* Instagram and Pinterest is for visuals, not long content pieces.

By tailoring your messaging for each platform, you'll be more likely to attract the right kind of customer.

4. Let user-generated content sell for you.

You don't have to do all the work of social selling alone! There are so many ways to use user-generated content (UGC) to your advantage, including:

* Contests and giveaways that encourage followers to share your content, hashtags and/or messaging.

* Ratings or reviews for your product or service

* Testimonials

For example, J.Crew posts user ratings and reviews on their website, so when they post a dress or shirt on their social media account and someone clicks on through, they see other people's votes of confidence.

Not only does user-generated content help you, but it helps your customers. Almost 80 percent of people say that UGC drives their purchasing decisions. It's a win-win situation!

5. Try, test and try again.

Every business owner should be tracking and measuring their efforts, whether it's a digital Newsletter push or a Google AdWords campaign. Look at your data and stats to determine what's working and what isn't.

Maybe people are being referred to a page on your website from your Facebook post, but they're only spending a few seconds on it.

You need to look at why that is: is your messaging unclear? Boring? Is there a broken link? By tracking your visitors' paths, you can see where you need to take a closer look.

Google Analytics is a free tool you can use to measure your website statistics, and there are also paid tools out there that can help you break down and understand your data.

The more you test and tighten your social media selling attempts, the better your ROI will be (and the happier your followers will be).

While social selling is different than traditional methods, it's still about building relationships and credibility. Focus on the person behind the platform, not on converting them into a sale or guiding them down a marketing funnel. Take the time to build connections and you'll create a community of prospects who will welcome hearing from you.

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10162803

The Entrepreneur's Beginner's Guide to Hashtags

How a Few Words Can Increase Social Media Engagement

I'm sure you've noticed there's no shortage of social media techniques and tips out there!

But have you also noticed the majority of those tips focus on general info, like how to get more followers or likes, or how to post compelling content to engage your users?

Those resources are important, but I notice that sometimes hashtags get forgotten about.

They're rarely mentioned in marketing articles, but they're such a great tool for building your brand, raising awareness around marketing campaigns and engaging/entertaining your audience.

How Do Hashtags Work?

If you're new to social media, I know it can seem overwhelming.

You may have seen these words with the # in front of them on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest. (The hashtag actually got its start in 2007, when Twitter began using it to index keywords to make them more searchable.)

But what are these words supposed to do? Should you use them? Why are they seemingly random?

I've put together this guide to help you understand how to use hashtags (and what the heck they are!) so you can increase social media engagement and leads.

Think of hashtags as a way to categorize your content.

Ultimately, they help people find and share posts on a specific topic.

When you create your social media post, you take a word or words and put the pound sign (#) in front of it. If you use two words, don't put a space between them. Now, the phrase is clickable and searchable on the social media platform the user is on.

Choosing the Right Hashtags

When done correctly, these tags can help you gain more exposure for your business and increase social media engagement. But like any social media strategy, you have to do your research and think before you post.

I'll make this process easier for you. Here are 7 ways to start choosing the right hashtags:

1. Create them for events.

This is one of the best ways to increase excitement and engagement on your social media accounts. For example, the Cornucopia wine festival in Whistler shared many posts on their Twitter and Instagram accounts with the hashtag #Cornucopia2019, and so did their followers and attendees.

2. Tag famous people or big brands.

Take a look at what's trending on Twitter, and try and incorporate it into your posts; but only if it's relevant. People are going to know if you're trying to force it or be fake.

Some examples are big sporting events, record releases by musicians, holidays and popular books. If someone who's famous in your industry makes the news, you could use that tag in one of your posts.

3. Do your research.

Whether you are doing research on the latest news for an upcoming Canadian Federal election or hockey playoffs, you could do a hashtag search to find several posts on the subject.

Searching tags on social media platforms can be a perfect way to find new ideas and spy on your competition.

A great resource for searching popular hashtags is https://hashtagify.me/hashtag/tbt

4. Encourage sharing.

The more people who share your hashtag and use it in their posts, the more exposure, engagement and traffic you're going to get.

You may remember the campaign #ShareACoke campaign. The company swapped out its iconic logo on 20-ounce bottles, replacing it with 250 of the most popular American names.

It was one of their most successful campaigns, leading to a 2% increase in soft-drink sales and lots of social media engagement as followers shared cans and bottles with their names on them.

5. Turn one tag into a campaign.

Many users "monitor" certain words, so focusing on one consistently can help you gain a following.

For instance, you could come up with a campaign with several posts around a specific product you offer, or a holiday promotion you're doing.

6. Find some weekly post themes.

This is a simple way to tie in a trending tag with your business.

Some common themes include #throwbackthursday, where people post anything from past vacation pics to high school graduation photos; and #wisdomwednesday, where they share their advice on all sorts of topics.

I use #MotivationMonday and #TuesdayTip on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels and often mix in other popular hashtags for optimal exposure.

7. Use humour.

People love to share funny stuff with others, whether it's a trending meme or a relatable story. Here's a hashtag late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon came up with to get people to share: #MyWorstCostume.

By understanding which hashtags will resonate with your target audience, you can tap into a whole world of people looking for exactly what you're offering. So start brainstorming and researching how to add some fun and functional tags to your next post!

Need some hashtag help? We've created a whole social media division for entrepreneurs and small business owners who understand the importance of having a social media strategy but simply don't have the time to make it happen on their own. Let's connect.

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10213861

How to Use 'Voice of Customer' Tools for Your Business

Listen to Your Audience to Meet Consumer Expectations

Do you truly understand your customers? I'm not talking about creating personas, doing keyword research and looking at your demographics (although that's important too)!

I'm referring to listening to what your audience actually wants and needs to improve the customer experience.

First, let's look at what Voice of Customer (VoC) means.

This is a research process that captures what your audience is saying, and how that relates to your brand. Businesses do this by gathering consumer feedback, whether that's a survey, focus group or online reviews.

Voice of Customer tools can help you:

Explore and evaluate new products and services

Improve consumer engagement and retention

Uncover negative brand feedback

So, how can you use Voice of Customer tools to better your business? Here are 4 ways:

1. Surveys

You can send surveys to certain segments or after a person has bought your product or service.

Here's an example of a company who listened and responded to what people wanted: 1-800 Contacts, the world's largest contact lens provider. They used surveys to gather consumer expectations with a company called Qualtrics.

One respondent jokingly asked the company to send him a candy bar and guess what? They did! This led to them implementing a program where they give gifts to people.

As a result, they increased their order rate by 3.8 percent and grew their NPS 13 points in just three months. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a management tool that is used to measure the loyalty of your customers; learn more here.

There are numerous survey tools out there, from Survey Monkey to VWO, so you can find the right format for your needs.

To get the best response rate, be sure to:

Keep it brief. People don't want to answer 50 questions about their experience. Limit your survey to about five questions, and let respondents know that it will only take a few minutes of their time.

Give them something. Offer a discount coupon, change to win a price or a gift to show your appreciation (if possible).

Remind them how important it is. Thank people for taking the time and tell them that you're using their feedback to improve your processes.

Here are some great questions to ask that should elicit some useful responses:

How can we improve your customer experience?

Would you recommend our service or product and why or why not?

What did you like/dislike about your experience?

Would you buy our product or service again?

2. Interviews

Usually done in-person or on the phone, the interview process lets you talk one-on-one or to a group of people about your product or service. This method gained popularity after it was popularized in a book called The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.

Discovering consumer expectations this way has a higher cost, but it can provide amazing insight and impress your consumers with a more personal type of interaction.

Not sure? Here's an example from Febreze. Originally, P&G tried to sell their scented sprays by claiming it fixed smells in your home, with dismal results. The problem was that most people don't know or don't think that their homes smell, so why would they need Febreze?

So P&G hired a research company to interview people on how they used the product. They heard that those who sprayed Febreze did it to freshen a room as part of their house-cleaning routine, not to cover up odours.

As a result, the company positioned Febreze as a product to enhance your existing routine. Within two months, sales of the product doubled.

3. Your Website

Most marketers look at their site data to gain insights around things like how many people visited in a given time period, what their most popular landing pages are and which keywords people are using to find them.

However, by taking analytics to the next level and capturing behaviour, you can learn even more about what your audience is doing. From where they're scrolling to on a given page to heat maps that show which content they're interacting with, there are many tools that can show you what your visitors want and need from you.

Hotjar uses heat maps to understand the users of some of the world's biggest brands.

4. Social Media

Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram can be valuable places to collect data on your visitors and fans.

By observing what your audience is doing, engaging with people who interact with your brand and starting conversations, you can learn so much about the people who are interested in your brand.

Also, social media now serves as a customer service platform; rather than write a letter or an email to a business, people now turn to social media to give praise or to complain.

As tempting as it may be to delete negative comments or ignore them in the hopes they'll soon be buried, don't! As Bill Gates said: "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."

For many entrepreneurs and business owners, the online marketing scene can very confusing and overwhelming. All that marketing terminology that's constantly being thrown out there on a daily basis is enough to make one pull the covers over their head and hope it all just goes away.

This blog article explores how to create landing pages that will help boost your marketing efforts. Read more.

Consumer expectations are higher than ever, and it's critical to understand the people who are potentially buying what you're selling.

By using the right Voice of Customer tools, you can be sure to give your audience exactly what they want, when and how they want it.

Does your business use VoC tools to help gather vital customer data?

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

As a result of working with Susan and her team, clients feel confident and relieved knowing their online marketing is in trustworthy and caring hands so they can focus on building their business with peace of mind at having a perfect support system in place to guide them every step of the way.

Visit http://www.ultimatewebsiteguide.ca and download your FREE "Ultimate Guide to Improving Your Website's Profitability - 10 Critical Questions You Must Ask to Get Maximum Results"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10187629

How to Find Your Business Niche

3 Ways to Help Better Position Your Business for Market Success

Finding your business niche is the first step of defining your brand. If you don't understand how to position your business in the market place or know what you're selling and why, then you won't be able to effectively market your business.

It's important to find your business niche so you can:

• Differentiate yourself from your competitors;

• Optimize your website for the right keywords;

• Have a clear message on all marketing materials;

• Develop new ideas or products that appeal to your target market.

Here are 3 ways to make finding your business niche easier:

1. Narrow your focus.

You've heard the saying "Go big or go home?" Not in this case. To stand out from the competition and attract more visitors to your website, you need to be very specific about what you offer.

For example, business may offer a variety of marketing services. However, they wouldn't get very far if we only used the keyword "marketing services" on their website or put that term on their business cards.

Instead, they promote a number of different services on their website, marketing materials and in the real world such as Brand & Marketing Consulting, Website Development and SEO.

Get focused and you'll find your business niche or niches.

2. Define your target market.

You'll hear this again and again in marketing advice: finding the right audience to target is crucial.

Many business owners make the mistake of trying to be everything to everybody, or launch a website filled with content that doesn't speak clearly to the people they want to reach.

Think about who wants what you're selling. Is it entrepreneurs? HR professionals? Stay at home dads? Tech-savvy millennials?

Once you're come up with your target audience, you can narrow down and define your business niche even more. Plus, you'll be able to craft search engine-optimized content that will engage and inform exactly who you want to be buying your products or services.

3. Know the competition.

It's essential to know what kind of competition you're up against when you're defining your business niche. Start with Google.

Search the keywords people might use to find your business. If you see pages and pages of results and a lot of PPC ads (those are the paid ads that appear to the right and sometimes above the organic results), competition is high for that keyword or keywords.

You'll probably want to narrow down your niche even further, or find another niche to target. For example, if your niche is corporate fitness training but there's a lot of competition, brainstorm some other keywords to optimize your site for - maybe in-office corporate training, executive fitness training and corporate weight training.

The trick is to find the balance between low-competition keywords that have a decent search volume. If you're the only one using a specific keyword but nobody is searching for it, you're not going to get the results you want.

Once you have defined your business niche, you'll be able to market your products or services more effectively.

You'll know your focus, target market and competition, which will make differentiating your brand and defining your unique selling proposition (USP) much simpler.

A good brand strategy takes time, and ideally some professional help to ensure you've got everything you need for a clear, concise and compelling brand message.

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

If you are new to Social Media and online marketing or find it overwhelming and confusing, my monthly group coaching program, AMPLIFY! Business Academy http://amplifybusinessacademy.com/ is a perfect way for you to incrementally learn the best strategies and tactics to help you grow your business online.

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