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Is it time to consider email marketing?

01/31/202205/23/2019 by scmarketing

If you’re looking for a return on investment email marketing is still an exceptional option. To give you a better picture about how effective it is, think how you feel when you receive post to your home? You look at it every day, you clock what it is and open letters addressed personally to you. You pay attention – even if some of it is placed in recycling.

You do a similar process with your emails – you look at them every day. Access on your phone makes It so much easier whether that’s to read, file or delete.

But what makes a campaign effective? Well, in short, make it personal, have interesting content and use lots of images.

Snappy content

People are less inclined to read lots of content so nice imagery with bold call to actions can really help the reader navigate and engage well with your content.

With 67% of emails read on either a smartphone or tablet* – it makes sense to ensure your emails are responsive for all devices is also key these days – from laptop to smartphone and table.

Don’t forget the point of your email. With hundreds or emails received by people daily – what’s the purpose of yours and why should they read it? Personalisation is important here as it needs to be well targeted but you also need to make it clear about what you want your readers to do. So, a clear call to action is essential, for example make it clear if you want them to download a report or how to claim the special offer.

Email marketing Croydon

If you want to explore the possibilities of email marketing for your business then get in touch with Smart Cow Marketing today and we can chat through the world of digital marketing to see what campaign best suits your business.

Accountants – are you looking to grow your practice?

10/30/201905/21/2019 by scmarketing

If you’re looking for growth in your accountancy practice then considering investment in marketing could be the approach to bring prospects to your door. But, with the host of marketing tactics out there, where do you start and what’s the best approach?

Unfortunately, there’s no one answer. But there’s a whole host of tools at your disposal to get awareness of your practice out there. Here’s the lowdown on what you need to consider.

Website

First and foremost – is your website doing its job? What we mean by this is that you need to look at your website and question whether there are succinct facts about what you do? Is the content relevant to your target audience? And, are there clear calls to action to get that contact coming your way?

Google My Business

Then you need to make sure your website is seen. Make sure you’ve populated Google My Business with details of your firm. This is free to do and at the very least get the basic information up there about your company, such as website, telephone number, contact email and opening times, as this all helps with SEO and it’s another place that you can be seen. Once you have the basic company details uploaded, explore other options available such as adding offers, your news and imagery as well as asking for clients to leave reviews. Again, this all helps with your organic search rankings.

Pay Per Click

Pay Per Click (PPC) is a great way to help increase traffic to your website. If you are trying PPC – of which Google Ads are the most popular – then getting your website up to date and populated with relevant content is so important. For a PPC campaign you will want a dedicated page on your website so that when people you are targeting click on an ad they land on a page with relevant content and because it is relevant this will help lower the cost of the ads.

Content

Regular and relevant content through blogs on your website, email marketing, social media posts etc., will help position you as thought leaders and build your brand. But don’t forget images and video content. Be factual with content offer tips, industry statistics and insight. Search engines also trawl through your website pages all the time looking for fresh and relevant content so this tells the search engines that you are the place to go to.

Social media

Then there’s social media. Do you have presence on any social channel? Now you may think that Facebook is just for seeing who ate and drank what but actually having a Facebook page for your company that is up to date, even if you don’t post much from it, means that you have visibility on one of the largest search engines.

The best channels for accounting firms are LinkedIn and Twitter. With LinkedIn it’s worth remembering that you’re networking. It’s not about selling it’s about creating that business relationship. You connect with people to then be able to engage in the future to talk about products and services.

With a Twitter account your bio is a quick opportunity to showcase what services you offer. It’s worth having presence on this channel as your competitors will and it allows you the opportunity to share industry insight from accounting resources such as Accountancy Age.

Read our blog on the different social media platforms and how to use them for more insight.

Practice growth sessions

If you’re an accountancy practice looking to grow then why not book a practice growth session with us at Smart Cow.

Get in touch today via our online form or call on 020 3137 1826 or via saymoo@smart-cow.com

Top tips to consider for your website

11/18/201905/14/2019 by scmarketing

A website has so many similar characteristics to a bricks and mortar premises. It’s your main shop window so needs to look good, have up to date items on display on the homepage and most importantly when you step inside your ‘premises’, your website needs to be easy to navigate.

So, we’ve gathered a few tips on what to think about when embarking on refreshing your website or creating a new one.

The website basics

What type of website do you want? Does it need to be a simple brochure website that showcases what services you offer with a clear call to action? Or do you want a more interactive website with the ability to capture data, download functionality or e-commerce capabilities?

Basically, your website is your shop window – so getting this right is key. Ensuring you have a menu bar with easy navigation and clear call to actions to help your visitor and keep them on your website. Which brings us on to our next point.

Website bounce rate

Whether you already have a website or you’re looking to create a new one you’ll be wanting to manage your bounce rate and keep that low. A high percentage means that people are leaving your website very quickly usually because content is not relevant or the website is not easy to navigate. If people don’t stay on your website for long this is unlikely to lead to conversion.

This leads us on to our next point about content and having a clear call to action to help reduce bounce rates.

Call to action

Ultimately you want people to sign up to your services or buy your products, so tell people what to do when they reach your site. Make buttons, web links or text links obvious so that a visitor to your website is drawn to a specific landing page with all the key detail needed to attract them to your offering. In short. This means making sure you have clear ‘download now’ buttons or ‘sign up to our newsletter’ or ’subscribe now’ text.

Blog

Call to actions are also often used in inbound marketing activity such as through social media posts which entice people to visit a website via reading the latest blog. Blogs are a key part of inbound marketing campaigns. Blogs can help build awareness of the brand, increase traffic to the website, lead generation and position you as an authority in your field which helps build trust.

Attract and engage visitors

We build websites that are designed to attract and engage visitors as well as be the centre of your digital world. If you’re looking to attract, engage and convert your potential clients, get in touch with us and chat about your website requirements.

How to use different social media platforms

The different social media platforms and how to use them

09/20/202104/25/2019 by scmarketing

Social media is one of the many tools of digital marketing. It is a quick way to get your message out, cost-effective and an efficient way to promote your business to potential clients and consumers. You’re able to reach out to prospects at the click of a button. Social media also helps you to engage with your audience through an open line of communication. But with so many social media channels out there it is important to utilise the right social media platforms relevant to your business to get the most out of it.

Take a look through some of the most popular social media platforms and see if there’s something for your business:

Instagram

Via Instagram you can discover new trends, people, and businesses through sharing images to followers. You can use hashtags to spread the reach of your messages to people who are interested in the type of content you produce. Ensure you post regularly with hashtags and note what posts get the most likes or comments to guide you in future posts. Think visually and create a themed Instagram feed to really help showcase what your business is about. Instagram is very popular with engagement on Instagram 15 times higher than it is on Facebook!

Facebook

Facebook, some might say, is slowly coming to the end of its popularity, but this doesn’t mean you can completely overlook it, especially if you are trying to appeal to a slightly older audience. You can easily add links to blogs or upcoming projects or create events. You can also use Facebook messenger to interact with your audience and fill them in on any news they may find interesting. You are able to create live videos to further engage your audience. It’s more consumer focused so getting that tone right for your audience is key.

Now there’s no excuse not to network. Linkedin is a business2business channel with networking at its core allowing you to connect with other professionals, clients, colleagues, prospects and employers. You can promote yourself by showcasing your achievements and what your business is about. Produce engaging content to encourage likes, shares and connections. LinkedIn helps boost your business brand and profile.

Snapchat

Snapchat allows you to post live photos or videos instantly to your audience. These stay online for 24hrs, so it is important to upload every day. You post via ‘Stories’ which can be viewed by anyone subscribed to your Snapchat. Snapchat is great if your target audience is slightly younger as 71% of Generation Z (born between 1995-2015) use Snapchat daily. To ensure a successful Snapchat following, promote your Snapchat account on other social media channels.

YouTube

YouTube can be used to discover new things going on in the local area, nationwide, or even globally, so it is perfect for whatever audience you have. To get views you need to have an enticing title and thumbnail. You also need a continuous flow of content, perhaps once or twice a week. You are also able to use tags, keywords and categories to help your video appear higher up in YouTube searches.

Twitter

With a Twitter account your bio is a quick opportunity to showcase what your brand is about in 160 characters. Track when is the perfect time to tweet. Twitter peak hours tend to be around 1-3pm on weekdays, the worst times to post are after 8pm and after 3pm on Fridays. Content needs to be regular and more often than other channels. Like other channels, spread your reach with relevant hashtags – but not too many on this channel.

Keep it relevant

The most important factors to consider when it comes to using social media marketing is to post frequently, connect all your social media channels together through links, and engage with your audience. Utilise all the channels at your disposable, as long as they are relevant to your business, and set aside time in your day to work on your social media platforms.

Social media marketing agency

If you need help and advice on using social media and a successful marketing tool, then get in touch with Smart Cow Marketing. Digital marketers based in Croydon, we can help create a professional marketing plan tailored to your business. Call us on 020 3137 1826