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Marketing tips for Croydon businesses

05/27/202103/10/2021 by scmarketing

As we wait with fingers crossed for non-essential shops to open and sectors such as hair & beauty, hospitality and leisure to resume, we thought we’d offer our local Croydon businesses some marketing tips to help increase online presence.

Google My Business

First things first, is your company on Google My Business? If not, get one set up – it’s free to do!

If you do have a page already then make sure all details are up to date and add as many ways for people to get in touch with you as they can.

Add any special offers you have running. Remember to add imagery to your business page, this is a great resource for the hospitality sector to showcase popular dishes.

Remind customers to leave a review. Testimonials are a great way to encourage potential and returning customers.

How to set up Google My Business watch our video.

Start increasing the amount of social posts you share. This will remind people about your offering. Encourage people to follow you for updates on when you will be opening but make sure you always remind people that they can buy virtually. Or for hair & beauty, get your bookings up and running by spreading the word on social media.

For our wonderful Croydon hospitality businesses, we can’t wait for the restaurants, pubs and bars to breathe life into the town again. Remind Croydon folk what they’ve been missing with fantastic images of your amazing dishes.

Instagram and Facebook are great for foodie places. With Instagram it’s all about the look and there’s nothing more appealing than a plate of tasty food. Give details of anything new, your most popular dishes and your specials. Be descriptive within your post though.

Re-confirm your opening times and update your profile with any new details.

Run teaser campaigns with a countdown to when you will open (although we’re aware that it is all tentative dates right now).

Extend reach of your social post by adding hashtags. Here’s some general Croydon foodie hashtags you might want to consider as well as some standard Croydon ones you should always think about:

#Croydon #EastCroydonCool #Croydonbar #Croydonpub #Shoplocal #Supportlocal #Croydonrestaurants #Croydonfoodies #Croydonfood #Croydonrestaurantquarter #Instafood #lovefood #foodstagram #foodpic #foodie

Don’t forget to utilise the Story function on Instagram and Facebook. This is another way to be seen by your followers as it stands out at the top of the feed.

Encourage customers and prospects to share posts on social media.

When someone shares a post and tags you in, you can use the little arrow function just below the image. This allows you to share this to your stories and you can thank the customer for their visit.

Or a simple way to create a story is once you have added a post to your Instagram feed, just click the arrow below your post and you can share to you story.

Website updates

If you have a website, make sure that all your contact details, products and services are up to date. For hospitality get your menus and booking forms sorted. If your website still says Christmas 2020, get that removed, potential customers will think you are not opening.

If you have a blog, make sure you add content to that and do so regularly. This really helps with search engine optimisation (SEO) and your business being found in search engines. Fresh content is great for ongoing organic rankings.

We’ve recently created a blog on 8 ways to refresh your website, here’s an overview of what you’ll find on that. These are great SEO tactics that you can implement yourself.

Check your website navigation, it should be easy
Review content, contact details and check links aren’t broken
Add new imagery to refresh the look
Complete any missing meta descriptions
Update and add new calls to action
Get a free website review from us!

Email marketing

If you have an email distribution list, then now is a great time to start an email marketing campaign. Remember to be clear in your message, include a call to action and ensure you have your contact details visible.

Look at our checklist in our blog on what to check before you send your next email marketing campaign. You must also ensure you are GDPR compliant.

PPC Croydon

What is PPC and why use it? All you need is in that blog. But, in a nutshell, Pay Per Click or PPC is online paid advertising which gets its name from the fact that advertisers pay when someone clicks on an advert that they have running. It’s a great way of appearing at the top of search results pages to give your website a boost.

Digital marketing Croydon

We’re a digital marketing agency in Croydon providing digital marketing for accountants and other local businesses. Download our eBook with additional marketing resources and ideas for getting your business seen online – The Beginner’s Guide to Inbound Marketing.

What is PPC and why use it?

03/02/202102/17/2021 by scmarketing

You’ve likely heard of the phrase PPC in relation to marketing but perhaps not really thought much more about it and how it could help your business. So, here’s some insight into PPC or shall we say, Pay Per Click advertising.

What is PPC?

Pay Per Click is online paid advertising which offers a targeted way to reach your audience. It gets its name from the fact that advertisers pay when someone clicks on an advert that they have running.

The most common form of PPC that advertisers use is paid search such as Google Adwords. This means that the ads will appear in relation to a relevant search that someone has conducted to find products or services.

There’s also banner advertising and remarketing where ads will appear on a partner website or follow you around when you’ve visited a company that’s running remarketing ads. These are also referred to as display advertising.

While Google Adwords is the most popular, you can of course also run PPC campaigns on other search engines such as Bing as well as social channels like Facebook or Instagram.

Why use PPC?

There’s a few reasons to consider PPC for your business.

If you need a boost in search engine results pages (serps) to help your search engine optimisation (SEO) or want to specifically target an audience segment then Pay Per Click advertising (PPC) can help your firm be found. It can help your business stand out in local search results against your competitors.

PPC can be very targeted to your specific audience. Just think of all the information you may have shared online about your age, gender, interests and location, all this and more can be used to market to specific people.

Unlike a traditional advertising campaign you can continually change online ads to reflect analysis. For instance, with Google Ads you can review regular recommendations for tailoring your ads even further. This means you can add and remove keywords or negative keywords, change the content of ads or snippets to help optimise performance.

Google Ads tips

For your Google ad search campaigns, create more than one expanded text ad so that the best ad can be found.
Create responsive search ads as well as text ads. This enables Google technology to create the best combination of title and text into the ad based on which is performing well.
Structured snippets allow prospects to see a preview of your services. This helps with standout on the search page.
Google display ads also offer a way to reach a wide number of people. These ads show across over 2 million sites, videos or apps – part of a Google Display Network. Ads will appear based on online activity.

Google AdWords certified

Each year at Smart Cow Marketing we ensure that we are Google AdWords certified and this year we are now a Google Certified Partner and the only Google AdWords Partner in Croydon.

While gaining the AdWords certification qualification year on year highlights our indepth knowledge and expertise on the fundamentals of setting up and managing successful AdWords campaigns. Being a Partner shows that Google trusts us even more with the support we offer clients.

This is probably one of the most important certifications there is with regards to Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and in particular Pay Per Click advertising. It is an important credential for marketers and one that is not lightly awarded. Receiving a Google AdWords certification means that Smart Cow Marketing continues to be recognised as being experts in digital marketing and PPC.

PPC agency Croydon

With many marketing tactics whether organic or PPC advertising, we can help guide you. We can provide a tailored digital marketing proposal for your business needs. Book a free consultation.

PPC resources

Smart Cow becomes Google Certified Partner

08/19/202212/04/2020 by scmarketing

Each year at Smart Cow Marketing we ensure that we are Google AdWords certified and we have just received news that we are now a Google Certified Partner and the only Google AdWords Partner in Croydon.

We’re really proud to achieve this additional accolade of being Partner. While gaining the AdWords certification qualification year on year highlights our indepth knowledge and expertise on the fundamentals of setting up and managing successful AdWords campaigns, being a Partner shows that Google trusts us even more with the support we offer clients. Now we are a Partner, as an agency we also benefit from additional support from Google which is an added bonus for clients.

Our specific areas of specialisation include Google Ad Search and Display Advertising. This means we have the know-how to create and optimise compelling ads that show up on Google Search for the targeted audience. We also provide advice on keyword strategy and budget planning ensuring that your campaign performs at its optimum. Our expertise also ensures we create captivating visual display ads that reach targeted potential customers across over two million websites and 650,000 apps.

Book a FREE consultation

Google AdWords certification

Google AdWords certification is one of the most important certifications there is with regards to Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and in particular Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising.

In order to pass, businesses have to learn extensive academy content working through numerous modules for Google Ads Search and Google Ads Display which are regularly updated and completed time-based exams with a minimum pass of 80%.

To achieve certification, a business is required to pass a Fundamentals exam as well as exams for areas of expertise. Smart Cow has managed to stand out in two areas which are Google Ad Search and Display Advertising.

Google Partner Croydon

Being a Google AdWords Partner means that Smart Cow Marketing continues to be recognised as being experts in digital marketing and Pay Per Click advertising.

If you’re looking for qualified leads to grow your business, book a consultation and we can discuss a digital marketing strategy that is best to achieve your business goals.

8 Tips to improve marketing for accountants in London

05/06/202101/19/2020 by scmarketing

As an accounting firm, it’s easy to rely on repeat and referral business. However, if you want to grow, you need to turn to marketing your firm.

Marketing for accountants requires a bit more expertise to break through the noise and get your business noticed. There are more than 76,000 accountants in the UK. You have to work hard to get your business noticed online.

Keep reading to learn the latest marketing tips for accountants that will help your business grow.

1. Get on Google My Business

How will you be found on search engines if you don’t tell search engines that your business exists? You have to fill out a listing on Google My Business to show search engines that you have a legitimate business. It will also help your firm be found when people are searching.

2. Get Your Marketing Messages Right

How well can you communicate what sets your accounting firm apart from all of the other accounting firms in London?

You need to be able to explain to someone the services you provide, to whom, and why they need to go to your firm. That needs to happen in about 5-7 seconds.

If you do that well, you’ll be able to weed out the people who aren’t a good fit for your business and pique the curiosity of your ideal client.

3. Optimise for SEO

Millions of people turn to search engines every single day to find products and services. That includes searching for tax information and finding accountants.

Search engine optimisation is a great way to get your accounting firm in front of potential clients when they’re trying to learn about taxes or trying to find an accountant in London.

4. Content Builds Trust

Let’s say that someone is trying to find tax information. They don’t want to hire an accountant yet, but they want information on what capital allowances are and what qualifies.

You can write a blog post that addresses that very question. The goal is to optimise that post to appear in related searches for capital allowances.

The person wanting to understand what they are comes across your post, they read it, and they become more interested in your services.

Your content has to go above and beyond adding value and help people solve a very specific problem.

Marketing your accounting practice needs to establish trust with your target audience. The way you do that is by providing value and repetition.

The more people see your company, the more they’ll remember it. You want to be seen as a tax resource in London, not just another accountant.

Don’t be afraid to give away information for free.

5. Capture Email Addresses

In the example above, your website did its job to get someone interested in your accounting firm. Now it’s time to convert that person to a lead.

The best way to do that is to have them sign up to your email list. That allows you the opportunity to remain in communication with them until they decide to unsubscribe.

In order to capture an email address, you want to offer something of value. People aren’t really going to give up their email address because you want them to sign up for your newsletter.

However, a guide that outlines 5 tax saving strategies for small business owners would be a great way to get people to sign up to your list.

Whatever you have as your trap, so to speak, it has to be relevant and useful to your target audience.

6. Follow up With Retargeting

Not everyone will want to sign up for your email after they visit your website. You don’t want to lose that lead for good, so you need to find a way to keep your brand in front of them once they leave your site.

A retargeting campaign can do just that. A retargeting campaign uses tracking cookies to present your display ads on websites and social media networks once someone leaves your site.

Retargeting does “impact consumer behaviour” and it can help you get more clients to your accounting firm.

7. Take Networking Online

How often do you spend time at networking meetings? They can be incredibly valuable and provide a great source of referrals. You can take the same approach to a networking meeting and apply it to social media. LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are great places to connect with other professionals and individuals who could benefit from a good accountant. It’s another way to engage with potential customers and establish credibility and trust.

8. Measure Results and Adjust Your Campaign

Once you start a marketing campaign, you can’t let it run on autopilot. It needs attention and tweaking, which can be difficult when you’re trying to manage client work in the middle of tax season.

You need to measure the results of your campaign to see what tactics are working well and which ones aren’t. That will give you enough information to make an informed decision about your marketing.

For example, you look at your analytics and see what you’re getting traffic to your site, and they’re reading your content. However, they’re not converting to email leads or scheduling appointments.

It could be for a variety of reasons. The visitors may be early in the buying cycle and need more touches before

It could also be that your lead magnet isn’t compelling enough to drive signups. Good marketing takes patience and testing to get it to be perfect.

Marketing for Accountants

As an accounting firm, if you want to grow, you need to do more than rely on repeat and referral business. You need to learn the latest ways to improve marketing for accountants and apply them to your business.

There are plenty of ways to market your firm from content marketing to SEO. To be successful, you need to be consistent and be willing to measure and test your campaigns.

Do you need help with marketing your accounting firm? Contact us, digital marketing and SEO experts for accountants, today for a free consultation.