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2023 Marketing Success Formula

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Thinking ahead and looking forward to marketing trends can be difficult. With so much to consider, how can you possibly know what direction to go in? No worries! The Bekoz Team has been keeping an eye out on things that have been trending.  

Artificial Intelligence

Technology continues to amaze us with how quickly it evolves. Yet, with this swift expansion, the link between technology and marketing continues to grow. Content generation is one area impacted by this growth. While there are many ways to develop content, one particular avenue that has started to take the lead is using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to generate content. Did you know that you can have your content written for you in seconds? Put in several words about your topic and message, and several seconds later, you have the beginnings of a blog, social media post, and more. It makes you wonder…who or what wrote this? While this is a great tool that can be used, we assure you a member of the Bekoz Team wrote this piece!

Voice Search and SEO

Along the lines of AI, and within the realm of marketing tech, is the power of search. Have you recently used Google as a verb? We all have tried to search for products or services, whether it was with the help of Google or Siri. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) used to be based on traditional strategies, which may include inserting search terminology or keywords into a document, keeping your content updated and fresh, or ensuring that links from other sites (backlinks) led to your pages. However, as the tech industry expanded, so did the ability to find the products you are looking for using your voice. Plus, it’s just easier. Is your website optimized for voice search capabilities? This is one thing you need to consider.

VR

We weren’t playing when we mentioned that technology and marketing go hand and hand. Today you can get on several platforms and experience locations before physically visiting, thanks to Virtual Reality or VR capabilities. There are travel sights, attractions, doctors’ offices and more that provide you with a 360-degree view with 3D imaging. You can see how a couch fits into your living room or try on a pair of prescription glasses without ever leaving your home. As technology continues to expand and companies such as Meta and Microsoft continue to research how we can take advantage of a virtual universe, this is definitely something you should be keeping your eye on.

User-Generated Content

What is better than free promotion? Word of mouth has taken a digital turn and is stronger than ever on social media. Your customers post pictures, leave statements, and provide reviews that entice others to seek out and utilize your business. Let them do the work for you. Simple search engine alerts will let you know who is talking about you and where. Be sure to share testimonials and keep copies of good reviews for use in your marketing efforts. 

Influencer Partnerships

Now, let’s step outside of the technical space for a moment. Regardless of the industry you may be in, there is always someone who may have something to say. Influencers are individuals who may be able to sway the opinion or behaviors of others. Many times we find influencers have a large following and may share their thoughts in a blog, vlog, live stream, or on social media. Additionally, most are known for their opinions on a particular area. There are travelers, foodies, fashionistas, businesses, and more. The investment to engage and hire these individuals may vary. Still, it could be worth the effort to expose a new set of potential customers to your business.

Stay on trend by considering and including these tactics in your upcoming marketing initiatives. Need support fitting them in your strategy. Give us a call. 

5 Things to Consider When Hiring Marketing Support

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We find that many times when there is a need for additional services to keep a business moving, there is usually a decision between creating a brand-new position or using funds to outsource support. In line with our 5-year anniversary, we are taking a moment to discuss the pros of outsourcing your marketing services by providing you with a few items to consider – FIVE items to be exact. 

Sign up to receive marketing information in your inbox and continue the 5-year celebration with us!  

Many small to midsize companies have been there. You recognize the gaps and immediately you, as a business leader, realize, “I need help!” But rather than spending a large portion of your budget on a highly trained employee, consider the diverse skill set and cost savings associated with outsourcing. 

  1. Get support from a group of highly skilled professionals 

There are a variety of marketing areas to address, each with specific subject matter experts. Consider the vast scope the position must focus on; marketing strategy, digital communications, research, analytics, and more. The list goes on and on. Finding an employee that would be effective in all these areas can be difficult and costly. Not to mention recruitment, training, benefits, equipment, and software needed for success. Oh my! The cost of programs and tools alone may make you reconsider. Are you shaking your head yet? 

Why not consider utilizing your budget in a way that could be more cost-effective? Hiring a team of marketing professionals working together to achieve success in all these areas, that may be comparable to what you would end up spending on just one employee. 

  1. Assign duties that may be complicated to administer or control

Sometimes it isn’t conducting the work that your staff may consider the most enjoyable. It could be the more complicated items that become overwhelming. Consider the follow-up, pulling reports, analyzing, or testing concepts. Who has the time amid everyday duties? It is one thing to schedule social media posts but don’t forget the overall strategy, engaging with and responding to followers, and analyzing data. A team of professionals can save your staff time, while consistently working on the items that may regularly be avoided, or forgotten.

  1. Lack of Time and Resources

Let’s face it. Your job is to manage and lead, whether you are the CEO and are running the business or you are part of the two-person marketing team trying to balance all the departments’ activities, it can be a struggle. Bandwidth is definitely something to ponder. While you can try to wear all the hats, the end result becomes the inability to truly evaluate efforts and gauge success. In addition to driving up operational costs with overtime payments and days out due to overworked staff. Consider the effort it takes to complete all the marketing activities to drive your organization’s lead generation, as well as evaluate the findings and adjust accordingly. Save the trouble and stress, and work with a team to develop strategically coordinated efforts that will bring success to your company. 

Thinking about it? Contact us to set up a free 30-minute consultation. 

  1. Gain An Outside Perspective

Staring at a computer screen hoping new ideas will come is not going to get you where you need to go. An outside perspective can be seen as helpful and a sounding board that can provide a different way to look at things. A different perspective can provide out-of-the-box concepts, or help to expand new ideas. Even if you do have an individual focused on driving your marketing goals forward, we are sure they will appreciate the extra support.

  1. Leverage proven workflows and procedures

When outsourcing support you not only get the use of additional assistance or an extra set of skills, you get an opportunity to leverage workflows and processes proven successful. Rather than spending time building your structure or trying to adapt it to fit your needs, allow a team of professionals to implement industry best practices. Why should you have to try to keep up with the latest tactics to keep your marketing running, consider utilizing communication, outreach, and well-defined methods that boost efficiency? 

Evaluate the benefits

Some may argue that it is good to have an employee on hand when needed. While this may be true, let’s think about the following:

  • A team of skilled professionals at your disposal that can provide an array of quality services, ready to hit the ground running versus one employee. 
  • Your return on investment, including money, time, and resources. 
  • An expanded mindset to explore ideas and concepts from all angles. 

When you think about it, why wouldn’t you want to invest in a team of professionals that can focus on your various needs and come in ready to get started? Outsourcing allows you as a business leader to focus on what’s important in keeping your department and business running.

#AllThingsTrending

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Have you ever wondered how bloggers with the best content come up with those mouth watering topics? It’s the kind of information everyone wants to know and will search to get it! It’s the kind of content that starts to trend and helps generate traffic to their website, social media, and more. Don’t just sit back and envy others for the content they are posting. Instead, learn the tricks of the trade, and begin to provide engaging content that will leave people wanting more. With a good strategy and additional items to add to your content marketing tool box, you’ll be delivering content that will lure your target audience right through your virtual door.

Develop a Keyword Strategy

Let’s start by developing a keyword strategy. Identifying a few key words that align with your organization and industry can help bring attention to your content and lead people who are searching for specific services or products right to you. We need to consider the dos and don’ts of keyword usage in content development.

Do…Don’t…
Consider your CLIENT first. Think about search terms used by your target market to search for specific items.Search engines are smart. Don’t OVERLOAD your content with keywords. Instead use synonyms or similar terms as well.
Keep content keywords, topics and the overall message VALUE-DRIVEN.Do not post IRRELEVANT topics or items that will take away from your focus.
Develop a list of words that can be placed into CLUSTERS and act as subtopics for your main subject. Avoid SPORADICALLY spreading topics across your site. Develop a strategy that will add to the user’s experience. 
Use KEYWORDS in the post/page url and topic titles.Do not GIVE UP on your existing SEO strategy.

https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2020/07/23/how-to-use-trending-keywords-from-current-events-in-content-marketing/

Identify trending topics 

Now that we have an idea of what to do and what not to do, how do you find trending topics and incorporate keywords into your content creation? By now you should have thought of several industry, product or service related keywords to utilize. If not, here’s an example to give you an idea. Let’s take a healthcare organization focused on providing educational awareness regarding the latest with COVID-19. Keywords may include the obvious:

  • Coronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • Pandemic

But what about also including:

  • Vaccine 
  • Symptoms 
  • Quarantine 

These keywords can be placed into groups and incorporated within main topics helping to guide the direction of your content. Keywords can also be utilized to bring attention to topic titles. Back to our healthcare organization example…

  • Top 5 things to know about the Coronavirus.
  • COVID-19 Resources, what to do if infected?

However, the question still remains, are these topics people want to know about and will they draw traffic to your website? There are a number of tools and resources (free and paid), that can help you determine what may be trending or what popular topics are within a specific industry. 

Quara

See what people are discussing on Quara.com. Quara is a place anyone can go to share knowledge and ask questions. Visit the site and take a look at the most popular posts. Using this site, you can gain ideas about what people are thinking about topics and develop content surrounding those ideas.

Google

Plug terms into the Google search engine and scroll down to the bottom to look up related search suggestions. Utilize the “Autocomplete” tool. When putting a term into Google’s search box, a number of terms will drop down appearing below the term you have listed. These terms, questions or phases are the most searched items related to what you have placed in the search console. Another Google function great for finding related content and popular trends is Google Trends. Visit the site and see what great information you can obtain by listing a simple word or phrase.

Another way to determine how well your topic is trending is to utilize Buzzsumo, which will allow you to see how well topics are doing across social media or articles.

By doing a quick search and  utilizing these sites we found some popular topics across the U.S. 

The most interesting ‘top searched for’ results from across the globe:

US

  • Most popular news resources: Fox News, CNN, ESPN
  • Most popular retailers: Amazon, Walmart, Ebay
  • Most popular streaming platforms: Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu
  • Most popular food chains: Domino’s, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s

Globally

‘Dalgona coffee’ – the homemade coffee prepared from instant coffee, sugar, water and milk, which looks like the coffee from the best coffee house which quickly became a hit on Instagram, – is the most trending keyword globally. 

US

When President Donald Trump signed the CARES act, Google searches for the keyword ‘Stimulus check’ exceeded 20 million searches per month, and became the most trending keyword in the U.S. in 2020 and still is so far. 

Top Google Searches

Everyone wants to have a trending brand or topic, but with so many trying to achieve the same goals, how do you separate yourself? Take into consideration featured articles based on content topics that match your target market personas.

Build Topic Clusters

Topic Clusters help with content organization by connecting subtopics to main themes and keywords. They are a great addition to your SEO or content marketing strategy. Content clusters help both the person searching for information,  as well as the search engine itself. Search engines are looking for information and content they feel will be beneficial to the searcher. Think of clusters as subtopics of similar information which can be linked to a broad core topic and provide insight of a main topic at a deeper level. Adding trending topics into the cluster to provide information about a core topic will help search engines find your content helpful as it fulfills the need of what your market is searching for. 

Use subtopics for blog posts, downloadables, and more.  Be sure to link subtopics to core pages where applicable. Be sure these topics support at least one of your products or services. Use your content to educate, entertain and engage, then watch them keep coming back. 

If we go back to our health care example we can develop core

  • Core Topic: Healthcare
    • Beat the Coronavirus by building your immune system.
    • Signs and systems of Coronavirus.
    • Preexisting conditions that can worsen the effects of the Coronavirus.
  • Core Topic: Education 
    • Where to get tested for COVID-19.
    • What happens when testing for the Coronavirus.
    • 6 things to do while in Quarantine.
    • Telehealth options when you can’t leave the house.

Determine what’s trending and implement these few steps for your SEO strategy to enhance traffic your website! Interested in gaining more  helpful ways to see what’s trending? Download a checklist of items to consider and utilize when developing your content.

DOWNLOAD THE
CHECKLIST TODAY!

Stay Connected to the Community During the COVID19 Crisis

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Have you checked your inbox lately?

In the past week, inboxes have been inundated with multiple emails regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and how companies and organizations are assuring their customers and constituents that they are here and available to them.  COVID-19 has turned the lives of many upside down. We have begun practicing social distancing, schools have closed or moved to relying heavily on online learning, more people are working from remote locations and in some areas entertainment facilities, restaurants, gyms and more have shut down. However, this separation doesn’t mean you have to be disconnected from your constituents and audience. There are many options to engage with your community virtually. Although we may not see each other, our communication doesn’t need to stop. Instead we may have to think of more innovative ways to connect. 

Email is only one way to communicate with customers or your teams, but consider some of these other options to engage with your community virtually and ways to promote general communication among your colleagues, customers, families and friends while separated. 

  • Hold a Tele-Town Hall: The NAACP hosted an Emergency Tele-Town Hall a few weeks ago to address COVID-19 and its potential impact on communities of color. They offered a call-in number as well as a registration form for members of the media. Invited panelist, including the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, were on board to share updates and answer questions. After the town hall session – NAACP provided an audio recording of the session for individuals that couldn’t attend or those that wanted to review the discussion again.
  • Conduct Facebook Live: Consider a live broadcast using Facebook Live to keep your members, partners and constituents informed about the organization and your current initiatives. Last week Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Facebook conducted a Facebook Live with Dr. Anthony Fauci who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Zuckerberg and Dr. Fauci had a 30+ minute discussion around the wide-spread of COVID-19. A great way to reach audiences that may look to get their news from social media channels like Facebook rather than traditional news outlets.
  • Schedule Virtual Office hours sessions: Let your community know you are still listening and you hear them by conducting virtual office hour sessions. Invite your audience to submit questions in advance, let them know the date and time that you will address the questions virtually. You can conduct the sessions every Friday at noon to address questions your organization received throughout the week.

A few additional tips to consider when planning your virtual sessions:

  • Make time for dry-runs and testing: While some of your communication efforts may need to be rapid-response, please try and make time for dry-runs and/or testing of the platform. We may have used these platforms before, but have we expected the amount of participants that may dial in or join? Do we have them all muted-upon-entry? Is the chat mechanism set up properly to accept questions? Last but not least, is your camera set up properly so that folks can see you and your team. That is one important aspect of connection, being able to see the person that is delivering the message.
  • Stay positive through all of this: You may want to even consider a virtual lunch bunch or virtual happy hour with your team to keep everyone connected, and positive. Although these are crazy times it doesn’t mean we have to lose the good in what we do. It has just forced us all to re-evaluate how we are offering support and services. If you’re feeling really fun and funky – throw a dance party like D-Nice’s “Club Quarantine” – a fun way to bring everyone together (virtually) during a crisis!

Bekoz Marketing is still open and available to you. We practice what we preach and we use Zoom and Google Hangouts to connect with you. Undoubtedly your organization and business is working through how to properly communicate with your constituents and focusing on how to reassure them during this time. Let’s work together on this!

5 Tips for Your Marketing Plan

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Whether you’re working on the marketing section of your business plan or developing a standalone marketing strategy for your business or organization, we have five tips you can use to establish a thorough roadmap of how you will attract and retain consumers.

1. Define your target market.

Really get to know who you are targeting with marketing messages about your product or service. How old are they? Do they have a specific gender identity? Where are they located? What stage of life are they in? Where do they spend their time and money? What are their beliefs, interests, and values?

Also get to know your competition. Who are your competitors? Who are they targeting with their marketing messages? Are their marketing efforts effective? If so, how? What can you learn from them and apply to your marketing?

We like Hootsuite’s guide to audience research. https://blog.hootsuite.com/target-market/


2. Determine the 4 Ps.
Figure out the mix of tools that you will use to reach your target market.

  • Product — Do you have an actual, tangible product or service that you are offering? What core product (benefit to the consumer) is associated with your actual product or service? Are there augmented products you offer to help consumers use your actual product or service?
  • Price — How much are you going to charge for your product or service? What pricing structure will you use for your product or service?
  • Place — What physical and/or virtual channels will you use to distribute marketing messages about your product or service? Where will consumers be able to access information about your product or service?
  • Promotion — What marketing messages will you use to make consumers aware of your product or service? What marketing messages will you use to persuade them to purchase your product or service? And what marketing messages will you use to keep them coming back for more?

3. Describe your unique selling proposition
Make sure you have a clear understanding of the value of your business or brand and your product or service. What makes you different from your competitors? What can you offer consumers that your competitors cannot?


4. Develop your positioning statement
Ensure you and your internal team have a clear vision for how you want consumers to perceive your brand or business. This one-sentence statement answers the following questions: 1) Who is the target market? 2) What does the target market need? 3) How will your business meet their needs? 4) What differentiates your product or service from your competitors? 5) Why should consumers in your target market believe your claims?

We think Hubspot’s positioning statement template is a great starting point. https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/positioning-statement

5. Determine your key performance indicators
Before you begin implementing your marketing plan, make sure you know how you are measuring success. What are you trying to achieve with your marketing efforts? Increase brand awareness? Generate more leads? Increase your market share? Improve traffic to your website? What key performance indicators (or metrics) do you need to monitor to measure your success?

Reference this list of marketing metrics from CoSchedule. https://coschedule.com/marketing-strategy/marketing-metrics-kpis/

At Bekoz Marketing, we can assist you through this process, and help you implement innovative strategies and tactics to accomplish your marketing goals.

Learn more about us: https://bekozmarketing.com/capabilities/.

The Potential of LinkedIn for Lead-Generation

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In the Community: Managing Partner, Sheebah Smith, participated in Business Appreciation Week with local associations to learn more about LinkedIn from Thomas Ellis of EWC Consultants.

Are you interested in getting more out of LinkedIn? It seems many are using LinkedIn to stay connected or to simply have a presence, but are you utilizing it to its full potential? Are you engaging with possible leads, enhancing relationships, or establishing yourself as an industry thought leader? Instead of jumping on and wasting time passively scanning your timeline, do just a few things that will place you in a position to generate leads for profitability. Here are some takeaways I gathered after attending the Calvert County Minority Business Alliance and Calvert County Economic Development LinkedIn seminar with Thomas Ellis of EWC Consultants during Business Appreciation Week. 

  • Focus on establishing a profile that makes people want to reach out to you. The first step is to evaluate your profile to ensure it is complete. 
  • Think about what sets you apart from so many others using the business platform. Ellis specifically describes this as what makes you “better, unique, and desirable?” Once these traits are in mind summarize them into the Headline section of your profile. Remember to be bold and colorful, and explain the problems a person or organization may have that you can solve.
  • In a society that speed reads you want to have images, photos, and content that will quickly draw in people. Add pictures and videos if you haven’t already. Not just an inviting professional profile or banner picture, but photos throughout the profile that will visually show your experience. Add them to your summary, under your work experience, and ensure they are inviting (i.e., Remember to smile!) Don’t have any pictures? Start taking them today! 
  • Remember, bullets are your friend. As you entice people with the knowledge you bring to the table, use bullets to help readers quickly get the main points you want them to see. Don’t intimidate them with long paragraphs making it hard for them to find the information they need. This can be done as you explain what you do and who you do it for in the summary section, as well as what you did in the experience section.
  • Once you have completed a job or you find someone is pleased with your work, request a recommendation. To ensure time doesn’t get away from you, do it within 24 hours while things are fresh. Approve recommendations that will promote your services and speak to your target audience. We all know the acknowledgment that comes along with a word of mouth recommendation is unmeasurable due to the trust held between those who are giving and accepting the recommendation. Think of LinkedIn as your vertical word of mouth recommendation bank. 
  • Lastly, engage…engage…engage. Show your expertise by providing content or replying to someone’s post. Build relationships through comments, likes, and shares. Use Google alerts to feed you information on your industry or trends and provide a post with your comments. Then watch the magic occur. In this way alone you begin to establish and strengthen relationships while establishing yourself as a thought leader within your particular industry. Additionally, you remain at the forefront of people’s minds so when they think of someone to refer, they think of you.

According to Ellis, all you need is 30 minutes a day.  After leaving the workshop, I headed to my LinkedIn profile to determine what changes needed to be made. Needless to say, there are always things you can do to make it better. A tweak here and there, now I am on my way to better-utilizing LinkedIn myself.  I’ve added these essential tips to my routine. What about you? Are you committed? 

It’s Time to Spring Into Action

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As the weather changes, you too may have to make some small adjustments to get the best out of your marketing efforts.

Check out the infographic below for a few Spring Cleaning tips to get you going.

Infographic of spring cleaning marketing tips - review marketing efforts, clean up your website and hit the road

4 Ways Brand Ambassadors Can Enhance Your Event

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Imagine this…..

It is time for the event you have been working on for months, and your team is already stretched thin; the person designated for registration duty is also doubling as the room organizer and has to help setup. To make matters worse, you just got wind that members of the mayor’s office may make a guest appearance for the welcome and opening plenary (after calling their office for weeks). You’re wondering if you have enough staff to greet the guests, push traffic to the sessions AND, don’t forget your onsite promotions.

What can you do? You can’t be everywhere…insert…your designated Brand Ambassador team! Knowledgeable minds, an extra set of eyes and hands to ensure your event concerns and guests are taken care of.

Recruiting and training the best brand ambassador team is key to a successful event. We’ve traveled around the US to assist with various events, supporting our clients, and ultimately gathering the brightest and best within the local conference areas to support an organization’s conference committees goals. We’ve seen first hand how brand ambassadors can provide an additional level of interaction, and engagement that wasn’t present before or may have been missed otherwise. There are many ways your organization can benefit from including a brand ambassador team in your event plans; here are our top 4:

 

  1. Onsite Brand Champions:

Want people to be fully aware of what your brand stands for before they leave? Who better than a team of individuals who take pride in representing your organization? Brand Ambassadors provide just that. You shouldn’t assume that everyone attending your event may know about the full capabilities of your organization or maybe those who have been around for some time aren’t fully aware of the latest and greatest achievements within the organization. Let’s face it; we live in a society of information overload. So many times people just take in what they need, not necessarily everything you would like them to know. Properly trained Brand Ambassadors can help drive specific points and messages.

 

  1. Create an interactive and memorable experience:

You know how you feel when you walk into a store, need help and there is no one around to assist you. Now add several hundred people in a place you may be unfamiliar with. One of the worst things event guests experience is having trouble finding people to assist them in their time of need. Nothing is more memorable or comforting than having an extra hand guide you when you are already frustrated by the hustle and bustle of getting to sessions or finding where you need to go. Ambassadors can provide information when needed, answer questions, escort the lost, help in serious situations or merely take pictures for guests; in turn, helping spread knowledge of the event in a social media-driven society.

 

  1. Filling seats:

Need to impress a major sponsor, board member, or CEO that just decided they wanted to sit in? What do you do when you look around, and the room is empty? Run around and get everyone to file into the room. Only if you had the opportunity to get in some exercise and physically reach every person.

Internal communication mechanisms with your Brand Ambassador team can quickly get the word out to those who are strategically placed in heavy traffic areas. With one quick message, your team can begin to encourage people to move in the direction of the session. Let’s be honest, with so much going on, sometimes informational sessions slip through the cracks. It could be timing, the end of the day, or when many decide to take a late lunch break. In any case, empty seats in front of top personnel is a bad look. Use a team of Ambassadors to guide the event’s foot traffic. When the seats start to fill up, you won’t have to hide your face any longer.

 

  1. Post-event endorsement

Now you can rest, it’s finally over, and you survived! But, wait…Now what? Who better to guide conversations regarding your event than those who were trained to know all about it. Whether online or off, word of mouth is still a heavy hitter in the world of marketing. Equip your Brand Ambassadors with proper messages, resources and assets to share information about your organizations after your event.

 

  1. **BONUS TIP:

You can take your Ambassador Program a step further beyond in-person events! Heather Mansfield, Founder of Nonprofit Tech for Good, suggests creating a #GivingTuesday Ambassador program via social media…GENIUS!

Heather provides a few easy steps to get ambassadors on board for your organizations Giving Tuesday efforts.

  • Create an ambassador sign-up on your website, connect via email and provide your promo content, social graphics, etc. for your Giving Tuesday Campaign.
  • Leading up to Giving Tuesday, connect with your ambassadors and ask them to update their social profiles with the assets you provided.
  • If they can and are willing, ask your ambassadors to create a fundraising page for your Giving Tuesday campaign.
  • Activate your ambassadors on Giving Tuesday!
  • After Giving Tuesday, follow up with a “Thank You” and save the date for next year.

Reference: https://www.donorperfect.com/pdf/givingtuesday_2018.pdf

 

Could you benefit from having a team of Brand Ambassadors for your next event? Or maybe you’re not sure if you need them and would like to discuss the option?

Connect with our team; we’ll share with you a few case studies when Brand Ambassadors saved the day and then help you figure out the best solution for your organization!

Wanted: Social Media Intern

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Bekoz is looking for a Social Media Intern to join our dynamic team and provide support for our online brand and community. You will gain valuable experience in social media administration and learn the ins and outs of marketing while aiding in Bekoz’s online communication efforts.

Tasks Include:

· Creating content calendars
· Assisting with social media management and reporting
· Drafting social media posts and analyzing social media data
· Assisting with content and online campaigns
· Assisting with online community management
· Additional digital media tasks including; drafting blog posts and language for website

This position is for YOU if you are:

· An excellent written and verbal communicator
· A team player
· Knowledgeable of various social media platforms and aware of social trends
· Creative, resourceful, engaging, organized and detail oriented

Minimum of one year of experience using various social media platforms, including but not limited to: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google. Ability to identify and understand a target market and “speak”” to them through social media. This internship is flexible; you can work remotely.

Interested applicants should send their resume to [email protected]

10 Top Marketing Trends for 2018: Takeaways for Nonprofits

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While Instagram grows, Twitter stagnates, LinkedIn refreshes, and Facebook still dominates. Cord-cutting is on the rise and TV viewership on the low. We’ve been scanning the internet air waves for the latest and greatest insights for your marketing efforts this year. Here are some commonly predicted marketing trends and key takeaways for nonprofits in 2018:

 

  • Strategy Documentation

 

Do you have a plan for your marketing and is it guided by a larger strategy? Devise your content strategy for 2018, and be sure to write it down. This type of record will provide your organization with a roadmap that can be referred to when needed. Seeing your strategy and plan on paper also provides a handy, at-a-glance resource that can provide a full picture of what you’re doing. Since marketing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, you  can view your efforts as they relate to the whole and ensure that they complement and build on each other.

 

  • Journey Mapping

 

Do you know how people become aware of your organization? Do you know all the touchpoints they have with your brand? Understanding how they move from awareness through to advocacy is important for planning your marketing strategy.

 

  • Personalization

 

Along the journey, how can you create a more personalized experience for your audience? Is there a way to send more individualized messages or offer products or services more aligned with their needs? This personalization could be one-to-one or for groups (e.g., first-time donors, volunteers, investors, etc.)

 

  • Customer Experience Marketing

 

The experiences people have with your organization and its various touchpoints builds into your brand’s equity. If you mainly interact online, are you embracing chatbots and other AI into your website and other digital channels? These tools can help with managing interactions, providing assistance, and facilitating conversion. Plan for your marketing activities to revolve around the “customer”.

 

  • Influencer Marketing

 

Think about how you can integrate influencer-generated content into your marketing efforts. Is there a personality or online influencer that aligns well with your cause? You could recruit them as a spokesperson or ambassador for your organization. You don’t have to set your sights high: Micro-influencers may be key, so think local or grassroots. Just remember, transparency is key. Be clear about the nature of your relationship.

 

  • Experiential Marketing

 

With an ever-growing amount of content, it’s hard to connect with people, let alone be seen by them. Think about how you can link on-the-ground events with digital and traditional marketing efforts. Is there a way to start sharing content and conducting promotion activities for an on-the-ground event online and then continuing those activities into the event? The more seamless the integration of digital and real-life, the better. Also, is there a way to repurpose photos and videos generated at on-the-ground events for other marketing campaigns? The real-life look and feel of that content could add appeal to your campaign.

 

  • Video Marketing

 

Video content can help boost search engine rankings, helping drive website traffic. Video content also has higher reach and engagement than other content, with live video content performing at even higher levels. Incorporate video into multiple touchpoints along people’s journeys with your brand and organization.

 

 

“Is there human trafficking in my state?” This question and others like it are now brand touchpoints. Voice search is the future. Is your organization and its content ready and optimized for voice-assisted devices?

 

  • Virtual & Augmented Reality

 

How can you use environment enhancements to bring awareness to your cause? Could you use virtual reality to help users see a societal issue up close or in a different light? Or could you encourage online participation in an awareness day with an augmented reality game or filter?

 

  • Native Advertising

 

Native ads (those that follow the look, feel and experience of platform they are on) result in higher achievement of marketing objectives. Incorporate these types of ads into your marketing strategy for more bang for your buck.

See more on 2018 marketing trend predictions from some of our faves:   https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/12/18/how-digital-marketing-will-change-in-2018-15-top-trends/#129863c2d9a4

https://neilpatel.com/blog/content-marketing-trends-2018/

https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/10-marketing-trends/  https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/12-digital-marketing-trends-to-watch-out-for-in-2018/512767/

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/305047

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/306688

https://www.cmswire.com/content-strategy/7-content-marketing-trends-for-2018/