Before TikTok, there was Triller, but are we prepared for a Social Media Ban?
Aug 25, 2020
10 min read
Anything said in explanation to the rise of social media platforms will be an understatement. So we’ll get straight to the most popular social media app, which has about 34% of the world’s population as its active user base- Facebook.
Since 2006, Facebook has witnessed staggering growth and still continues to grow every day. Compared to its other counterparts like MySpace and Orkut, Facebook stood the test of time and emerged victoriously. The one edge they had over everyone else was that it was considered “safe” and made sure they offered everything their competitors had and more.
Another trending platform that took off in 2006 was Twitter. They had an interface so unique that people were drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Not as many people joined Twitter compared to Facebook, but the ones that did were carried away by the platform’s ability to offer open communication. People now had an active chance of communicating with even celebrities, and the rush was almost cult-like.
Instagram launched in 2010 and changed the entire game of social media altogether. A visual-based photo and video sharing social media platform that took the internet by a storm. It gained massive popularity in a short time span and is now one of the most crucial social media apps for influencers. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012.
In 2011 came the uber-cool Snapchat, which had an exciting feature to offer for privacy driven individuals. It launched as a photo and video sharing app that only had the content available for a period of 10 seconds. It also notified the users if the viewers took a screenshot or recorded the contents. Snapchat gained popularity just one year into its launch and has since been a great platform for video marketing.
Then came the most controversial social media app, which was on the road to surpassing all its predecessors- TikTok, formerly known as Musical.ly. The video-sharing app was revamped by a Chinese company Bytedance to comply with its own lip-syncing app Douyin. TikTok became a massive hit amongst the audience surpassing Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat in monthly installs, it was downloaded over 1 Billion times in a month.
With the recent ban of Chinese Apps, including the stalwarts TikTok and WeChat, are we prepared for such sudden changes? Imagine losing millions and billions of followers overnight. It is a nightmare for marketers who have worked so hard to build this brand voice and followers.
Before TikTok, we had Triller, but we just can't compare the popularity, fine, with the ban, people might consider Triller and other options and shift. TikTok mass appeal is second to none, and it gave livelihood to so many people. Man, hate it or love it, they are some really creative and cool videos, popular among all age groups.
No doubt, Triller is pitching well, and in reality, they are the OG of the short video-making app with music. However, Triller shifted to a social media platform with a feed where users can scroll through videos and follow each other. Big names on the app include US President Donald Trump, music artists Cardi B, Alicia Keys, Miley Cyrus, Chance the Rapper, Marshmello, DJ Khaled, and former professional boxer Mike Tyson.
When it comes to ownership, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group each own a minority piece, but US-owned Proxima Media is the biggest investor and rappers Snoop Dog, Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd among its investors.
With such a significant rise in the user base of these social media apps over the years, influencing started to rise as well. Instagram had over 12.9 million paid social media influencer posts in 2017 itself. All these apps have served as common grounds for people all over the world, blurring the borders. A key aspect that led to the rise of social media is the structure of these apps. Social media apps have the best user interface to offer; they’ve created such simple and easy platforms that have generated universal appeal. All these services provided by the apps are free of charge; instead, you can make money through them, another powerful tool to drive the masses. Influencing has emerged out to be a means for individuals to create brands and set trends. The influencer marketing industry is expected to reach $9.7 Billion in 2020.
People have created businesses worth billions through social media influencing. Let’s take the example of Kylie Jenner, the most famous influencer of all time. She was recently featured in the Forbes billionaire list, all thanks to her fanbase on social media. She grew her cosmetic empire solely based on social media influencing. Influencers are actively using social listening to engage in conversations about them and their brands to increase engagement. Social listening has enabled influencers and brands to track and analyze related trends to optimize their social media marketing (SMM) strategies.
Source- Unsplash
Social media has become an imperative aspect of everyone’s life, it plays a huge part in our personal as well as professional relationships. It is changing everything from how we do business to the way society functions at a breakneck speed. Let’s discuss a few ways it’s changing our world-
An imperative aspect of any marketing campaign
Businesses around the globe are adopting the use of social media campaigns to create brand awareness and engage with their customers. According to SocialPubli Influencer Marketing Report, 93% of the marketers use social media influencers and 54% of marketers are willing to spend over $250,000 on influencer marketing.
It has become customary for brands to update their social media handles regularly and some are even resorting to using it as a platform for new announcements. Especially during the pandemic, brands have thought of social media marketing (SMM) as a rescuer in promoting their products.
Brands are moving out of their formal bounds and are actively engaging in social media banter. Taco Bell has been famously responsive on twitter since early on in this decade. One of their replies in response to Old Spice tweeting “ Why is that “fire sauce” isn’t made with any real fire? Seems like false advertising” is one example of how humorous and engaging social media handles of brands can be. Taco Bell made their comeback with “OldSpice is your deodorant made with really old spices?”.
Civic participation
Social media has also allowed citizens to source ideas, plan and initiate movements significant for the betterment of the world. One spectacular example of this is the ‘Black Lives Matter’ Movement which took the US by a storm with people amidst a pandemic coming together to advocate a cause. Social media was flooded with responses from all over the country from celebrities to influencers to brands, educating the masses about the social disparities black people are continuously subjected to.
Social media also serves as a platform for people to voice their opinions in response to the actions of governments and leaders. It has increased political engagement to the extent that 38% of social media users promote posts related to politics or social issues as per the Social Media and Political Engagement survey.
Disaster management
Who would have thought people would be able to contribute to disaster reliefs from one corner of the world to another? Social media has made it so easy that you can do in just a few clicks. With social media platforms offering numerous options like Facebook’s Safety Check and CrisisMappers Network, it has become easier for people around the globe to help each other out in times of need. Influencers and brands play a key role in motivating the masses to help out with actively engaging in relief programs. Social media has effectively empowered people in ways one could not have fathomed, we are given the power to raise our voice and contribute towards the change.
Source- Unsplash
Now, what will happen if one of these social media platforms is banned in your country? How will the audience recuperate? What should be the next strategy for active users? Let’s walk you through the scenario should any such thing happen.
Reasons for the ban
If our past is any indication then there could be numerous reasons leading up to a social media block. We have witnessed otherwise pberal countries banning the use of a platform for a pmited period of time owing to increasing agitation or spread of misinformation among the masses to a complete ban on all global networking sites. In 2011, Bay Area Rapid Transit Popce shut down the cell phone service including mobile internet for 3 hours in San Francisco to suppress possible protests erupting against two BART officers who killed Charles Hill. This was soon picked up by international media and resulted in the FCC issuing an Enforcement Advisory banning the use of jammers in the country.
Another significant reason for the social media block is data and privacy concerns. TikTok has recently come under fire of such allegations, wherein it is suspected that the Chinese government is steapng information and valuable data from the US audience. This has led to Mr. Trump signing an executive order giving TikTok 45 days to find a buyer in the US or it will be banned. It is a very popular app amongst the masses especially millennials and GenZs. TikTok as per its privacy popcy collects data including IP address, browsing history, location, and content preference. They have claimed to have no ties to the Chinese government in accordance with sharing information but according to China’s National Intelpgence Law of 2017, it is mandatory for any Chinese company to share their information with the government. We are yet to see what becomes of the mass adored app.
Solutions
Social media apps like TikTok have a mass appeal and serve as a creative base for its numerous users. It has also been a platform for advocating political and social issues for millions of them. Big time influencers of the app are now migrating to other apps and appealing their followers in doing the same. It can be very hard and stressful for active users to leave behind their communities and start afresh elsewhere, but one can ease their transition by following these simple steps. And, let’s not forget there is still hope for the lip-syncing app as Microsoft and Twitter have placed their bids already.
Check for alternative platforms- The beauty of the internet is that there are hundreds and thousands of platforms available to the masses, what you need to do is find one that apgns with your goals and needs. In the case of TikTok one can look for other pp-syncing apps pke Byte which is basically Vine 2.0 by Twitter, explore the option of Reels introduced by Facebook for Instagram or opt for Triller. Reels has been providing users of TikTok solace since its ban in India which had the highest number of active users overseas.
Start building your presence and community on the new platform- By engaging your audience in content similar to your initial platform, you can retain your existing followers and it can help you in amassing more. Users are content-hungry and feeding them with relevant content will help you go a long way. For instance, a lot of TikTokers are now actively urging their followers to migrate with them to other platforms pke Bryce Hall has shifted his content to Youtube, Jessica Wang has started using Reels to re-upload her TikTok videos and make more of similar content, and Noah Beck has moved to Triller. Effective community management can contribute significantly in the long-run and will instill trust and faith in your followers.
Cue in for the migration status of people you follow- You can also look for inspiration from the people you follow and check for the new platform they are using. Moving from one platform to another can be a huge undertaking and mixing up your content to fit the social environment of the new platform can also help you in gaining followers and ease your transition. Many of the famous TikTokers are also using Snapchat to communicate with their audience and making the best of Snapchat’s Discover option.
Social media scenarios are ever-changing, what remains constant is the community you build and the value it holds. Don’t be disheartened if your favorite social media app is banned from your country, connect with Saffron Edge and let us explore other apps and opportunities for you. We provide complete marketing solutions from concept to execution, packed with social media marketing (SMM), video marketing, influencer marketing, and more for your diverse and peculiar needs.
Chatbot Testing Automation for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Chatbots have seen a significant increase in use as more businesses utilize automation and Artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quality and availability of their services. According to a recent report, the use of chatbots has increased by over 92% since 2019. With such widespread adoption, it is crucial to ensure that your chatbots are error-free and provide accurate information. As businesses increasingly harness the power of AI-driven chatbots to improve customer interactions, the importance of thorough testing cannot be overstated. Therefore, chatbot testing is essential for ensuring your virtual assistants function seamlessly. This blog will discuss chatbot testing, covering everything from the basics to advanced automation techniques. What is a chatbot? A chatbot is an AI tool miming human conversation using text or voice. It is used in applications such as customer service. These virtual assistants use NLP and machine learning to understand the user’s query and provide a response. Chatbots can be implemented in websites, social media, and mobile applications to provide various services, including handling inquiries, taking orders, and making suggestions. Chatbots offer businesses several key benefits, such as: Quickly answering questions Lowering operating costs Reducing human mistakes Providing 24/7 support for multiple users Automating specific tasks What is a chatbot marketing automation? Chatbot marketing automation refers to the use of chatbots in marketing processes to automate and streamline communication with customers or leads. Chatbots can be programmed to engage with website visitors, respond to their queries, provide personalized recommendations, and even assist in making purchases. Chatbot automation with marketing automation services can also help generate leads by capturing user information and nurturing leads through automated messages. By automating these tasks, chatbots can save time, enhance customer experience, and improve overall efficiency. Evolution of chatbot automation The concept of chatbots has been around for decades, with the first notable example being ELIZA, developed at MIT in 1966. However, the field has seen tremendous growth and advancement in recent years: Rule-Based Systems: Initially, chatbots relied on rule-based systems where predefined rules and responses were programmed to handle specific user queries. These chatbots had limited capabilities and could only respond to predefined questions. Natural Language Processing (NLP): With advancements in artificial intelligence and NLP, chatbots have become more sophisticated, allowing them to understand and interpret natural language. This enabled them to have more fluid and human-like conversations with users. Integrations with Machine Learning: Chatbots started integrating machine learning algorithms to improve their ability to learn and adapt to user interactions. This led to more personalized and context-aware responses based on user behavior and preferences. Omni-Channel Integration: Modern chatbot automation evolved to seamlessly integrate across multiple communication channels such as websites, messaging apps, social media, and voice assistants. This allowed businesses to engage with users on various platforms using a consistent chatbot interface. AI-Powered Personalization: Recent advancements in chatbot automation have leveraged AI technology to enable personalized interactions based on user data, behavioral patterns, and past interactions. This has led to more effective marketing automation and customer engagement strategies. How do businesses benefit from chatbots? Chatbot marketing automation, managed by a marketing automation specialist, offers numerous advantages to businesses across various industries. 24/7 Customer Support: Chatbots provide round-the-clock assistance, ensuring customers can get help whenever needed. Cost Reduction: Since chatbots can handle repetitive questions, the amount of work that human customer support agents need will be less, thus cutting costs. Scalability: Chatbots can engage in many conversations simultaneously, meaning businesses can expand customer support without hiring more people. Improved Customer Experience: Integrated with CRM and marketing automation, quick response times and personalized interactions can enhance customer satisfaction. Data Collection and Analysis: Chatbots can also learn from customers’ interactions and assist the business in better understanding its target market. Lead Generation and Qualification: Chatbots can engage website visitors, collect contact information, and qualify leads before passing them to sales teams. Streamlined Processes: Chatbots can improve efficiency across various business processes by automating appointment scheduling or order tracking tasks and integrating email marketing automation for seamless customer communication. What is chatbot testing? Chatbot testing is the process of verifying the functionality of a chatbot and the quality of the interaction it offers to the users. This process involves various aspects, including: Conversational Flow Testing: Ensuring the chatbot maintains logical and coherent conversation across different scenarios. Intent Recognition Testing: Verifying the chatbot accurately identifies user intents from various input formats and phrasings. Response Accuracy Testing: This involves checking whether the chatbot provides correct and relevant information in response to user queries. Error Handling: Testing how the chatbot deals with unexpected inputs, misspellings, or out-of-scope requests. Integration Testing: Ensuring the chatbot works seamlessly with backend systems, databases, and third-party APIs. Performance Testing: Evaluating the chatbot's response time and ability to handle multiple simultaneous conversations. User Experience Testing: Assessing the overall interaction quality, including the chatbot's tone, personality, and ability to engage users effectively. How do you test a chatbot? To implement effective chatbot automation testing solutions and ensure a seamless user experience, consider the following steps: 1. Choose the Right Testing Framework Select a testing framework that supports your chatbot's platform and technology stack. Popular options include: Botium Dialogflow Custom Selenium-based solutions 2. Define Test Scenarios Create a complete list of test cases covering various user intents, input formats, and conversation flows. Chatbot testing automation can help generate a wide range of scenarios efficiently. 3. Prepare Test Data Develop datasets that include sample user inputs, expected responses, and any required context or variables. 4. Set Up Test Environment Configure your testing environment to simulate real-world conditions, including integrations with backend systems and APIs. 5. Implement Test Scripts Use your chosen framework to develop automated test scripts covering positive and negative test cases. 6. Execute and Monitor Tests Run automated tests regularly, especially after changes to the chatbot's logic or training data. 7. Analyze Results Review test results to identify any failures, inconsistencies, or areas for improvement in the chatbot's performance. 8. Continuous Improvement Use insights from automated testing to refine the chatbot's responses, update training data, and enhance overall functionality. Key functionalities to test in an AI chatbot Speed of Response AI conversational bots must instantly reply upon receiving user inputs for an enhanced customer experience (CX). The bot's response time must be evaluated to ensure quick service. Precision in RepliesThe correctness of the answers provided by conversational assistants in response to user queries needs to be assessed thoroughly. Handling MistakesEvaluating a chatbot's capability to manage and rectify errors is important. If the bot does not grasp the user's input, it must cleverly pose alternative questions or redirect the user to a human agent for assistance. PersonaEnsuring the chatbot's tone and voice are in harmony with the user and the context of the conversation is critical for an outstanding user experience (UX). GuidanceTesting the chatbot's guidance system is imperative to prevent users from feeling disoriented during interactions. Cognitive AbilitiesAssessing the chatbot’s intelligence is key to guaranteeing its ability to recall information and provide accurate responses based on past interactions or stored data. UnderstandingA chatbot should be capable of understanding all forms of user communication, including straightforward requests, casual chatter, idioms, and emoji expressions, to tailor its replies suitably. Compatibility Across Platforms and DevicesEnsuring chatbots operate flawlessly across various devices, operating systems, and platforms is vital. Their ability to maintain performance and provide consistent CX regardless of the medium needs thorough testing for multi- and cross-platform compatibility. Want to reduce your CAC to half? Book a strategy call How does chatbot marketing automation help SaaS businesses? Chatbot marketing automation can benefit SaaS businesses in several ways. These benefits include enhanced customer engagement through AI chatbots, which can lead to improved user interaction speed and efficiency. Chatbots for SaaS businesses also provide round-the-clock support, decreasing the load on customer support teams and automating repetitive tasks, thereby increasing productivity. Additionally, integrating chatbots into SaaS customer care can enhance customer experience, faster response times, and valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences. Here’s how ChatBots can help in SaaS Marketing Automation: Lead Generation: Chatbots can engage website visitors, qualify leads, and collect contact information, helping SaaS businesses generate new leads and expand their customer base. Customer Onboarding: Chatbots can guide new users through the onboarding process, providing information, answering questions, and assisting with setting up the software, leading to higher user adoption rates and customer satisfaction. Customer Support: Chatbots can provide instant responses to common customer queries, troubleshoot issues, and escalate complex problems to human agents when necessary, resulting in improved customer support and reduced response times. Product Recommendations: By analyzing customer interactions and behavior, chatbots can offer personalized product recommendations, upselling or cross-selling opportunities, and tailored content to enhance the overall customer experience. Feedback Collection: Chatbots can solicit user feedback, conduct surveys, and gather insights that SaaS businesses can use to improve their products, services, and marketing strategies, ultimately fostering customer loyalty and retention. What is a chatbot testing framework? A chatbot testing framework is a structured set of processes, tools, and methodologies designed to verify and validate chatbot applications' functionality, performance, and user experience. Here are three key points about chatbot testing frameworks: Functional Testing: Chatbot testing frameworks include tools and approaches for assessing the accuracy and reliability of a chatbot's responses. This involves verifying that the chatbot understands user inputs, interprets them correctly, and provides appropriate and contextually relevant responses. User Experience Testing: These frameworks focus on evaluating the chatbot's overall user experience, including its conversational flow, tone, and user interaction. They may employ techniques such as usability testing and feedback collection to ensure the chatbot delivers a seamless and engaging user experience. Integration Testing: Chatbot testing frameworks also encompass the testing of integrations with various platforms, APIs, and backend systems. This ensures the chatbot functions effectively within the intended environment and seamlessly connects with other applications or databases as needed. By employing a comprehensive chatbot testing framework, organizations can systematically assess their chatbot's performance, identify and address any issues or weaknesses, and ultimately ensure a high-quality and reliable user experience. Challenges in chatbot marketing automation While chatbot marketing automation has many benefits, it also presents some challenges. One of the key challenges in chatbot marketing automation involves ensuring that chatbot testing solutions are robust and reliable. Here are some of the challenges in chatbot marketing automation: AI Limitations: While chatbots have advanced their natural language understanding, they can still struggle with complex or ambiguous queries. Additionally, their responses may not always provide the desired result. This can result in a negative user experience. Integration Complexity: Chatbots must often be integrated with multiple platforms, systems, and databases. This can be a complex process that requires technical expertise and can result in errors or delays. Data Privacy Concerns: Chatbots handle sensitive user data, such as personal details and payment information. Ensuring this data is secure and compliant is important, but it can be difficult without robust security measures. User Adoption: Successfully launching a chatbot requires significant effort in building user awareness, gaining trust, and encouraging adoption. Users are hesitant to engage with artificial intelligence, and it may take time to establish a strong user base. Maintenance and Updates: Chatbots require ongoing maintenance and updates to be effective. Keeping up with market trends and customer requirements can be challenging and requires ongoing investment in development and support. Conclusion Overall, we've discussed the key points of testing and improving your AI chatbot, why chatbot testing is important, and the usual challenges in creating a chatbot. We covered all the necessary information to guarantee that your AI chatbot offers a smooth and effective user experience. Implementing chatbot testing automation can significantly improve the efficiency of your testing process. Ready to take your chatbot automation testing to the next level? Contact Saffron Edge today for expert guidance on implementing effective chatbot testing strategies tailored to your business needs. ...
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Why Marketing Your Business During Covid-19 is in your Best Interest
We are currently going through one of the biggest pandemics of the current generation that brought a standstill to businesses and operations worldwide. The deadly Novel Coronavirus has affected more than 171 countries and is now posing as one of the biggest threats to human civilization. Many countries have gone under total lockdown and the lives of its people have come to halt. Source: pexelsSince technology is playing a pivotal role to back us up during such times, companies are now working remotely to ensure the continuous workflow, despite the supply chain gets interrupted, imposed social distancing, and deteriorating economic conditions - Hence, causing some serious inconvenience to most firms. Businesses worldwide are following certain protocols to ensure the safety and welfare of their employees and are working from remote setups. However, that is only one part of the ordeal. Due to the uncertainty of the situation and economic slowdown, a lot of businesses are either putting their operations and marketing on hold. We wanted to write this piece for you so that you don’t follow the trend and can see how you can combat this outbreak situation and take the best option for your business.Let’s get started! Cement Your SERP positions Source: pexelsOrganic Marketing is a marathon and it will help you now more than ever to stay ahead of your competition. If you look at search trends and impressions on Google, you will often see a decline in trends and this would lead to a lot of your competitors to stop their marketing efforts. While paid marketing and other channels that give you a faster return in exchange for a steady supply of investment in Google or Facebook, SEO can provide higher visibility for the long haul at a far lesser cost comparatively. What's more, when the situation improves and businesses resume their marketing services, you’ll already be in a far better position by then while others strive hard (and spend a lot more) to reach the top. Revamp Your Website When you’re seeing a decline in lead volume and overall traffic and there is not much that you foresee you can do to serve your customers as well, take that time to analyze your website and revamp it. Website redesign and development take considerable time and with slow business trends, you can go aggressive into revamping your complete site before things start to pick up. We are working with a lot of eCommerce and medical and cosmetic industry clients and helping them rebrand their complete businesses so that they can have a fresh new website or portal when business picks up again in a few months. Update Your GMB Page GMB page for any business is a must-have. It showcases your business address, working hours and customer reviews besides company updates and images. There are many countries where businesses are allowed to operate on special hours. The special and advanced tools available on Google My Business Profile can help you in informing your customers regarding the changes made in your organization. All you need to do is update your business description and change the working hours. Then you will need to share Google posts with everything updated and make sure that your contact information is right so that customers looking to contact you can find you easily. An updated GMB page also ensures better local search visibility through hyper local and local SEO marketing. Outreach Now for the Future If you are not able to decide whether to reach your customer during this deadly outbreak then you will need to consider the nature of your business, your past relations with customers and the main motive behind this reach. If your customers are used to hearing from you through emails, SMS and other digital media communication channels then you should never cut off this bridge of communication. But you will need to stay away from any type of cheap disaster-related ads. You can also engage with content marketing experts who can help build connections with strong influencers during this phase for your business. Influencer marketing takes time and nurturing to produce results. So, now that the fast-paced life and busy schedules have come to a stand-still, you can find it far easier to connect and build up these strategic relations that can help you build your brand. Link Detox If you are running an online business then you must be aware of the importance and value of removing unnatural links from your digital presence. You will be surprised to know that just a few weeks ago, a website was manually penalized by Google but as the website removed the 1900 unnatural links, it jostled to the top 3 positions in the Google search engine ranking. Yes, unnatural links can be the biggest obstacle between your website and top search engine ranking. You need to understand that unnatural links are not always intentional and can be present on your website because of many reasons. Just go through any simple guide of unnatural links and learn how to remove them OR you can get in touch with our link building and auditing experts to get them removed. Conduct Webinars To Stay Connected Are you planning to introduce products, prototypes, services, or even simply hosting online education classes, tutorials and consultations, webinars are the way to go. Webinars offer a seamless virtual conferencing experience where you can interact with thousands of users and talk about your product, services or subject matter. Source: pexels According to a few studies conducted worldwide recently, this is the best time to start your webinar plans. If you are in the B2B field then webinars in the current lockdown can prove to be a magic wand for your business as a huge chunk of people prefer webinars over any other content formatting for learning. If you are completely new to webinar then you will need to do a little bit of research for sure. Use Video Conferencing To Stay Connected:Opting for video or tele-conferencing calls over physical meetings or gatherings is surely a better option in the current situation. You can use video and audio calls to ask customers and employees regarding their experience with your product or service. Even if you want to transcribe the audio, you can do so by using tools like Otter.ai. Later, you can use this data for press releases, blog posts and other types of content. All the information gathered through video calls and audio calls will act as a rich source of inside information for your content. If you’re like most businesses these days trying to optimize your work and team efficiency from the safety of your homes then try integrating various project management and performance optimization tools that can help you stay in touch, monitor the tasks, and ensure your team and project productivity is always optimal despite the distance. We human beings have an indomitable spirit and we have surpassed many challenges in the past. This pandemic too shall pass and we need to find simple and effective solutions to ensure that our family, friends and business stay afloat no matter what. So, if you’re interested in learning about remote working or marketing ideas on how to sustain and grow your brand during these troubling times, contact us today and we’ll be more than happy to help you, as always! Stay home, Stay Safe! ...
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9 Reasons Why Your PPC Doesn’t Convert The Way It Should
Pay per click or PPC, as it is commonly called in the digital marketing world, is one of the most effective search engine marketing techniques. It can help in increasing website traffic, generating leads into customers, and boosting brand awareness, which we all know are such a time-extensive process. One of the most successful conversion methods, PPC is a wonderful opportunity to enhance brand recognition and gain a competitive edge over other brands in this aggressively competitive market. Did you know that your PPC visitors are 50% more likely to make a purchase than the organic ones? Or By investing in PPC ads, you increase the probability of brand awareness by a whopping 80%? Yes, such is the effectiveness of devising and implementing a competent PPC strategy. While there is a significant percentage of those businesses that are reaping profit from PPC, there are many that are left scratching their heads on their futile PPC efforts. If you are one of those struggling to find why, despite your utmost efforts, the PPC campaign was a failure, allow us to help you identify the loopholes in your strategies through the pointers mentioned below. Your keywords are too generic: Also called as short tail keywords, the generic keywords are confusing as it is challenging to understand the intent behind their search. This will not yield the desired results and increase the cost per click, which will end-up eating your budget. Another keyword related mistake is bidding on broad match or phrase keywords. They do not produce good click-through rates to your site and hence should be avoided. It is essential to conduct thorough research before you bid on a keyword. This will help you understand what your target audience is searching for. Also, since Google reviews and approves campaign just like ads, be careful of not using disapproved keywords. Your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) goal is too high: Return on ad spend is similar to return on investment. It measures how many dollars received for every dollar that is spent on advertising, except that unlike ROI, it evaluates the efficacy of a specific campaign. While the higher the ROAD, the more successful your PPC campaign is, but it is also essential to keep in mind the various factors that come into play like the profit margin of the product or service you are offering. If the customer only purchases two times a year from you while you are aiming at the standard outstanding ROAS goal of 4:1, it can fire back. Lower your ROAS goal; while it might pay more per conversion, the repeated purchases will enhance your bottom line profit. Your pricing is not competitive: Are your competitors selling similar products at prices lower than yours? If yes, this is hurting your conversion, and you need to set the prices at least at a local equilibrium. Your ad copy is irrelevant: Many businesses think that since the ultimate aim of the campaign is to drive prospects, creating a relatively more promising ad copy should not be a problem. But this disconnect between the ad copy and landing page content will reflect on decreasing click-through rate that will not be consistent with the conversion rate. Overselling the business will tarnish the business reputation and the allotted PPC budget in the long run. Be sure to mention everything in your ad and landing page content for increasing the probability of conversion. Not testing the PPC campaign: Businesses often think of PPC strategy as a set it and forget it, which is a huge mistake. You need to keep tabs of every campaign periodically and look for signs of improvement and work accordingly. Check whether or not the keyword still holds relevance and whether or not did it drive any leads this month. Look for ads that are converting and accordingly optimize them for the audience's needs. Similarly, test different landing pages to check what will enhance the user's experience. Your landing page isn't correctly set: Despite testing a lot of ad copies or optimizing the keywords, is there still no leads or sales? Maybe your landing page is not set for adequate conversion. How can that be fixed? Make sure the landing page is functional with an attractive design. A well-structured lead generation form with a strong copy will add a competitive advantage. Your budget is too low: Let's face it; the more you spend, the more traffic you drive to your website. This is especially true of you are just starting the business, wherein a small budget won't yield a desirable outcome. You need enough traffic to test the various parameters for the scope of improvement, and for that, you need to invest properly so that your site has sufficient traffic. Your site isn't mobile-friendly: Is your bid adjusted for mobile, or are you paying the standard rate? Lowering the mobile bid by half can prove beneficial in enhancing mobile traffic. ROI of mobile ads can be increased by customizing mobile PPC ads. Optimize the mobile ads for speed, make use of local and mobile-friendly ad extensions. Your site loads too slowly: We all have read about the decreasing attention span of the customers, and it's only justified. Why would a consumer waste their time waiting when they can find the solution on a faster loading site? A slow site will decrease your conversion rate across every visitor that comes to your website, alongside adversely impacting your paid search conversion. Optimize the speed of your website by using the right insight tool. Now that you can spot which mistake of yours is preventing your PPC ads from converting the way they should, instead of panicking and vowing to never invest in the PPC campaign, reach out to PPC professional service. They come with the knowledge and experience of devising the right strategy by implementing competent tools and technology for a higher return on investment. A certified Google partner, Saffron Edge's Adwords management team, will help you get the top spot on Google. Check out our services to know more about how we can help you! ...
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