Barbara Genest Archives - Page 5 of 27

February 5, 2022

Four Top Benefits to Using YouTube and YouTube Stories

Getting noticed against the massive online competition can make any small business feel overwhelmed and inadequate. However, a tool can make it easier to get noticed and be seen as an authority within your niche or industry. This can be done by creating and starting a well-run and quality YouTube channel. Eventually, once you gain ten thousand subscribers, you can unlock the story feature to better market to your target audience and reach even more followers or subscribers.

Here are more benefits to using YouTube and their stories feature for business:

To Get a Chance to Market to Nearly One Billion Monthly Users

Using YouTube gives you a low-cost and sometimes free way to reach a global audience depending on the tools or resources you need to create a high-quality and valuable video.

To Rank Higher on Googles Search Engine Results Page

The main power of YouTube relies on the fact that it is a search engine. The second-largest just behind Google. Even better is that Google owns YouTube, meaning your long-form content video will rank well when people search from Google. It is essentially the same engine. Did you know nearly ninety percent of clicks made after a Google search are from the first ten organic results? So reaching the first page and near the top is an important goal when creating your videos.

To Grow Your List and Traffic to Your Website

Stories are essential to YouTube as they help you further engage your audience and hopefully convert them to loyal and paying customers. To accomplish this, use the feature for advertising and growing your email list. In turn, this will also increase your website traffic and potentially increase your revenue.

To Increase Engagement and Make a More Obvious Impact

Furthermore, once you reach ten thousand subscribers, you will want to use the stories feature to enhance further your engagement and exposure against your current audience and subscribers. Just because they subscribed or followed your link to sign up for your newsletter or email campaign does not mean you should rely on it to keep their attention. Stories appear on YouTube’s platform, giving you another way to keep their attention and further away from your competition. The more valuable and useful you make the story, the more likely they are to share it to grow your subscribers list too.

Sixty-two percent of businesses took advantage of these benefits in 2019. The fact is, the more your YouTube channel grows, the more successful your business becomes. Add to the growth and success of your business by adding a YouTube channel to your business marketing plan today. The more value you show your target audience, the more chance you have at success.

February 5, 2022

Increase Your Snapchat Story Views with These Easy Tips

While Snapchat can bring your business many benefits, it can be one of the hardest platforms to gain views. In order to gain more followers, you need more views, just like any other social media platform. Because Snapchat focuses on close friendships rather than discovery, it takes more work to find new followers and gain more views. However, as long as you make unique, fresh, and inspiring content while using other tools and tips, it can be quite easy to gain more views.

Here are four tips to help you attract more Snapchat story views:

Increase Your Snapchat Score

Your Snapchat score is displayed below your profile picture and username. This number increases every time you send and receive a Snap or story. In other words, this number indicates how active you are on the platform. Use this scoring feature to encourage and motivate you to be more active and show new followers that you are a real business that provides value by sharing snaps and stories.

Get Featured on the Discover Page

Use location tags and hashtags, and be sure to add your story to the “Our Story” section from your editor tool after you post your story. The Discover page is Snapchat’s version of a newsfeed that features stories from publishing partners, influencers, or other brands.

Use Other Platforms Too

Having an Instagram or YouTube to advertise your Snapchat is always a good idea. It shows others that you have more than one way to communicate with them, and they may find Snapchat a more personal tool to connect with. However, be sure the content you share on each platform is different in some way. In other words, don’t repurpose without editing the content you share on the other platform. This increases your exposure on each platform and keeps you in good standing with them as many platforms strive for original content.

Keep a Consistent and Frequent Posting Schedule

The more quality content you provide, the more likely your current followers are to share your content. Keep this content consistent and frequent throughout your day to keep your stories at the top of your follower’s feed. However, be sure the content you share always provides value. You don’t want just to throw up anything or share the same boring sales piece. Always enhance each of your stories with stickers, including one of your Snapcode, so new viewers can instantly add you. When they take a picture of this code through Snapchat, it will add you to their follower list.

When developing your Snapchat story content plan, keep these tips in mind to ensure you get the most views and gain more followers. Remember, make sure the content you post on Snapchat is unique and different from any other platform. Please take advantage of their tools and features and find a way to get on their discovery page to increase your chances of success on Snapchat.

Be More Accountable and Consistent, Share Your Goals

January 30, 2022

Four Benefits to Using Snapchat Stories to Market your Business

Did you know that there are nearly three hundred million active daily users on Snapchat, making Snapchat among the most popular social media networks worldwide, just behind Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok?

Almost forty percent of the world’s leading brands already know this and use Snapchat to market their products on a daily basis.

What’s even more powerful is that those who use Snapchat use the application for more than twenty minutes a day, right behind Facebook users.

Yet again showing you that Snapchat is still a powerful business tool to be taking advantage of.

Here are four more benefits to using Snapchat stories to market your business:

Drive Traffic and Boost Engagement

The purpose of social media stories on many platforms is to increase your audience engagement and boost your traffic or sales. The high number of daily active users means your chances of success on this platform are quite high if you use the platform right and market to a younger audience.

Connect to a Younger Demographic

Many of the users on Snapchat are said to be between the ages of twenty-four and twelve, which means if millennials and generation Z are the people you need to market to, don’t delay using Snapchat.

Offer a More Fun and Unique Customer Experience

Snapchat offers different and more unique features than other platforms. Their additional AR filters are by far the most popular. These are artificial filters that change how you, others, or animals look when shown on camera. They can even change your background, make it look like you are doing a certain action, and change the sound of your voice – making it a fun way to communicate with your audience and be less formal. While other platforms offer this, the ones created on Snapchat are often said to be more creative, fun, and easy to use.

Add Personality and Keep Followers Updated

The features Snapchat offers allow you to be more relatable and show your personality more. It is also a better way to share new and upcoming information about your brand or business. In addition, offering your audience your human side makes it more likely to grow an audience that trusts you and your credibility.

These benefits should inspire you to give Snapchat a try for your business. If you have a product-based business that anyone under thirty-five can use or would be interested in, Snapchat is the place to be. Its unique features make it a fun and personal experience for you and your target audience.

10 Ways to Get to Know Your Audience Better

January 30, 2022

How to Boost Sales with the Instagram Stories Shopping Feature

Visual storytelling will always be why Instagram remains the number one platform for stories and social media marketing. If you have visual products or can easily tell your message through pictures, videos, and other visuals, Instagram must be the platform you use, especially if you sell products with the Instagram story shopping feature.

Nearly eight hundred thousand users use Instagram to shop every single month. In addition, almost seventy percent of their five hundred million daily active users follow a business account even beyond the shopping feature. Meaning you will have no problem getting your stories in front of your audience. To use the shopping feature, you need to have a business account and connect to your Facebook catalog that sells physical goods.

Here are five ways to boost sales with the Instagram stories shopping feature:

Use the Product Sticker

Add or take a picture of you the product you want to promote. Tap on the “Stickers” icon and select “Product” stickers. Select the product from your Facebook catalog, then further enhance the story as needed. Be sure the product name you want to use is the name listed in the Facebook catalog. You do not have the option to change the name from your story. Select “Send to” at the bottom right of your screen when you are ready to share.

Highlight Customer Testimonials

Add other slides that include your products in action by customers or quotes about how much they love your products. Social proof or reviews is an essential part of the selling process. In fact, according to research published by Fan & Fuel, nearly ninety-two percent of consumers have stated they hesitate to purchase if there are no reviews on the product, and ninety-seven say they use reviews to influence their decision further.

Add a Swipe Up Link

Once you reach ten thousand followers, your account will unlock the “Swipe Up” feature to your stories to further encourage your viewers to click and go to your website and make a purchase.

Showcase One to Two Product at A Time

Don’t show too many products at once as it will only overwhelm your audience. Be sure each product you share is relatable to each other. For example, a clothing store highlighting a model sunglasses and hat for sale. Each of these products is near each other and has similar purposes. Thus, making it easier to market each product and tell a cohesive story.

Include Hashtags and Locations

Always include hashtags and location tags. This way, your viewers who don’t follow you have the chance to see your content. In addition, while stories advertise to your current followers, this gives you an increased opportunity to be placed on Instagram’s Explore page and those who search public accounts.

Use these tips to get your first sale through Instagram right away. Instagram shoppable posts and stories have been shown to increase traffic by over one hundred thousand percent — showing you just how important developing an Instagram stories content plan is to your overall business success.

Four Ways to Make Your Social Media Stories Stand Out

how to boost online sales on instagram

January 30, 2022January 30, 2022

What You Need to Know About Instagram Stories Highlights

Instagram story highlights are a vital section of your Instagram page, especially if you run a business or share many content creations through Instagram Stories. This section of Instagram appears below your profile picture and is a collection of videos or pictures of information you shared through your Instagram stories in the past. It is then organized in a way that is more easily digested amongst your audience.

These videos or pictures do not disappear unless you choose to remove them from the highlight. In other words, a highlight is a story you shared that is worth saving because it is valuable to your audience. It also provides a more organized and streamlined way for your readers to take in the important information you want to share and offer them while boosting your engagement and interaction.

Here is what you need to know about Instagram stories highlights and a few tips to take more advantage of its benefits:

Use Highlights to Extend the Life of your Stories

Highlights allow you to extend the life of your stories that normally only last twenty-four hours. You can even use stories that have been archived, a saving feature that Instagram offers of stories older than twenty-four hours that only you can see. This feature must be turned on or added to your archives before the time limit is reached.

Add Branded Highlight Covers

The Highlights section appears on your profile, below your picture and Instagram bio. Meaning it is an important area to update with your branding. Include your colors and a title, so your followers know what information you are saving and sharing.

Don’t Go Over One Hundred Clips or Photos

The Highlights section can save one hundred clips and photos. Going over this number will automatically take off the one you put first, one hundred videos or pictures ago. It is important to keep track of this by creating a constant rotation, so you know each section is clear and provides value to your audience.

Use Highlights for Big Announcements

Four Ways to Make Your Social Media Stories Stand Out

Company announcements or important information about who you are and what you do is a good section to include in your Highlights. This gives potential new followers a quick look into who you are and what you can provide them by following.

Use Highlights for Commonly Asked Questions

A frequently asked question section is another important section that saves you time and makes it easy for your new audience. Add in as many questions as you can, including ones that involve your audiences’ answers.

Use Highlights to Create Interactive Tutorials

Finally, but certainly not least, a great way to use your Highlights feature is to create an interactive how-to tutorial. Interactive tutorials are an enjoyable way to get your viewers and followers involved while providing maximum value.

As you can see, if you are posting Instagram stories, then you should be taking advantage of highlights to store and share important information with your readers. Highlights allow you to organize your content better to communicate, engage and interact with your audience effectively. With Instagram highlights, you can now ensure that your readers will never miss out on valuable content.

January 23, 2022

How to Use Instagram Story Analytics to Improve

In order to know if your Instagram stories are making an impact, you must check and keep up with your analytics. This background data gives you a direct insight into how well your content is performing with your audience. Without this information, you won’t be able to put a content plan together that maximizes your benefits and success.

Making Money Online is Easy Because …

You can locate your analytics, individual story analytics, or the full page and stories in two places. To find the analytics for a specific story, select the story you need the information on and swipe up to view its insights. You can also view the insights from the Archive button located in the upper-left corner of your profile. Then select “view all saved stories” and then swipe up on each to view the analytics or insights of both. To locate the analytics page for all of your stories, select the Insights button from the top right of your profile screen on the menu.

Here are the Instagram story analytics to keep track of and what to do to improve your conversions:

Overview

The first set of metrics you will see is just a quick glimpse of important metrics that will be covered shortly, including the number of accounts reached, your content interactions, and profile activity.

Reach

Next includes your reach, a set of metrics that refer to how many people see your content and where they find it. Be sure to add important hashtags and location stickers so your story can appear on the Explore page and expand your reach. Reach metrics includes:

Accounts Reached – The unique number of times your story has been viewed or seen, at least once.
Impressions – The total number of times your story has been viewed or appeared on the screen. This can include repeat views by the same Instagram user.

Content Interactions

Content interactions are a group of insights or metrics that show your viewers’ or followers’ actions when engaging with your stories. Include questions, polls, slider stickers, and a clear call-to-action to increase your content interactions. These metrics include:

Shares – The number of times a viewer shares your story.
Replies – The number of responses you received from your story, including quick reaction replies.
Forward – How many times viewers tapped forward to view your next slide.
Exited – The number of times viewers exited your story before finishing it.
Next Story – The number of times your viewers viewed your next story after finishing the story you selected to view metric information for.

Profile Activity

This group of insights shows the actions your viewers or followers take when engaging with your story. Update your call-to-actions and get your viewers more engaged if you want to improve your profile activity. You can’t expect your viewers to react if you don’t ask them. Profile activity metrics include:

Profile Visits – Profile visits are the number of times your profile was visited after viewing or viewing a story.
Follows – Follows are the number of times someone followed your Instagram account while or after viewing your story.
Call Button Taps – This is the number of taps you received to call your business.

Keep track of these analytics and update your plan with these tips to maximize your engagement and other conversions with Instagram stories. Instagram stories are a powerful marketing tool as long as you know how to use them correctly and pay attention to the information it shares.

January 23, 2022January 23, 2022

Four Ways to Make Your Social Media Stories Stand Out

While social media stories are a good tool to market and advertise your business, they can easily get lost in the competition. Over five hundred million active users post Instagram stories alone – showing you just how important it is to make valuable and important content that stands out to your target audience.

Here are four ways to make your social media stories stand out:

Show Behind-The-Scenes Content

Give your audience a view of what it is like to be you behind a business every day. This is content that many viewers are interested in and attracted to. It also allows you to show a more vulnerable and personal side that your audience will admire. Social media stories are powerful because they are seen as less informal and more direct. Behind-the-scenes content is a great way to take advantage of it.

Post During Audience Active Hours

Post content when your audience is the most active. Not only does it make it more engaging to your viewers, but it also shows that you are aware of their needs while making it easier for them to view your content. You don’t want them to rely on coming to you, and many stories only last twenty-four hours. Therefore, posting content when they are active increases your exposure, engagement, and overall success.

Actually, Tell a Story

Don’t click bate or post generic content to your social media stories. Actually, plan out a consistent story that provides value, whether that be through new information or relatable entertainment. Stories need to be just as valuable, if not more, than your other posts to keep them engaged, interested and to persuade them to become loyal customers.

Ask Your Audience to Share Their Opinion

Always get your audience involved in some way through the platform features by asking them questions, submitting their own content or simply replying to your story. The more active and involved your audience is, the more likely they will convert into loyal or paying customers. Getting their feedback also allows you to improve your content further and provide superior value that your competition can keep up with.

As you can see, making your content stand out is really about highlighting and showcasing your audience. If you have good content and understand your target audience, you won’t have any problem creating quality social media stories that stand out. Solve a problem and get your audience more involved to see more results and benefits with your social media stories.

January 23, 2022

Four Ways to Reduce Your Email Unsubscribe Rate

Customer retention is a top priority if you are a business owner or email marketer. It is quite well known that it can cost five to twenty times more to find new customers than to please the ones you have. Therefore, if your unsubscribe rate is below two percent, you are currently on the right track and should strive to keep it there or even lower.

The following are four ways to reduce your email unsubscribers and build a more sustainable list:

Audit Your Email Funnels Often

Better segment your readers, be sure they have a consistent schedule, not too long or too short, watch out for spammy looking content, segment by interest, and add them to multiple lists.

Plan and Map Your Content

Add in value and fun content, don’t just be a salesperson. Be cautious of your titles, as they are your first impression. Don’t use click-bait or sound obnoxious. Instead, speak to them naturally and let them know exactly what they will get out of the opening and reading your email.

Personalize and Incentivize

Be generous to get back what you are worth. If you only focus on what you get out of each email, then the content you are providing lacks quality. Instead, it would help if you concentrate on your audience and what they need the most for it to come back around to you. Then, keep the content personalized and find ways to incentivize them to continue engaging or reading your content. Giveaways, free downloads, or discounts are a few ideas.

Engage and Follow-up

Don’t ignore your audience once they become a subscriber or paying customer. The point of email marketing is to grow a sustainable and active audience that you can communicate with for the long-term. It is not a one-and-done strategy.

How To Improve Your Email Marketing ROI

Keep up with your audience by sending free educational material and asking for feedback or other questions that help you improve your content and overall value as a business. The more you engage and ask questions, the more you get to know your audience to become a better information source, improving your business’s growth and suitability.

A Harvard Business Review report states that simply increasing your retention efforts by as little as five percent can improve your profits by 25 to 95 percent. Showing you just how valuable keeping your unsubscribe rate low can be to your email marketing efforts. If you want to maximize your revenue and keep your subscribers interested, reviewing your goals, content, and getting to know your audience more is vital to your success.

January 15, 2022

Five Actionable Tips to Boost Your Email Opt-In Rate

Your email opt-in rate is the percentage of those who visit your website compared to those who become email subscribers. The higher the rate, the more email addresses you have to better market and communicate to your target audience. In other words, the imagine you had 1,000 people visit your website this month.

Fifty of those viewers decided to provide their email and opt-in to your campaign. Therefore, your opt-in rate would be five percent, the average that many other businesses see. An opt-in rate that is two percent or higher is said to be on the right track. To determine your opt-in rate, use the following formula:

(Monthly or Weekly Opt-In Subscribers/ Monthly or Weekly Website Viewers) * 100

(50/1000) * 100

0.05 * 100 = 5%

Opt-ins are materials that hook your audience in by providing them high-value content in exchange for their email address or cell phone number. Once you acquire their information, you lead them through your email marketing funnel to hopefully persuade them to be paying loyal customers. Therefore, improving your opt-in rate is important to running a successful email marketing campaign.

These five tips will help you boost your email opt-in rate:

Use Pop-Ups

Pop-ups can be a great reminder for your viewers as they are leaving or browsing your website. However, don’t overuse them as they can quickly become annoying and make them click off altogether. Many readers expect a few, but if they pop-up too frequently or make it too difficult for them to browse the site, they will simply get discouraged and leave.

Make the Opt-In Process Obvious and Easy

Be sure to optimize the signup process to the mediums your readers use the most such as smartphones. If the opt-ins or lead magnets are not optimized for their cell phones, they won’t be able to complete the process. Many readers will abandon a brand or business altogether if they refuse to learn how to adapt to their audience as well. Keep the opt-ins organized and straight to the point. Don’t overload the reader with too much information. For the most part, the opt-in should be scannable and understood in a few seconds.

Add Prominent Testimonials

Show social proof with customer testimonials. Make them obvious and near the signup button to show your readers that you are trustworthy. If others are seeing the benefit you promised they will want to participate.

Use the Fear of Missing Out

Urgency is a useful tactic to get your readers to act now. Discounts with deadlines or early bird tickets for hands-on classes are great examples of these. Most people can’t pass up a good deal, nor do they want to miss out.

Invite Them to a Call or Webinar

Humans love to feel like they are important or part of a community. Not only that, inviting them to a short one-on-one call or free webinar makes them feel more valued and that there is a real person who cares on the other side. It shows that you are there for more than just monetary gain. Increasing their trust and loyalty to the business.

Overall, providing value is key to increasing your opt-in rate and achieving your email marketing goals. If you don’t have valuable content to provide nor follow these six tips, it’s likely your email opt-in rates will be poor, destroying your sales and overall email marketing conversions.

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