A Brief Guide to Voice Search in Digital Marketing

“Okay Google, what is voice search optimization?”

The internet is a changing place and voice search in digital marketing is one of the biggest areas of growth at the moment. Talking to a computer may have seemed like science fiction a decade or more ago. Today, it is commonplace.

55% of users currently utilize voice search to ask questions of an AI using a smartphone, smartwatch, or smart speaker. This number is growing rapidly every day. It is therefore important that you harness voice search as a part of your SEO strategy.

The question is how do you implement voice search as a part of your digital marketing strategy?

In this article, we’ll look at how you can optimize for voice search.

What is Voice Search in Digital Marketing?

Putting it simply, voice search allows people to search for information just by speaking into their device. Typically, voice search can be found on smartphones and other similar devices.

As more-and-more people adopt this type of technology, more Google voice searches will be made.

How Does Voice Search Differ From Traditional Search?

The most noticeable difference between voice search and traditional search is that you speak your search query instead of typing it.

Voice search makes use of longtail keywords that are more conversational in nature. This is because when we’re using a device with voice search we’ll ask the question in full.

For example, you’ll be more likely to say “Okay Google, where is the nearest hardware store?” rather than “hardware store near me” which is how you might phrase it when typing.

Although you can ask any question using voice search, it is generally used mostly for finding services that are local to them.

Voice search gets to the point quickly. Because users want to hear the answer back immediately, voice search uses featured snippets to provide results.

Instead of reading several results back, you’ll just hear your device let you know the answer to your question. If there is a more in-depth answer, your device will ask if you’d like to visit the site.

Creating the Best Digital Marketing Strategy for Voice Search

The great news is that by working on making your site accessible to voice search, you won’t harm your current SEO strategy or traditional search.

There are several things you can do. These include:

Optimize Your Content for Featured Snippets

By optimizing your content for featured snippets and rich answers, you’ll be opening yourself up to feature in voice search results. You should also include knowledge panels and knowledge boxes.

These will help prepare your content for voice search.

Use Google My Business and Employ a Local SEO Strategy

To appear in ‘near me’ searches, you should set up your Google My Business profile. The bare minimum you should include is your name, address, and phone number. However, the more full your profile is, the better your chances will be of ranking higher.

Write in a Conversational Manner

Optimizing your content for voice search involves writing in a conversational tone, using natural language.

It’s essential to understand who is reading your content before deciding on the voice you’ll write in. Ask yourself what question keywords will they use?

How to Use Voice Search in Your SEO Strategy

By utilizing voice search in digital marketing, you’ll be able to appear in more searches. With the technological changes that are occurring, you’ll need to optimize for voice search to stand out.

For help optimizing for voice search in your SEO strategy, get in touch today.

5 Ways to Boost E-Commerce Sales with Facebook Dynamic Product Ads

Dynamic product ads on Facebook allow you to take your marketing to the next level. And the best part? They work on auto-pilot.

Rather than having to build multiple retargeting campaigns for various product types, Facebook dynamic product ads show users the products they’ve already expressed interest in.

Users already know they like the product. Now, your dynamic ads will follow them around, staying on the top of their minds until they are ready to make a purchase.

Want to know more about how dynamic ads can increase e-commerce sales for your business? Keep reading to discover 5 ways dynamic Facebook ads will grow your business.

1. Facebook Dynamic Product Ads Save Time

If your digital marketing strategy involves e-commerce ads, you know it can take a lot of time to build and manage campaigns. They are worth the effort, but building campaigns for different products and different types of users is never-ending.

Using dynamic product ads, you can automatically retarget users with the products they want. This saves you a lot of time.

2. Greater Return on Ad Spend

When you run dynamic product ads on Facebook, you will experience a higher ROAS or return on ad spend. This is because you are spending money targeting users who’ve already expressed interest in your products.

Warm and hot traffic is always cheaper to target with your ad budget.

3. Scale Your E-Commerce Sales Strategy

Because dynamic ads are automated, you will be able to easily scale your marketing campaigns. Because you are earning more on your ad spend, experiencing higher engagement levels, and gaining customers for less, you can scale your campaigns with confidence.

4. Target Existing Customers With Up-Sells and Cross-Sells

Dynamic ads also make it easy to target existing customers with related products through up-selling and cross-selling. Because they’ve already purchased from you, it will be much easier to sell to them again.

Dynamic ads can automatically recommend the products that they are likely interested in so you can get repeat sales on auto-pilot.

5. Only Advertise What’s In Stock

When you are advertising many different products, it can be tricky to manage your campaign when things go out of stock. What usually happens is that you spend money advertising a product that’s not even in stock. And if a customer wants to buy it, then you’ve created a problem.

With Facebook dynamic ads, you can simply inform Facebook which products are out of stock. When you do this, Facebook will automatically stop advertising those products until you mark them in-stock again.

This saves you time, saves you money, and prioritizes the customer experience.

Facebook Marketing Tips

The beauty of using Facebook dynamic product ads is that they offer a powerful, automated solution to gain more sales. However, it still takes time to set up the advertising campaign properly.

If you aren’t confident in your abilities to set up ad campaigns within Facebook and connect your website to the campaign, you should hire an expert.

Here at Big Bold Thinkers, we can take care of your social media campaigns for you. If you’d like the benefits of running dynamic product ads without the hassle of setting up the campaign, contact us today so we can help you grow your

Accelerate Leads and Sales Today With These Mobile Marketing Tips

By 2025, it’s estimated that almost three-quarters of internet users will access the web solely via their smartphones.

Not only did smartphones give consumers more access to the web, but they changed the digital marketing landscape forever. Because of this, it’s vital that all businesses focus on mobile marketing. If not, you limit your potential growth and overall revenue.

But don’t panic if you’re not familiar with mobile marketing. It’s not hard to master, yet it can change your business fortunes.

In this article, we’ll share some simple but powerful mobile marketing tips. Add these to your digital strategy and see the difference almost instantly.

Read on for more information.

Ensure Your Website Is Mobile Friendly

Before you jump straight into creating new digital marketing campaigns, it’s important to cover the basics. It’s vital that your website is mobile-friendly.

Your website is your online shop and needs to be accessible to everyone. And, due to the increase in mobile internet users, search engines have made this a priority.

In fact, Google has admitted that mobile-friendliness is a major ranking factor. So, if your website isn’t optimized for mobile, then you have zero chance of landing the number one spot.

But don’t panic, because it’s an easy fix.

WordPress has lots of mobile-friendly themes, and some are even free. If you don’t use WordPress, then ensure your host offers these types of themes, or hire a web designer to help.

Create a Google My Business Page

Mobile users are different from desktop users in that they want answers quickly. They’re often on the go and don’t have time to read long articles or spend time browsing the web.

They often carry out searches like ‘best Chinese restaurants near me’ or ‘local convenience stores’. After the search, the top results are usually Google My Business listings.

These types of listings show an address, services offered, and even customer reviews. They make it easy for people to find the services they need quickly.

It’s free to set up a Google My Business account and we recommend you do. Not only does it help with SEO, but it’s useful for lead generation marketing.

Start Utilizing Social Media

Most social media engagements come from mobile users, so it’s important you’re active on the platforms.

Start implementing a social media strategy into your marketing campaign. This could be scheduling posts and creating Facebook ads.

Remember, a good tip to get engagement on social media is to ask questions. People love to offer their opinions, so ask for feedback on products and services.

Simple Mobile Marketing Tips You Should Know

We hope you have enjoyed reading our article on mobile marketing tips.

As you can see, there are easy ways to help boost your mobile marketing strategy. By implementing these, you should see an increase in organic traffic and conversions.

Finally, if you want help with mobile marketing, then contact us to see how we can assist.

5 Event Trends All Businesses Should Prepare For in 2021

We think it’s fair to say that 2020 put many forecasting analysts out of a job.

To be fair, however, most of us with a 2020 planner were significantly off-track by the end of this appalling year. We are now eyeing 2021 with no small amount of skepticism and view anyone with predictions further than the next 10 minutes with a raised eyebrow.

When it comes to event trends, though, we have applied logic and hands-on experience to explore what 2021 will bring.

Do you agree with these 2021 event trends?

5 Event Trends to Look Out For

We know that humans are social animals. We yearn to be together in groups again, feeding off each other’s energy, networking, and enjoying face-to-face interactions. Based on this, company and social events are not going anywhere.

They must simply morph into what we need in today’s world.

We’ve always been advised to hope for the best and plan for the worst. Here’s what that looks like.

1. Smaller Events

While the jury is out on exactly how long COVID is going to plague us, there is no doubt that we won’t be diving head-first into Woodstock style festivals for a little while yet.

Smaller events that allow for social distancing and that offer a lower risk to attendees are certain to thrive. Smaller events are by nature, more personal, and this intimacy is just what we need to reconnect with important clients, our scattered team, or potential new customers.

2. Outdoor Events

As much as we want to be together with our tribe, we also don’t want to get sick.

Medical professionals assure us that the risk of infection in an outdoor space is significantly lower due to the constant movement of air and the rate at which the droplets are diluted from a constant stream of fresh air. (As an aside, an outdoor event also reduces stress and tension in attendees. Who doesn’t need that?)

3. Technology

It may have taken a little while to get into the rhythm of virtual meetings. Nevertheless, the supporting technology has exploded into some of the most exciting innovations we’ve ever seen.

Smaller live events can tack on a host of virtual attendees who can interact and participate as if they were there in person. Multimedia is prolific and often far more engaging than a traditional keynote speaker.

AI allows for matchmaking apps to link up attendees with potential synergy to make events even more useful for all.

4. Creativity

Along with the flood of event, tech comes the opportunity to create an exciting and memorable event.

Event entertainment trends include hybrid events, personalized experiences, dedicated breakout rooms, and appealing performances. Enticing backdrops to a virtual event with artistic or interactive entertainment or immersive experiences are available with the right event company.

Basically, if you can imagine it, we can do it.

5. Personalization

The WIIFM mindset is here to stay. Putting yourself in the position of an attendee who wants to know, What’s In It For Me, will highlight another key event trend.

Almost 70% of companies surveyed in a recent report indicated that personalization for their customers is a top priority for them. Again, thanks to galloping technology you can include bespoke offers, polls and surveys, personal schedules, gamification, tutorials, and other materials based on their unique interests and goals to drive engagement.

Event Planning Made Simple

We won’t argue that the future remains a complete mystery to us all. However, we do know that applying a practical and measured approach to your event planning schedule will reap dividends.

Our team at Big Bold Thinkers are carefully exploring current event trends to ensure that we stay at the cutting edge, organizing the most creative, engaging, and memorable events for your business. Please take a moment to subscribe to our blog for entertaining, practical, and relevant information.

5 Chatbot Sales Funnels Designed to Increase Sales

Chatbots are endlessly useful tools. They save time and money, they answer important questions, and they keep customers happy.

More and more businesses are using chatbots to increase customer satisfaction levels and answer pressing queries. But aside from the already awesome attributes Chatbots bring to the table, now, many companies are seeing their potential as salespeople of sorts, as well.

What does this mean exactly? As it turns out, there’s a chatbot sales secret that brands are beginning to discover. Chatbot sales funnels are all the different ways in which these digital assistants can help to increase sales and revenue. Read on to find out what they are.

1. Lead Nurturing

Leads are potential customers that have expressed an interest in a business. They need to be excited and delighted so that they will move through the sales funnel until they eventually become customers. Part of this process is known as lead nurturing.

Chatbots can nurture leads in that they provide quick answers, useful information, and can be automated so that they are always working toward this goal.

2. Predictive Analysis

Chatbots are intelligent tools with immediate access to a wealth of data and information. This is important because this data can be used to predict customer behaviour. In this way, chatbots are capable of identifying good or qualified leads and focusing attention on these customers in particular.

3. Social Media Marketing

Another great feature of chatbots is that they can be easily integrated into social media marketing campaigns. Building brand awareness is crucially important, as it gives business access to more and more potential customers. Two of the first steps in the sales funnel are awareness and engagement, and chatbots reaching out to potential customers via social media is a great way to conquer both.

4. Improved User Experience

There are two things we know for sure about customers. They like to have 24/7 access to brands, and they like to have their questions answered immediately.

With chatbots, both of these things are a given. This means more satisfied customers, more returning business, and increased revenue streams.

5. Smart Shopping Assistance

Because of the customer data and information they have access to, chatbots are great at making shopping recommendations to customers. They can upsell or cross-sell, offering items that they predict the shopper will like and making the shopping process much easier. This results in more products sold and happier customers.

They can also persuade shoppers to stay if they look as though they are about to abandon their cart or exit the site, which can help to save potentially lost sales.

The Chatbot Sales Secret of Chatbot Sales Funnels

There are so many ways chatbots can be used, but for the most part, the chatbot sales secret of chatbot sales funnels is one use that is under-utilized. Don’t underestimate the power of the chatbot, it could end up costing you more than you’ll know.

If you’re looking to build your brand, increase sales or help your business to grow, get in touch with us today to see how we can help.

Optimize Your Campaigns With These Seasonal e-Commerce Trends and Tips

Your latest e-commerce marketing campaign was not the huge success that you had hoped and expected. Still, you were so sure that you’d hit all the right spots to entice your customers and generate more profits! What did you do wrong, exactly?

The answer is often this: you didn’t quite nail the seasonality of your campaign. Meaning, your content might have been great, but it was simply out of sync with what your audience was interested in at that specific time of the year.

In this article, we’ll reveal the most effective and successful seasonal e-commerce trends and tips that will turn your next campaign into a triumph (and sky-rocket your revenues).

Keep an Eye on the Calendar

Are there any holidays coming up? Any special festivities that are local to you and your business? Make sure you keep checking the calendar for any upcoming events that might generate interest in a particular item.

And if you sell that item, then this is the perfect time to build a campaign around it and send it out ASAP. Similarly, when the holiday season approaches, you might also want to offer gift wrapping and gift card options, which are usually very well received during those periods.

You want to strike the iron while it’s hot, as this will enable you to attract more customers and snatch them from the competition.

Become Weather-Savvy

In a similar fashion, you’ll also need to keep your eyes peeled for any weather changes. Of course, this might not be hugely relevant to every single business out there, but big weather disruptions can actually affect more companies and customers than you think.

Try to turn this to your advantage, by offering products or services that are useful for your audience to get through a particularly challenging time, weather-wise.

Keywords Are Your Friend

Another great way to optimize your digital marketing strategy is to perform regular checks on keywords. What are the most searched keywords at the moment, within your niche? Can you incorporate any of them into your digital marketing so that more people become aware of your brand and products?

Keywords are more crucial than you might think, as they can offer you a detailed and up-to-date overview of what your customers are looking for at a specific moment in time. So, start learning how to use them to your advantage.

Get Ready to Conquer the Market With Our Seasonal e-commerce Trends and Tips

With our seasonal e-commerce trends and tips, you are now prepared to turn your next digital marketing campaign into an utter success. If you know exactly what people need now and in the short term, you’ll be able to adapt your strategy so that it addresses those needs, and fulfills them.

Are you keen to learn more about digital marketing? Then you should head over to our website and discover our service portfolio. And if you think we might be able to help with your strategy, simply get in touch with us.

Social Commerce 2021 Trends: Tactics and Tools to Grow Your E-Commerce Business

Social media has made great gains in connecting businesses with consumers. As technology evolves so do the tools major platforms have created to help retailers strengthen their brands.

Social commerce allows businesses to interact with consumers without leaving the platform where the initial communication begins. You no longer have to reroute people to your website or have them call a toll-free number. It also eliminates the need to send an email that may sit in an inbox for days or weeks.

Interactions take place in real-time which means responses are faster and resolutions are quicker.

Are you a business owner looking to create an e-commerce strategy? Keep reading to learn more about the latest trends for your business.

Use Social Commerce to Sell Directly From Facebook

Social media targeting is a large portion of a business digital marketing strategy. Expect to see new advancements on social media sites like Facebook to give people a one-stop-shop experience.

Facebook currently has options for businesses to sell their products from business pages. The apps are currently limited, but someone can do well enough in sales to make it worth their time to set-up.

Incorporate Chatbots and AI

Incorporating chatbots into your e-commerce strategy allows convenience for customers to contact your business while on social media. Chatbots can answer basic questions. Create a list of commonly asked questions and use artificial intelligence to provide the answers.

The benefit of chatbots is to eliminate the need for a person to be accessible 24 hours a day. You’ll have times when someone will need a human response. When this happens, develop an option for the person to text or use messenger to send more detailed information.

Create Live Stream Experiences

When it comes to the discussion of social commerce vs e-commerce, it isn’t about one being better than the other. Instead, the discussion is more of how can they complement each other.

Live streaming is becoming the premiere function across social media. Businesses can use live streaming to introduce new products and promote existing ones. It also allows customers to engage.

Engagement on live streams includes Q & A’s and people giving testimonials. You can also incorporate a segment where certified buyers can join the call.

Change Your Approach to Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing was big news a few years ago. It has since died down. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s no longer a part of social commerce.

Today is about building partnerships. Instead of seeking people that’ll charge a fortune, partner with other entrepreneurs. Use cross-promotion marketing to gain awareness.

You can also do joint promotions via live streams.

Step Into Your Social Commerce

Social commerce isn’t something to fear. Embrace the possibilities or how far you can take your business by using social media. All tools aren’t a perfect fit for every company. Explore what works for you.

Put our expertise to work for you. Click here to reach out so we can discuss flexible solutions for your marketing strategy.

Which Banner Sizes do You Need in 2021?

It’s 2021 and your business needs to be bigger and better than ever to compete. That applies to your banner sizes, too. We’re not talking about physical banners.

Website banners come in all shapes and sizes. Some will grab your customers’ attention much better than others. Find the perfect banner dimensions and size for your company by reading this article.

Various Banner Sizes

Website banners are new physical banners. They can attract and keep a customer’s attention or repel them.

A good choice for many websites is the leaderboard banner. It’s one of the best website headers. The ad formats use images and text alike.

Mobile ads don’t work here. Advertisers adore the leaderboard because it goes well immediately after or before the website header. Since there are more ads in this size, leaderboard ads tend to be better.

Compare these to the large rectangle ads. As you’d expect, these are bigger and more noticeable. They may be too big to fit in the sidebar on some websites.

Putting it in a sidebar where it doesn’t fit could distort the content and thereby harm the user experience. Place a large rectangle ad vertically between paragraphs or other content. Don’t try to fit it into a sidebar.

Now it’s time to go mobile. Large mobile banners work well when shown at the top of a page, beneath the site header. Reduce its impact on user experience by putting it further down the page, throughout the content.

You’ll get a better ad inventory with this format as advertisers make more mobile ads to keep up with the website traffic from mobile devices.

A Banner Year

The banners don’t stop there.

Allow me to introduce you to the Billboard banner. They’re best shown at the top or bottom of a webpage. The Billboard’s placement and size options lend itself to higher-quality ads.

Sometimes, a smaller banner is the answer. The square banner is diminutive but likelier to fit into your website’s design than larger ads. That said, larger ads are generally more noticeable.

You can fit the square almost anywhere. There’s a reduced ad inventory though.

Next, we have a classy portrait ad. It’s considerably longer than other vertical ads. Advertisers use it for retargeting messages and brand-centered advertising.

Put it in your site’s sidebar, although its length can affect the user experience. It’s an effective ad size but you should pay attention to the general ad experience.

The Digital Advertising Experience

Our world has charted an irreversible course toward even more personalized forms of cyber-advertising. We may see holograms and more closely targeted advertising in the near future.

While traditional, physical marketing still has some value, online banners have become essential for any remotely competitive business. You must choose the right banner sizes.

You can’t do that all by yourself. Gain an edge in banner marketing by contacting Big Bold Thinkers today.

5 Ways to Use Event Branding to Stay Relevant in the Business World

Around 62% of customers expect businesses to anticipate their needs. Using event branding to your advantage helps your business outshine the competition.

Event branding involves using your organization’s brand to create a branded event. The goal of this type of event is to create a brand experience that improves your new and/or pre-existing brand relationships.

Contrary to popular belief, branded events are happening all of the time. Many of these events are digital, but they’re still happening with a significant success rate.

Here’s what you should know about staying relevant with event branding:

1. Show Off Your Products and Services

Brand awareness spreads the word about your brand, which is why brand awareness events are so important. Events promote brand awareness by tying a specific brand to the particular theme or activities associated with the event.

Throwing events that show people how to use your products or services raises brand awareness. It also educates consumers about what your business has to offer them.

For instance, you could host a virtual class that provides information and instructions regarding your products and services. People generally consider consumer events like this to be helpful.

2. Choose the Right Design Elements

Branding through events means knowing how to pick design elements that flaunt your event and brand all at once. This involves designing an event logo that’s partially inspired by your business’s logo, but with its own touch. This ensures the event remains branded while also maintaining an event brand of its own.

Stick to your brand colors, as color drastically improves brand recognition. If you do use different colors, make sure they’re within your brand’s palette.

Keep in mind that your event’s visual elements play a role in how successful you’ll be in promoting it on social media.

3. Associate Your Brand with Notable Speakers

The best event branding services strive to associate your event with a notable speaker or public figure. Featuring a notable figure will create and amplify the hype surrounding your event. It’ll also improve your brand image.

Always choose a speaker who’s relevant to the event’s theme or purpose. The speaker doesn’t have to be famous, but they should have a decent following.

4. Add Value

Successful events provide value to their attendants. That means they add value by contributing something positive to people’s lives. This is why free virtual workshops are becoming more popular among consumers.

Think about handing out goodie bags at your next branded event. It’ll increase brand recall.

5. Customer Appreciation

Let your next Big Brand Event be a customer appreciation event! It sends the message that your brand cares about its customers.

Provide guests with promotional freebies as presents. That way, attendees will always have a physical object that advertises your brand to whoever sees it.

Nothing Compares to Professional Event Branding

72% of small business owners are remaining optimistic about their future. You’ll feel especially optimistic about your event if you trust experienced professionals with your event branding.

Keep in mind that every event requires a working event branding strategy. Plus, event branding professionals know where to find the best event branding inspiration.

Throw an event that benefits your brand — contact us to learn more about our services for events and activations. Your customers will truly appreciate it.

Important Google Search Trends You Need to Pay Attention to

Up to 46% of all Google searches are local. Knowing about the hottest search trends will help your small business a competitive edge.

Around 93% of all online activities begin with a search engine. Minding certain trends will help your business’s website rank higher in SERPs (search engine results pages). In turn, this increases your website’s visibility to consumers.

Your business’s web presence reflects your brand. You deserve an online presence that makes your brand look professional, trustworthy, and of high quality.

Here are some hot Google search trends you should pay attention to.

Emphasis on User Experience

The days of designing a website solely based on how crawlers will read it are over. Now, Google prioritizes user experience over other factors.

Mobile responsive designs are becoming especially important. After all, mobile traffic is increasing, and if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on conversions and sales.

Focus on making your website faster and easier to use. That way, users will be able to intuitively navigate your website without issues, and it’ll boost your SEO ranking. Plus, having a fast website improves your brand image.

Fun fact: One of the biggest Google search term trends is that searches for the term “for me” have significantly increased. This reflects how users are focusing more on their own needs, which means your website must be user responsive.

Think Local SEO

Due to quarantine and social distancing, many trending searches are local. For instance, searches with the phrase “near me” have increased dramatically. This means claiming your Google My Business listing is more important than ever.

Be sure to use relevant keywords in your Google My Business listing. Performing keyword research will give you more insight into which keywords to use. This ensures that your listing will show up more often in local searches.

In fact, your Google listing is becoming more crucial than ever to ranking high in 2021.

Updated Google My Business Listings

Filling out your GMB listing with consistent contact information and keywords is necessary, but it’s not enough on its own. Now, Google factors quality and engagement into the listings that get displayed as results.

Google prioritizes active GMB listings over others. That means Google looks for listings that post consistent updates and photos. Also, Google pays attention to your reviews as well as your responses to them.

Nix stock photos in favour of fun, high-quality photos. They give people a better idea of your products, services, and overall brand.

Get Hip to the Hottest Search Trends

Google accounts for 94% of total organic traffic. Organic traffic is easier to convert into sales, which is why learning about these search trends makes a difference.

In fact, 43% of e-commerce traffic comes from organic Google searches. Minding these trends will help your business stay relevant, but only a professional knows how to finetune your strategy for success.

Boost your business and contact us to ask about our digital marketing services. It’ll drive your revenue through the roof.