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Category: Social Media Marketing

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Why is Lighting Important for Professional Photos

The importance of proper lighting in photography.

Lighting is a key factor in creating a successful image. Lighting determines not only brightness and darkness, but also tone, mood and atmosphere. Without lighting, you can’t create and expose a clear image. The light brings out the sharpness and details of the subject, so it’s very important that you expose the subject well.

Therefore, to take the best photos, it’s important to properly control and manipulate the light to get the best color and luminosity for your subject. By changing the lighting and shadows precisely, you can best highlight your subject and take the best professional looking photos.

When it comes to lighting, natural light is the best option for headshots or other professional photos, but sometimes it’s not the easiest option. If you’re shooting in the studio, lighting will be your best friend.

Positioning light

Scott Headshot

Where you place your lighting is very important and will have a big impact on how your subject is lit. Depending on where you place your studio lighting, your subject will look different in your photos and in the final result.

If the light is behind the camera and aimed directly at your subject, it’ll look very flat. Lighting from the side will bring out the subject better and create a small shadow that creates more of a 3D look. Tip: Make sure you match the height of the studio lighting to the height of your subject. If the shadow is too big, the photo will look more dramatic, which could be too much for a professional photo.

If you want to create a silhouette effect with headshots, you can keep the light source behind the person and use a strong light source to create a striking silhouette photo.

Hard light

If you’re using studio light, depending on the subject and the room, it can create too harsh a light for a professional photo. If the light is that harsh, it can cause too many shadows behind the subject or on the subject’s face.

If you add a diffuser to the light source, the harsh light and shadow can be reduced. This will also defuse imperfections on the subject and give it a healthy glow, like natural sunlight would.

Once you’ve achieved the best possible lighting with your studio setup, you can also edit the images in Adobe Lightroom. With the editing software, you can change color, balance, and temperature, enhance tones, sharpen, reduce noise, and crop images.

Lighting can make a big difference when taking pictures, because you want your subject to look as good as possible. Learning to use light to your advantage and get the best possible results from your setup will set your work apart from your peers and put you on the path to becoming a professional.

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TOP 3 WAYS TO UTILIZE INFLUENCER MARKETING

There are typically three different ways that a company can use influencers to spread the word about their product or service while creating brand buzz and awareness. All three of these strategies warrant different results and take a different type of budgeting, so when implementing these plans, take that into consideration.

These three strategies are discounts, product exchange, and paid advertisements, which are all commonly seen throughout social media and influencer marketing. Here is how to leverage your company’s influencer marketing opportunity to its highest potential by following some basic influencer engagement formats through Instagram and any other platform, you may find the presence and need for influencer marketing.

01 DISCOUNTS

These are the companies that love to slide into the average joes’ direct messages and attempt to sell them something but masking it as a collaboration opportunity. This marketing strategy makes the nonsocial media savvy person feel special. They suddenly are being noticed by a company for what they can offer, and the allure of products makes it hard for them to resist. They did not even realize they looked like they could provide any service to a company. This group of people is not usually a career Instagramer or even taking it up as a hobby.

Turn on the charm and talk to the person about why their profile stood out to you. From there, you can proceed to tell them how you think they could rock your product, and you are willing to give them a storewide discount to shop your products if they promise to post about them! Now here is the catch, this will not work on most people inside the influencer world; that being said, it is a great strategy to target the everyday social media user who does not know the ins and outs of the environment or require payment for posts.

If you try this tactic on a seasoned Instagrammer, they generally will get very annoyed and refuse collaboration since, for them, time and energy is money in their line of work, and you are wasting it. We highly advise not reaching out to influencers with this offer if they are above 5,000 followers. Being an influencer is now recognized as a full-time career option to some, and you have to remember to have a level of respect for that.

If you target the right person though, this can increase your exposure, and you will still see some form of profit since you are not giving away anything for free or paying a creation or service fee. Some companies also will offer a free product but ask the person to pay for shipping. This is great for brands just starting out and getting their feet wet in the beginning stages of their marketing plan, but as you grow, you might want to reevaluate this strategy.

02 PRODUCT EXCHANGE

This is where there is an exchange of goods for services on social media or in a blog. This can mean a static in-feed post, stories, videos, IGTVs, blog posts, ad space, etc. Essentially, you offer the influencer a free product that you think they would love or need in exchange for any of their advertisements or services. This one is a little easier to get away with than discounts with a seasoned influencer if your product truly offers value to them, so it is vital to target people within your niche.

Many influencers are willing to work for free if the product has value to them or is worth a substantial price. Primarily to get someone to work for free for you, it has to be something they would like to have – because they are working for free. Creating content, planning, editing, and advertising takes substantial time, so it is crucial to remain in the mindset that they provide you a service. You will commonly see companies that deliver experiences or services that utilize product exchange. It is popular in the travel blogger community to exchange for tourist experiences, hotel stays, and exclusive experiences with a higher cost. Essentially, if what you provide is something a person would typically pay for anyways and is not a luxury item, then there is a pretty good chance you can get many influencers to participate in product exchange.

You will also see this with big-ticket items such as home goods and technology items since they are high priority items for many people, so if that is your company’s niche, give the product exchange strategy your best go!

03 PAID ADVERTISEMENTS

The final exchange you will commonly see is the one people are most familiar with, paid advertisements. These are the brands that pay for posts, stories, videos, or anything else you can imagine for sponsorship. When a brand is paying an influencer to advertise their product through experience, usually one-time posts do not see a large return. Still, if you are going to invest the money into an influencer, you might as well invest your time into them.

Create a relationship that spans for a longer duration of time. The more you get your product in front of an influencer’s audience, the more likely they will buy into what is promoted. It is all about the commitment to a repetition of exposure, and if you are going to put your money into this kind of advertising, you have to remember that it is a slow return process sometimes. This form of advertising is not just for the more prominent corporations; there is a range of influencer levels, which means people with different rates are willing to negotiate! If your budget is not as large, do not abort the mission on paid advertisements. You would be surprised by the number of micro-influencers you could implore that are not as expensive as what companies commonly assume influencer marketing costs.

Whether your company is large or small, you have the opportunity to try out all of these different influencer marketing strategies and see which one works best for your brand. Since the influencer world is so new and people are just beginning to discover influencer advertisement’s depths, it is still such a trial and error process. Be prepared to crash and burn a few times before you find what gives you the best return on investment and what suits your company’s feel best in the digital marketing world. Influencer marketing is the newest digital form to try out, and trust us; it is worth a go.

Need help getting started? Contact us today!
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5 SIMPLE TIPS FOR STRATEGIES TO WIN SALES

The question often arises nowadays: how do we keep winning them over as consumers are becoming more and more complex.

The consumer has become more aware when it comes to marketing approaches but also more economical. Gone are the days where you can trick your consumer into purchases, now you need cold hard facts. Everyone now has information right at their fingertips with technology, so the marketing game has changed.

Let’s review five strategies that should help you increase sales and overcome the competitors in a highly concentrated market.

01 IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM

By looking at the ideal customer in the market where you do business, you can acknowledge the sort of problems your customer is facing that you can solve. If there is a solution out there for a specific problem, the customer will pay for a readily available solution.

Research has shown that sometimes the customer is aware of an existing problem. However, because it’s minor and, most importantly, because they know there is no solution, they do not pay attention to it. You need to show them that a solution exists. There is a high chance that, in this case, the customer will remain a loyal consumer by knowing you’re the only one able to provide the solution they require.

02 DEVELOP A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

You need to make your customers enjoy purchasing from you by offering them more benefits. Most important is to provide them with the benefits they need and the benefits they want.

Offense within marketing is trying to take loyal customers from the competitors by attracting them with different deals or promotions, which is very good. However, you’re not able to concentrate on defending your customers from the competitors, who may come up with a different strategy to snatch your loyal customers. You have to choose carefully what type of strategy you decide to use in such a concentrated market.

04 PICK THE RIGHT PLACE

This is a more complex step where you need to focus mostly on doing market research on your competitors to determine the right price. It’s imperative to remember that the value perceived by the customer determines the price you set on a particular product or service. If t he customer does not see your product being worth more than $20, he will not be willing to purchase for a higher price.

  • You may need to take into consideration certain price variations that are on the market.
  • How much is a specific benefit of your product/service worth in the market you’re doing business in?
  • Why are the competitors willing to pay so much or so little?
  • Why are the consumers willing to pay so much or so little?

These are questions that you need to consider even before the product’s actual production or the implementation of the service.

05 FOCUS ON CUSTOMER RETENTION

If a new customer has just purchased your product, this should not mean the end of the relationship between you and the customer. Once the customer has been attracted, you need to focus on retaining them by showcasing how beneficial your product/service can be to their problem or quality of life.

It is all about keeping a strong relationship that will eventually lead to the consumer becoming a loyal customer, one who will not choose the competitor’s lower-priced product over yours. Offering the client more than a product: You have offered them a solution that is perceived as valuable.

Remember that the first impression is the key aspect because most consumers decide on a particular product in five seconds. The ideal customer is far more likely to purchase the product if they see it in action. Make sure that in your advertising campaign, you have a video that shows how the product functions and how it can be a solution to the customer’s problem.

As mentioned before, communication with the customer is simply the key in this section. If you are willing to listen to the customers and adapt your product/service for their needs and wants, they will remain with you because they trust you as a business to solve their problems. I hope that these five strategies can help you push your sales, products, or services in the remainder of the year and on a long-term plan. It is imperative to remember that analyzing all the information you can get your hands on is key. You may find a small gap within the market or segment that has a problem to which the market has not yet responded with a solution (product or service).’

Need helping getting started? Contact us today!
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BUILDING A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC BUSINESS

In today’s day and age it has become more imperative than ever to build strong meaningful relationships with your customer base.  The days of selling a product or service and moving on to the next client are over if you wanted to keep loyal customers?  With the events of the last decade (9/11, Katrina and the financial crash of 2008) consumer buying behavior has shifted.  Things that customers took for granted are now uncertain in their mind.  Companies that have been around for over 100 years are no longer in business.   Now customers are looking for a more meaningful connection with the companies and people they do business with.  This connection needs to be cultivated and maintained through every aspect of your client’s interaction with your company.

The key to making this connection is to truly understand who your client is and how you can structure your services and communication to better relate.  In trying to identify your ideal client base, don’t stop at revenue size, employee size, or vertical.  Go beyond that, segment your ideal clients further by understanding their working hours, business goals, strategic direction, and utilization of social media, decision factors to buying and their expectations of service.  For example, if your ideal clients are teachers, then you need to make sure you are open after 4pm when they can work with you.  If your ideal customer is a small business owner, get to know their business and how your service can help them achieve their business objectives.

Relate your products and services in terms of the solutions they need to make their business more successful.

Once you have a full understanding of who your ideal client is and how your services can benefit their business, you have the tools you need to test your current process to make sure it meets their needs.  Take a moment to walk in the shoes of your ideal client and buy your own products/services.  Take notes step-by-step of what you had to go through, and whether or not it meets your expectations.  Don’t forget for the moment you need to be pretending you are your customer.   Now take all this information and the customer specific information you gathered and restructure your business model that focuses on customer centricity to improve each stage of your customers experience.

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LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TO MANAGE CUSTOMER CENTRICITY

Taking the knowledge you have gained by evaluating and defining your ideal clients needs (see Creating a Customer Centric Business Model), and determine how to leverage technology to provide the level of service expected in a cost effective way.  There are a lot of choices when it concerns what technologies are worth the effort to implement.  From the implementation of a CRM, Business Blog, Social Media, Distribution Networks, Email Marketing, Website Platforms, etc., there can be a lot of tools to choose from.

How can these technologies improve your ability to manage customer more effectively?

  • Customer relationship management (CRM) software can be used to segment your client base in a way that will allow you to tailor your messaging to relate to their buying behavior.  Properly setting up your CRM and automating custom tailored messaging and campaign tracking will give you the ability interpret the results you achieve in a way that will allow you to replicate the success in a more predictive manor.
  • Business Blogging is just a way to build your website content in a way that is easier to track and follow as a customer interested in what you have to say.  You can categorize and link information in a way that tells a story.  Creating a story that relates to your customer base and flows through multiple pages on your site will increase a prospects willingness to contact you.
  • Social Media is a venue that is most likely being used by your ideal customer base.  Furthermore it is a way to reach your ideal client in a more personal setting in a more personal way.  The key to effectively using social media is to understand the mindset and interests of the participants of each type of social media account.  For example LinkedIn is expected to be used for business purposes but you should further segment its use between business and personal pages on LinkedIn.  Personal LinkedIn pages are for your personal accomplishments, which can be written in a way to sell your companies services.  While company pages should focus on the companies marketing and accomplishments for the same purpose.  Of course relating this messaging to what your ideal prospect wants to hear is the key to success.
  • Distribution Networks can be used to create brand awareness.  Remember when you are reaching out to new networks understand the networks purpose and relate your message to them.  In addition, remember this message could be the first impression you make on the prospect and the link used to get them back to the site should take them to page that continues the story you are telling.
  • Email Marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your client base.  It can be used as a way to improve lead conversion rates and a way to unobtrusively provide current customers with useful information that relate to them.
  • Website Platforms need to be established in a way that tells a great story, captures reader’s interests and entices them to convert and share the information with people they know.  This can be accomplished with appropriately placed Calls to Action, Share It Functionality and tools like live chat.  Making customer interaction and usability is vital to successfully relate to site visitors.
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HOW IS SOCIAL MEDIA USEFUL FOR BUSINESSES?

Social media is a platform through which businesses can boost up their profit. Traditional marketing techniques are essential for businesses to flourish offline. But how does a business go about gaining success online? Social media is one of the answers.

Over the past few years, social media has become a vital part of the Internet.  Today social media has become so important that without it the Internet seems incomplete.  Due to social media’s importance, each and every business, regardless of size, should include social media in their online marketing efforts. Social media for a business is considered to be an extension of their brand, which makes social media a powerful tool for online marketing efforts.  There has been a wide range of social media platforms developed, which can make it hard to chose which one is right for your business. These platforms include: blogs, videos, and social networking sites. Each of these mediums, are highly effective for social media marketing.

Promoting a business online has become much easier with the emergence of social media.  Today websites are just the face of the business. In order to develop a genuine online presence it is essential to communicate with your target audience. This is possible with the help of social media, which acts as the voice of a business.  When a business is communicating regularly with their target audience, their credibility increases drastically, which in turn increases revenue for a business. This can all be accomplished through social media.

Social media gives prospective customers a chance to learn and get to know more about a business with little effort on their part.  Interacting with target audiences on a regular basis has proven to build up a customers trust with a business. Every business owner should take advantage of this immense opportunity and use social media for their business.

Social media marketing when done strategically can work wonders for businesses. The right mix of all the social media tools can bring about a notable change in the profit margin.

The tools which are essential for social media marketing are as follows:

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. These have almost become a part of everybody’s daily life. If businesses can make their presence felt in these platforms then success will not be far behind.

Blogs

A website is incomplete if it doesn’t have a blog. A blog represents a business and also keeps visitors returning for up to date credible information.  Providing credible information is enough to turn one-time visitors to reoccurring patrons, which drives traffic and in turn paves the way for lead generation.

  • Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking communities like Reddit, Digg, Stumble Upon, etc are useful in sharing website content which in turn promotes the business. Social media marketing cannot be complete without these social bookmarking sites.

  • Videos

Videos are in great demand nowadays. Their viral effect can greatly increase a businesses profit as well as credibility. Platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, etc are used widely by all the business for their promotion.

Social media for businesses is extremely necessary in this day and age where an online presence matters just as much as an offline presence. Social media marketing helps businesses leave their footprint and extend their brand in the virtual world.

Power On Marketing is committed to delivering their clients profitable results with online marketing solutions. Social media marketing is done by developing and implementing strategies that are tailored to your business’s exact needs.

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SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS

Social networks have become one of the fastest growing outlets for businesses in all industries to extend their brand awareness. It’s safe to say that social mediahas become a HUGE part of the way businesses market their products and services. These social media networks have become a great outlet for businesses to gain insights from target audience’s through comments and backend analytics. Check out our infographic that represents the top five social media do’s and don’ts.

5 dos donts infographic

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7 MUST-HAVES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Social Media Marketing has been quite the conversation topic recently. To begin any kind of successful venture into social media marketing, you must create a full plan for all possible outcomes.

1. Commitment: We have seen only too many companies start a social media presence, to then not follow through (enough). Social media requires content and curation. It requires responsiveness and interaction. In addition, the organization as a whole needs to be committed to it, not just the marketing department.

2. Strategy: Starting or continuing on social media without a strategy is will probably result in some pretty disastrous things happening (think the MacDonalds #McDStories debacle). A social strategy doesn’t need to be complex, but it needs to articulate what you are doing, and why. It also needs to have reference points you check against to make sure you stay on track.

3. Audience: In the exceptional case where your business doesn’t connect with people, you might not need a social media strategy. But in all other cases – it’s like with all other marketing: Who is your target audience (demographics, psychographics, firmographics)? What are they looking for? What are they afraid of? What do they love? Etc. If you don’t know who your audience is, it’s going to be really difficult to work out where they hang out, what they talk about, and how to engage them.

4. Brand: (We don’t mean your logo.) A brand is how people perceive your business/service/product, internally and externally. Pretending to be something you are not will result in a very public outcry.  When developing your social media plan, think carefully about the brand image you want and need to portray, and stick with it.

5. Metrics: One of my personal favorites. If you are not measuring your effort, you are wasting yours and everyone else’s time. Metrics allow you to set goals, define milestones, and measure how successful you are. The right metrics even allow you to make changes proactively instead of reactively.

6. Policy: Social media will affect your entire organization, and all of your stakeholders. There must be a common understanding of what is acceptable, and what isn’t.  A good policy defines standards for conduct, and holds people accountable for their actions.

7. Crisis Management: You will, at some point, need to manage a social media crisis. A good plan documents standard operating procedures and escalation steps, all the way up to DEFCON1. You want to proactively manage to avoid crisis, and be able to respond quickly when the crisis does arise.

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WHY HAVING A SOCIAL MEDIA BUDGET IS CRUCIAL

From Myspace, to Facebook, Twitter and sites that are still up-and-coming, social media marketing has evolved into something that is more than a place for the posting of funny cat videos and sharing family vacation photos – it can be used for enhancing your own brand or business at a more personal level. With this being the age of all things digital and social, using these sites for business is a smart way to increase exposure to a larger, more personal audience. The issue with this is that some people seem to forget to consider when thinking about using social media for business is including it in their budget.

Although it may be free to start a page for your business, advertisements do cost money, and factoring this cost into your budget must be considered for effective marketing. It is also not something that should be thought of as a quick addition to any kind of marketing campaign – social media takes time and manpower to build as a helpful tool for increasing the productivity of your business or brand.

Today, nearly everyone is involved in some sort of social media. Whether it is as simple as having a Facebook for sharing pictures, to writing for a daily blog, social media is something that has become part of everyday life for a large percentage of people. These digital platforms can be more informal and come across to a larger crowd, while also appealing to a more relaxed audience all at the same time. Information is pushed across the digital realm in a quicker, more efficient way while allowing for it to be up to date and keeping up with the times. For example, if something were to happen or needed to be shared with the audience of your business the moment it happens, news could be spread in nearly real time. Obviously, this can be incredibly beneficial for a number of reasons for your business.

A website or app, such as Twitter, allows for a more personal approach to pushing out content. On Twitter, followers may favorite, retweet, quote, and respond to a tweet with ease. This creates a more personal atmosphere that may be created without having to deal with the hassle of the phone or email. It is informal, so responses can be quick and to the point, while still getting results. Many people like this for business due to the fact that it somewhat humanizes the company. For smaller companies, this creates a brand image and more social networking for future and potential customers, all while helping with website traffic and explaining what the company is capable of. This also gives larger companies a chance to put off the smaller business feel, while still allowing for the recognition of the large-name brand.

Another thing to note when considering social media is that if you are not on it, your competitor is. A huge percentage of the general public is on the Internet regularly, and with a large percentage of those people actively on social media, it gives more people a chance to learn about your business. The average person checks their various social media accounts several times a day, and with your company being on these same sites it makes for a convenient place to further promote and market. Being on these sites also boosts your brand name in search engines, which creates more results and places where potential customers can hear about you.

In conjunction with your complete marketing strategy, social media can raise the overall value of your company while keeping costs at a minimum. Joining these websites will cause not just a noticeable amount of increased website traffic, but a quantum leap. If one of your posts are shared by fan or audience member, all of their followers or friends will be able to view the post, and they may share it – this creates an exponentially growing base of people who are seeing your information and getting your business name out there. There are also sites, such as StumbleUpon, which allow customers to literally “stumble” onto your website after creating a profile which is tailored to their specific interests. This obviously creates a better chance for the people who are already interested in the genre in which your brand is located to see your website. These sites can be just as helpful as things such as Twitter and Facebook, and help to ensure that other people that share the same interests as your company see you.

This form of marketing is much more inclusive for everyone involved as well. Employees and staff can be more involved with the communication aspect of the company, while teaching the general audience about said brand or company. This allows for the building of a digital community on a grander scale. On the contrary, the consumers can tell a company directly, via Facebook wall or Twitter for example, exactly what they want and what they think. This opens the channel for a direct connection between the company and the consumer. They may tell you how much they adore a product of service, or how much they may hate it and what needs to be improved. The audience can let you know exactly what they want and why they want it – just ask a question or for opinions on a social media site, and you will get responses.

The next question normally asked when it comes to advertising on social media is if it is actually worth it to pay for advertisements on an otherwise free site. The answer is yes, you should. Leaving room in your budget for these sites allows for a whole other realm of audiences to be found. As an example in the most traditional way, a post is put on Facebook, pushed into the newsfeeds of the people who have liked the page, and only seen those same people. There is no new audience, nor is there any chance for a real increase in visits because these people have already seen your information. When someone pays the fee for a promoted post or page, this shows up in newsfeeds of people that may have not liked the page, but have similar interests of your company. With costs starting at as little as ten dollars for promoted posts on Facebook, this form of effective marketing is affordable for nearly every budget. In comparison to the cost of a traditional marketing scheme, this is a more “bang for your buck” deal, which allows the marketing of your company to be enhanced on a social platform.

Within your social media budget, search engine optimization and tools for social media must also be considered in addition to actual advertisements. SEO must be considered for your website to rank higher and receive more traffic, which promotes your business. Tools are available to make your life on these social media sites much easier as well. Sites such as Hootsuite, SocialBro, ManageFlitter, and many others offer an easier way to create, schedule, and manage content in a more streamline way. Buffer is also a good tool to consider, as it allows you to schedule and put content into queues for pushing out at a later date. Using these tools also gives you a way to look at the analytics and statistics of your visitors. These are a must for any social media marketing strategy and will help you exponentially.

Allowing for the space in your budget for social media marketing will be a strategy that will pay for itself many times over. These platforms can increase exposure and create a more human forum as a direct connection with your clientele or intended audience. If social media is something that you are already doing in your marketing strategy, considering the use of paid advertisements can greatly increase your results with minimum financial impact. To put it simply, if you aren’t advertising on social media, you are letting customers walk out the virtual door.

Power On Marketing