5 Ideas to Build a Profitable B2C Campaign

Marketing to consumers is big business and when done right, can be very profitable for your company. The Internet is where most consumers spend their time, so it makes sense to focus your B2C marketing efforts there. This is common knowledge today, but many businesses still fail in this arena. This is why a lot of companies hire SEO professionals for help.

According to one study done by WordStream in 2013, small and medium businesses were wasting away 25 percent of their PPC budgets. So a small business that's dishing out $2,000 monthly on AdWords would end up wasting $6,000 per year on under-performing campaigns.

The loss is even bigger for medium-sized businesses that spend about $20,000 monthly on PPC, which equates to $60,000 wasted dollars annually. This is a lot of money that could be saved by improving their B2C marketing campaigns. If this is something that's plaguing your business, then keep the following tips in mind.

Host Unique Contests

This is an excellent way to get attention on social media and get people engaged. There was a great example of this last year, when Lay's announced their third annual 'Do Us a Flavor' contest. They crowd-sourced ideas from consumers for their next best-selling flavor. This naturally attracted people on a global level, so you can say this was a success. In 2014, Lay's revealed they received over 14 million submissions, which was up from 3.8 million back in 2013.

Offer Something for Free

The only thing consumers love more than a deal is freebies. This was proven in a study done by Harris Interactive in 2013, which showed a drastic increase in repeat purchases and word-of-mouth referrals when there were free add-ons. The results also showed that 90 percent of consumers were somewhat more likely to purchase frequently from a retailer that gave away a free gift, and 65 percent were more likely to share their experience after receiving a free gift.

Make Intent-Driven SEO a Priority

It's not surprising that global brands top Google's search results for electronics, toys and apparel. It would be insanely expensive and exhaustive to even try and attempt to rank highly for such keywords, let alone maintain those positions. Instead, it's recommended that you focus on long-tail keywords that are relevant to your product, and that drive purchase intent.

In another 2013 study done by Adchemy's Thi Thumasathit, it showed that long-tail keywords were 66 percent more profitable than head keywords. This is an opportunity for small and medium businesses to build a profitable B2C campaign.

Build a Network of Micro-Influencers

You don't have to know A-listers to get a great endorsement. If you play your cards right, all you need is a handful of micro-influencers. Together, these micro-influencers can provide enough publicity for your brand. An example of this was seen a few years ago when Shoes of Prey decided to allow a 16-year-old beauty vlogger endorse their custom shoe company. In just a few days, traffic to the company tripled and the sales soared. You can find micro-influencers just about everywhere - on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. Look for them in places where you know your audience hangs out. Otherwise, you won't be reaching the right prospects.

Take a Mobile-First Aproach

If your marketing doesn't think of mobile users first, then you're in trouble. According to Shopify, 50.3 percent of ecommerce traffic is performed on mobile devices. Make sure your online shopping experience is designed with mobile users in mind.

All of these tips can improve your sales, user engagement and help with online reputation management. If you need help figuring out a strategy for your B2C marketing campaign, consult with SEO companies and hire one that is reputable and offers Web design services.


http://www.ithinkanidea.com/ is a leading, full service internet marketing agency. I Think an Idea works with serious business owners small to large alike. Based out of Los Angeles, CA providing great results for services such as SEO, social media marketing, Online reputation management and PPC management. I Think an Idea can maximize your search engine presence and amplify your brand across social media channels, and help safeguard your reputation.

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Step-By-Step How To Make Money Online

Are You Starting A Small Business?

Here are 3 directions that can help you succeed in today's digital business world. An online business can open the doors to a brave new world of creativity and marketing and provide you the ability to promote products at little startup cost and large potential for reward.

1. Affiliate Marketing: is a simple marketing arrangement by which an online business pays you the affiliate a commission for traffic or sales generated from its referrals, depending on the terms of the particular program. There are many types of online affiliate programs and the terms can be different from program, to program. The affiliate marketing concept can be applied to most any product from retail type consumer products that require shipping, to digital products that can be mostly automated.

Like anything there is work involved and nothing comes easy. Here are the pros and cons to take into account when thinking about starting an affiliate marketing business;

PROS: Affiliate marketing is simple to setup and you can become a reseller instantly with most affiliate programs. With low startup costs, you can earn a profit by selling just a few affiliate products in many cases. With affiliate marketing you have a very low operating cost and usually just occur domain name and hosting charges. Marketing costs should also be taken into consideration. With the ability to get started with limited-to-no-capital your risk is very low with affiliate marketing.

CONS: Affiliate marketing can be a lot of work, and in most cases you will face a lot of competition so you're not going to be bringing in money instantly, it can take time. Like any online business you need to build an online presence including your social media, content writing and basic search engine optimization. Simply said, affiliate marketing like any business, requires hard work, you can't just sit back to reap the benefits without the work.

2. Sell your Own Products: Choosing to sell your own products online can be very profitable and a smart decision. One of the first things you will require is a credit card merchant account to accept online payments and have the money deposited into your bank account. The products you sell are anything you create under your own steam. You can sell your art creations, paintings, writing skills, handmade items, and just about anything you have an interest in creating. Do some research and make sure you have a marketplace for your unique skill.

Here are some pros and cons to take into consideration when selling your own products online as a business;

PROS: Selling your own products and creations, if you enjoy creating the products you will be selling then typically you're going to enjoy the business you will be building. This might be the most important point factor to consider overall. Another benefit is low overhead because you yourself are the artist and creator of the product being sold. This can be an excellent side business to grow over time and one you can thoroughly enjoy.

CONS: Something that you put work into and enjoy creating really doesn't have much downside. One problem with selling your homemade creations is you can only produce so much. However that may be a good problem to have and you can then increase your prices to meet the new demand.

3. Virtual Assist Jobs: VA jobs or, freelance work. If you have any skills to offer like programming, writing, consulting, proofreading, language translation, bookkeeping, appointment management, record keeping, email marketing, client or customer follow up, telephone sales, tech support, customer service, research, social media management, social media setup, manage WordPress blogs, support ticket help, live chat assistant, data management and more.

These types of skills can start making you money quickly and using websites like freelancer.com your money is held in escrow so you always get paid. Freelancing websites like these also provide a vast network of eager companies and individuals that are actively searching for your specific services.

PROS: VA jobs, are easy to get started with freelancing websites if you're ready to offer your skills. Get paid easily for your service and you can set the rate you charge. Enjoy working at your own pace and build repeat clients and ongoing relationships. This is an excellent way to get paid for your time now, and not have to take the risks involved in growing a startup or online business.

CONS: There is much global competition for VA's and it can be difficult to be competitive with your hourly rates against someone in a country like India or Cambodia. Don't let this discourage you as many companies and individuals like working within their country for many reasons and be firm from the start on your work value and hourly rate.

Starting A Business Is Not Always Easy..

However;

Big satisfaction in being able to act upon your hunches, make guesses, and to simply - just do it. If you want to succeed in business you first must take some risk and spend money. Many business owners talk about owning a business as the key to job satisfaction. It's true, when you're the boss, you do own it. Not having to ask anybody can mean a great difference in the satisfaction you can achieve for your success. The first step is getting started with your merchant account then create a product page. Best of success!

Do you have a small business or product that you need to generate instant awareness for? Do you like to be in control of your marketing and message? Get a free consumer email list, and demo the powerful email marketing software platform today:

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