Category: Startups

Startups

Importance of Red Team Exercises for Startups

Miley on July 17, 2023

Startups are often seen as being more vulnerable to cyberattacks than larger, more established companies. This is because startups typically have smaller security teams and fewer resources to invest in security. As a result, they can be an attractive target for attackers.

What Are Red Team Exercises?

Red team exercises are a critical way for startups to assess their security posture and identify vulnerabilities. A red team exercise is a simulated attack conducted by a group of skilled individuals, known as the red team, against an organization’s systems and infrastructure. The goal of the red team is to emulate the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of real-world adversaries to identify vulnerabilities and assess the effectiveness of existing security measures.

What Are the Benefits of Red Team Exercises?

There are many benefits to conducting red team exercises for startups. These benefits include:

Identifying Vulnerabilities

Red team exercises can help startups identify vulnerabilities that they may not be aware of (source: ThreatSpike). This information can then be used to prioritize security improvements and reduce the risk of a successful cyberattack.

Testing Security Controls

Red team exercises can also be used to test the effectiveness of security controls. This information can help startups determine whether their security controls are effective in detecting and preventing attacks.

Improving Communication and Collaboration

Red team exercises can help improve communication and collaboration between different teams within a startup. This is important because a successful cyberattack often requires the coordination of multiple attackers.

Building a Culture of Security

Red team exercises can help build a culture of security within a startup. This is important because it can help employees to understand the importance of security and to take steps to protect the organization from cyberattacks.

Regulation Compliance

Many regulations, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), require organizations to conduct regular security assessments. Red team exercises can be a valuable way to meet these compliance requirements.

Competitive Advantage

By identifying and addressing security vulnerabilities, startups can gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. This is because a strong security posture can help to attract customers and partners, and to protect the organization from financial losses.

How Can My Startup Conduct a Red Team Exercise?

Given the many benefits of red team exercises, it is clear that they are an essential tool for startups, much like in the case of penetration testing. However, it is important to note that red team exercises are not a one-time solution.

They should be conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the organization’s security posture remains strong. If you’re looking to conduct a red team exercise, we’ve outlined some tips for your startup below.

Start Small

If you are new to red teaming, it is a good idea to start with a small exercise. This will help you to get a better understanding of the process and to identify any potential challenges.

Get Help from Experts

If you do not have the resources to conduct a red team exercise in-house, there are many companies that offer red teaming services. These companies can provide you with the expertise and experience that you need to conduct a successful exercise.

Communicate With Your Team

It is important to communicate with your team about the red team exercise. This will help to ensure that everyone is aware of the goals of the exercise and that they are prepared to respond to any attacks.

Learn From Your Mistakes

After the red team exercise, take some time to review the results and identify any areas where you can improve your security posture. This information can then be used to make changes to your security controls and to improve your overall security posture.

Startups

5 Reasons Every Startup Needs a Strategic Communication Plan

Miley on May 28, 2023

Unlike before, it is quite easy to start and run a business across the globe. Entrepreneurship is a significant element that powers economies worldwide. To put it straight, economic growth is hindered when the entrepreneurship rate decreases. The more people open up businesses, the more employment opportunities are created. It also enhances resource utilization and the overall development of regions and countries.

However, any business in its early stages is susceptible to failure due to a range of factors. The latest business failure statistics indicate that more than 18% of businesses fail within the first year, over 49% within the first five years, and only 25% operate beyond 15 years. There are many well-known causes of business failure streaming from cashflow issues and competition among others. However, did you know that poor communication can lead to business failure?

This blog explores what strategic communication is and why startups need it. Let’s take a deep dive into it!

Strategic Communication

Effective communication is very crucial when it comes to ensuring smooth business operations, aligning present goals with the future, or fostering sustainability. Good communication can also foster a positive work environment which helps employees to work optimally. The fact that businesses in their early stages are more likely to face immense challenges presents a need for a strategic communications strategy.

A strategic communications plan refers to the strategy that a startup aims at following to communicate effectively with its target audience and related stakeholders like suppliers. A strategic communication plan generally showcases the mediums through which information will flow from one person to another or from one party to another; internally and externally.

The purpose of a strategic communications plan is to detail the communication actions that will help a startup achieve its goals; short-term and long-term. A strategic communications strategy must show who, what, why, where, and how information is transferred. For some startups, it may be necessary to develop a communication team that ensures a smooth flow of information within the organization. Or to effectively communicate with external parties.

Reasons Why Every Startup Needs a Strategic Communication Plan

You may need to formulate a strategic communication plan for many reasons, but the major ones are;

1. To Ensure Effective Management

There is a range of critical success factors in business, but communication is the common denominator. Effective communication in a business can help the management align company operations with long-term goals. A strategic communication plan can be an excellent way to define how the information will flow from the top management to the employee.

This hierarchy can eliminate miscommunication or the flow of critical information to unauthorized personnel. Defining who shares a given type of information and how prevents startup managers from leaking vital information to competitors.

Effective communication strategies can also increase trust among employees. Additionally, they enhance employee morale and productivity which ensures smooth operations.

2. To Communicate Effectively with the Target Audience

Relationships are key to running a successful business. Effective communication can foster professional and strong relationships, whether within the business or outside. For a startup to survive the initial stages, it must create ways of communicating with the target audience. This can be its customers, suppliers, or legal authorities.

Excellent communication between the startup and the customers can help it build brand identity and awareness, and attract new customers. Customers are very important to a startup because the more customers a startup secures, the more it improves its ROI. This ensures smooth management and success.

Startups can consider improving communication with external parties like customers by building a strong online presence. That can be through social media with effective copywriting tips. This eliminates physical barriers and helps customers understand the business’s mission or vision.

3. Fosters an Atmosphere for Growth

When everyone within the organization knows what to do and how to do it, this creates room for business growth and sustainability. Poor communication within a startup is a catalyst for failure. It sets a platform for project mismanagement, delays, low productivity, and increased expenses leading to business failure.

However, effective communication offers an avenue for the smooth running of the business. A strategic communication plan can enforce the lawful flow of information which ensures a positive work environment. Also, it can detail how external stakeholders such as suppliers and customers must be handled. This reduces operational costs hence allowing the startup to thrive.

4. To Minimize Risks

Poor communication in times of crisis can exacerbate situations. Besides that, it can hamper decision-making processes and lead to delayed solutions. Effective communication is a tool that a business manager can leverage to clarify matters. It can provide a platform for reliable decision making leading to the development of informed decisions.

Moreso, strategic communication can increase transparency between parties leading to the achievement of SMART goals. Whatever crisis a startup faces, strategic communication can help it survive and thrive in the long run.

5. Helps Scale the Business

Budget — Calculations are made on a financial plan

Business scalability is ensured by strategic communication. When employees know what to do and how to do it, this makes it easy for the managers to scale up. Scalability is when a business can grow with increasing demand.

For example, when it can adopt better technologies where necessary, meet customer demands, and enter new markets. However, the absence of strategic communication can prevent vital information from reaching the concerned stakeholders which in the long run hinders scalability.

Bottom Line

A startup means a business or a company in its initial stages commonly within the first five years. Businesses are normally susceptible to a range of challenges during this period and it can lead to their closure. However, besides capital and resources, effective communication is another key element that can affect business growth. If you want to know more about starting a business, you can also find relevant information at canadacompanyformation.com.

Communication is vital for success and with that, a startup requires a strategic communication plan to clarify how it will communicate with its stakeholders. A strategic communication plan mainly aims at reducing risks that may arise due to improper communication.

Or eliminating problems that may arise due to improper communication. This blog details several reasons why every startup requires a strategic communication plan. When considered, we’re sure that they will help you operate smoothly during the initial stages.

Startups

8 Reasons Your Startup Needs To Utilise IT Support

Miley on May 23, 2023

In today’s digital age, technology plays a critical role in the success of a business. Whether you’re a small startup or an established enterprise, you need IT support to ensure your operations run smoothly and efficiently. If you are just getting started with your business and are unsure why you need IT support, keep reading as we explore the main benefits of the service and how it can help your business.

1. Technical Expertise

As a startup, you may not have the resources to hire a full-time IT team, but you still need technical expertise to ensure your technology is up to par. An IT support service can provide you with a team of experts who can handle any technical issues that may arise. This includes troubleshooting, software updates, and cybersecurity measures. With IT support, your startup can rest assured that its technology is in good hands and focus on the core business activities that’ll grow your company.

2. Cost-Effective

Hiring an in-house IT team can be very pricey for startups, so IT support can provide a cost-effective solution to access the technical expertise you need without the additional costs of hiring and training staff. IT support is typically provided on a pay-as-you-go basis or through a monthly service plan, making it an affordable option if your startup is looking to maximize its budget.

3. Increased Productivity

Technology downtime can significantly impact productivity and revenue. IT support can help your business or startup avoid these kinds of disruptions by proactively monitoring your technology and addressing any issues before they become major problems. This leads to increased productivity and efficiency and allows you to focus on more pressing matters.

4. Scalability

As the owner of a startup, you will be focused on growth and scaling your business, but as you grow, your technology needs will do the same. IT support can provide you with scalable solutions that can adapt to your changing needs. This means your startup can add new technology or increase its capacity as the business grows without worrying about the technical expertise required to manage it.

5. Improved Security

Cybersecurity threats are a growing concern for businesses of all sizes. Startups are particularly vulnerable to these threats as they may not have the resources to implement robust security measures. If you are concerned about cyber attacks, IT support can provide your startup with the cybersecurity expertise you need to protect your business from potential threats by implementing firewalls, antivirus software, and other security measures to ensure your data is secure and protected.

6. Cloud Solutions

Cloud computing has become an essential component of modern business operations. Cloud solutions can provide your startup with scalable, secure, and cost-effective solutions for its technology needs. Working with an IT support service can help you implement cloud solutions, migrate your data to the cloud, and manage the cloud environment of your business. This allows you to focus on key business activities while leveraging the benefits of cloud computing.

7. Data Management

Big data — A big data is schematiclly represented

Data management is critical for any business, and it is particularly important for startups to ensure their data is secure, accessible, and organized. IT support can provide your startup with the tools and expertise it needs to manage data effectively, which includes implementing backup solutions, organizing data, and ensuring data security measures are in place.

8. Remote Work Support

Remote work has become more prevalent in recent years, with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the trend. If you own a startup, you need to provide employees with the tools and resources they need to work remotely effectively. IT support can help you implement remote work solutions, such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and collaboration tools, to ensure your employees can get work done regardless of where they are.

Martech Startups

10 Useful Benefits of Account-Based Marketing for Growing B2B Businesses

Miley on January 17, 2023

ABM is steadily on the rise in the B2B world, with 80% of all respondents in a survey saying that they’re planning to boost their ABM budget in the next 12 months.

If done correctly, an alternative, such as account-based marketing, is one of the most effective strategies for providing an impressive ROI.

What is Account-Based Marketing?

So, before we start, we’ll first walk you through the basics. Account-based marketing (ABM) is a holistic marketing approach that single one or two high-end accounts.

The sales and marketing team then works hand in hand, looking up the target customers’ pain points and needs and coming up with a personalized ABM strategy specifically tailored to win them over as clients.

Benefits of ABM to B2B Companies

So now we’re going to discuss the top benefits of account-based marketing for B2B companies:

1. Team Alignment

Business — People putting their hands together after a successful business decisions

ABM requires your marketing and sales teams to work together to choose the right target accounts.

This collaboration plays a crucial role in helping you gain a competitive advantage. Using this strategy, teams become the focal point for choosing the most important accounts and who will take care of them.

Your marketing team works to engage with them in a timely, relevant way. That way, teams become more efficient and productive.

2. Efficient Use of Resources

When you adopt a mass-oriented marketing strategy, you’re stretching your resources, trying to cover everything. That’s because your goal is to attract a wider audience, ensuring you have enough leads to get to the bottom of your funnel and convert.

This kind of diversity will only complicate your sales process. Thus, your marketing team invests more time and energy in crafting a one-size-fits-all messaging. ABM, on the other hand, requires a team effort. It would help if you collaborated closely with your sales and marketing teams, uniting them towards a common goal.

This kind of collaboration allows teams to boost their efficiency and work on their strategy based on their co-worker’s output. Your sales team can share their knowledge of the client’s needs and pain points. Meanwhile, your marketing team delivers higher-quality leads and better abm ads.

Also, when you’re only focusing on specific accounts, you’re only feeding your funnel with qualified leads. This makes the nurturing process easy and decreases the resources needed to move your customers further down the funnel.

3. Higher Engagement and Retention

It’s common knowledge in the marketing world that acquiring a new customer costs five times more than your current one. To decrease churn, you should also get high-value customers who you think could be an excellent match for your business. In the same way, you also need to do everything you can to keep them in the long run.

Investing in personalized content is something ABM is particularly good at, increasing trust in your brand and creating relationships that lead to sales and long-term success. It is one of the benefits of ABM.

4. Helps get closer to customers

As we’ve mentioned, conventional marketing strategies utilize mass messaging, using a generalized form of communication.

On the other hand, ABM focuses on crafting personalized messaging in interacting with target customers, letting you approach target customers better.

5. Boosts conversion rates

ABM focuses on high-value accounts and pitching your products and services to them. Your sales and marketing teams collaborate in researching these target accounts, their wants and needs, and the best times you can get in touch with them.

Their research also involves details on the right platforms and how frequently you should extend your communication. Reaching out to prospects with a well-planned strategy leads to better conversions.

6. Deliver consistent customer experiences

For your ABM strategy to truly stand out, you should regularly create a sense of delight in your accounts.

Every account should feel as if they’re special, and you can do this by constantly providing them with consistent customer experiences.

7. Expand business through account relationships

Businessmen — Close-up of business people shaking hands

In ABM, quality over quantity is essential. The process requires you to invest a lot of your time and resources in engaging a group of high-value accounts that are carefully chosen over quickly closing deals with less-qualified leads who are not best for your business in the long term.

8. Clearer Path To ROI

Account-based marketing also gives you the highest ROI among other B2B marketing strategies with less risk.

This also makes it easy to align sales with marketing to grow your accounts consistently.

9. Shorter Customer Lifecycles

When your customers are targeted with the right messaging at every stage of their journey, it significantly decreases the time it takes for them to make a decision.

In the B2B world, those decisions usually come from a board of stakeholders who should be familiar with the information you provide to be on board with the sale.

That way, when decisions have to be made, the entire account already knows your content and is in the loop. This significantly cuts the customer lifecycle and speeds up the sales process.

10. Opportunity to become a marketing expert

ABM allows you to know your target accounts more at a personal level. So, the more you get into the process, the more competent you become in an area where people need more understanding. This helps you stand out when approaching every account.

Over to You

So there you have it. ABM is a great marketing strategy that allows you to deliver fantastic ROI and create a network of highly profitable clients.

Development Startups

Why Should Tech Companies Look at Hiring Graduates?

Miley on September 29, 2021

For all companies, the hiring process should be one that is careful and considered. Even when hiring quickly, it is crucial to make sure that the employees you’re bringing in are a perfect fit for the company.

In the last few months, there has been an investment boom in the UK tech industry, with IT and tech vacancies now accounting for 13% of all UK job vacancies. This is the perfect time for companies to pursue graduate hires, as they can offer something truly unique to this industry.

Bringing a fresh outlook, adaptability, and ambition in abundance, there are a number of reasons why you should consider graduate recruitment and plenty of ways that these young individuals will help grow your business.

The FinTech Sector

One specific technology sector that is of interest is the FinTech sector, which has witnessed unprecedented growth over the course of the last few years.

With the UK standing at the forefront of the global FinTech scene, it is the perfect industry for tech-minded graduates to look at pursuing. As a dynamic and ever-growing industry, it is also precisely the sort of work for which graduates should be hired.

Graduates are flexible, diligent, and forward-thinking individuals, who are so well-suited to these expanding industries. So, when considering FinTech hiring, graduates should be at the top of companies’ lists.

Key Reasons Why Tech Companies Should Hire Graduates

Graduates Understand Technology

Today’s graduates represent a generation of ‘digital natives’ – those who have been brought up during the age of digital technology. Naturally, this means they are more in tune with digital products; and regardless of their role – whether it’s in IT, marketing, or a client-facing position – will be better placed to understand technical problems, terminology, and trends.

This means graduates are the sort of employees that can settle in very quickly, as the onboarding process will be streamlined by their natural prior knowledge. They’re very likely to possess a level of comfort with technology that cannot be guaranteed in other candidates and will assure you that your new hire is well on their way to helping your company turn better profits.

Graduates Have The Skill Set

There are hundreds of thousands of people studying Computer Science degrees, and that’s not taking into account other STEM degrees like Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics. This means that there is a wealth of students with in-demand IT skills who are graduating year on year and are on the lookout for high-end tech jobs.

Likewise, more and more young people are upskilling: developing IT skills off their own back through coding programs; learning AI; machine learning and blockchain university societies; and hackathons. Not only do today’s students and graduates possess an interest in digital products and innovations, but they are actively building up their skill sets in their own time, and are becoming increasingly prolific in the tech expertise they can offer.

Graduates Are Affordable

One of the main advantages of recruiting fresh graduates is that hiring them costs far less than more experienced candidates. The average starting graduate salary is at the very bottom of the general salary bracket for IT & tech roles, so you can be expected to be spending far less on hiring young, with all the benefits that graduates naturally bring!

Graduates can offer a proven return on investment. By hiring a talented candidate on an entry-level salary, and investing in their professional development, you can mold your graduate into what you want them to be. You can set them to work across several areas of your business, enable them to learn a number of new skills (both technical and non-technical), and turn them into an incredibly valuable asset for the company.

New Perspectives

Straight out of university, uninfluenced by previous jobs, and have just arrived at your company, graduates will be able to offer a completely new perspective – one that might force you to look at things in a different way and modify out-of-date practices.

Graduates are also likely to be in tune with current trends, especially digital ones – something that will prove extremely valuable as technology continues to revolutionize every industry. A natural aptitude for technology that graduates tend to possess will prove to be invaluable as your startup grows and looks to advance its online presence.

So, there’s no need to wait around! If you’re hiring for a tech company, start thinking about hiring graduates now!

Startups

7 Social Media Strategies for Business Success

Miley on April 12, 2021

As a business owner, you must already be aware of social media‘s influence on business success. With billions of people using various platforms, it is a great opportunity to attract new customers if you do it right. Here are a few tips that will help you create social media strategies for business success.

Infographic created by Beantown Media Ventures

1. Create High-Quality Posts:

Ok, so you have created a social media account and ready to post on the account, but you have to choose carefully what you share. Sharing substandard content will not grab user attention. The social media platform is filled with excellent content, and if you wish to stand out, you have to produce top-notch posts.

2. Choose the Right Social Media Platforms:

While there are multiple popular social media platforms available, not every platform is beneficial for your business. You have to do research to figure out the one that may work out for you. You can opt for two platforms to engage initially but do not go for more social media platforms at once as your attention will get divided, and none of the platforms will yield results.

3. Truly Engage:

Just creating an account on the social media platform to promote your business but not truly engaging with your audience will not help in business growth. People prefer to invest time in accounts that truly engage with their audience. This will build trust, brand image, and will add a personal touch which goes a long way.

4. Keep an Eye on Your Competitors:

While doing business, being the best in the market is not your only aim, but you have to monitor your competitor’s efforts. Check out their social media strategies with data scraping API to make sure that your efforts are better than them.

5. Share Visual Content:

Statistics have revealed that while people browse the internet, any visual content is more appealing to them rather than adding just text. Make use of images, infographics, or video content to keep your users interested.

6. Mix Things Up:

Posting one type of content may make your audience lose interest. You should always maintain a social media account where you post different formats and content styles to keep the user’s mind occupied.

7. Check Analytics:

Just posting content continuously without finding out it is working for your business or not is foolishness. Every social media platform offers its own analytics. Check the content that is doing good and the ones that are not performing. Compare them to find out what has gone wrong. Figure out the demographics of your audience and when they engage with you the most. Also, you can find if you are reaching your target audience or not. All these data collections will help you do better with your social media posts in the future.

The Bottom Line:

As you start using social media to promote your business, things may not stir up overnight. It may take more time than you thought, honestly, but if you are consistent in your efforts, you will eventually succeed in grabbing your target audience’s attention to boost your business.

Products Startups

Why Webinars Are Taking Over the Sales Process

Miley on March 9, 2021

Let’s face it. People don’t like to be sold. So how do you sell without actually making them feel as though they are being sold?

It’s actually fairly simple.

People buy from who they know, especially if it’s a high-ticket item.

Webinars don’t only help engage the prospective buyer by giving them valuable and useful information about their product or service. It puts a face and personality to the company as well.

Plus, people love knowledge, love to know secrets of the trade, and they love to make their own decisions.

So let them……even if those decisions are persuaded a bit.

By utilizing webinars, you have a platform that offers you the ability to do three very important things for your sales process.

The first is that you’re building a list of potential buyers. Every time someone registers for your webinar, you have a lead. You’ll be able to follow-up with these leads, whether it’s with a phone call or with automated email strategies.

The second is it allows you to provide valuable information during the webinar. You can give them so many things of value, such as answering industry questions and giving them tips that will help improve their chances of success.

The third is that you are building your brand and positioning yourself as a leader in your industry. And you’re doing this all while you help them understand why your product or service is so valuable.

Essentially you are taking a cold prospect and warming them up – all while building trust.

During the 40 minute webinar, you’ll be sharing your knowledge and expertise with them and most importantly, your personality will shine through.

You’re building a connection!

So how do you create a webinar?

There’s really not much to it!

The first thing you need to do is find a webinar platform, create live webinars, or host your pre-recorded webinar.

There are plenty to choose from, but it’s essential that you are able to integrate it with your email marketing tools easily.

When doing your actual recording, here is a good guideline to start with,

You’ll begin by introducing yourself then you’ll head into the entire purpose of the webinar. The content is the meat of the webinar. It’s always a good idea to break it down into sections such as “The 3 Secrets to…”. This section should be at 30 minutes.

And then, you’ll transition into the final part of the webinar which will include your product or service and how much easier it will make their life—offering an irresistible offer that will only be available for a limited time.

This exact process is helping businesses improve their sales and close more cold leads than they were able to do. But only if you’re following the exact process below.

Here’s why,

Once they register for your webinar, you’ll begin an email marketing campaign that will automatically begin sending out emails about the content or the webinar as well as reminders.

After all, you want them to show up!

But if they aren’t able to make it, they’ll have an opportunity to watch the replay. You’ll let them know about this after the date and time of the webinar that they missed. You don’t want them to miss out on the information – it’s designed to make you more sales.

Listen, just like anything else in business; you need to learn the skill in order to perfect it. Webinars are no different. Just hoping on and creating a webinar isn’t going to be enough.

You want to grow and engage your potential customers so that you can increase your sales and the best way to do that is with webinar sales training from a company like Janek.

There’s a lot to learn, and having a well-organized webinar from start to finish will certainly help to turn your cold prospects into warm leads if not customers. You’ll need to know how to effectively track your registrants to make the necessary improvements to create an effective webinar that turns your prospect into a customer.

Using a webinar as part of your marketing efforts will ultimately remove your sales process’s selling aspect. So by the time you get them on the phone, they’re already eager to buy!

Insights Startups

7 Strategic YouTube Video Ideas for Every Stage of the Funnel

Miley on January 12, 2021

If you are looking to generate more leads for your conversion funnel, one effective way is to use YouTube videos. YouTube video strategies help you establish your brand image, build up customer relationships, and enjoy increased sales.

How to Increase the Views of Your YouTube Videos?

Cross-promoting your YouTube videos to your other social media as well as your website can generate more leads for your videos. Worthwhile thumbnails can get more clicks and views for your YouTube videos. For instance, you can share your YouTube videos on Instagram, and with a simple follow unfollow Instagram process, you can get a lot of views for your videos. In case you were using Gramblr for your Instagram automation, you can now use a Gramblr alternative as the service is down now.

What are the YouTube Video Ideas 2020 for Every Stage of the Funnel?

Here in this section, we will discover the YouTube video ideas in which you can create successful video content using the essential web tools.

1. Problem-Solving Videos

Almost everyone who knows search engines searches for the solutions to the new issues and problems they encounter with. So, what if your YouTube videos solve the problems of the people? Yes, your video will appear! Hence, it can be said that search engines like Google are important for your business marketing strategy.

These videos not only solve the problem of your audience but also guarantee leads for your sales funnel. They should neither be too short not to address the problem completely nor too long to appear boring to your audience. In addition, you should add a CTA button or phrase at the end of your video so that your viewers can take action.

Here is how Tasty answers its audience:

2. Tutorial Videos

Tutorial videos that teach how to use a product or service are blessings to your customers. The reason is that they will find out how to use the product or service they have paid for, so the money they have paid is not wasted. Therefore, in order to help your customers understand how to use your products or services, creating tutorial videos is the best way.

Creating tutorial videos not only makes your customers understand that you value them but also makes them trust you and your products or services. Hence, it is highly likely that they get back to you and buy it once again later.

Here is an example by PlayStation:

3. How-to Videos

Generally speaking, people cannot devote a lot of time to long texts and articles to find an answer to their matters. They rather like to watch short videos, solve their matters, and resume their routine life.

It may now cross your mind that how we can differentiate between how-to videos and tutorial videos. Tutorial videos are normally about products or services while how-to videos are more subject-centered. That is to say, you target one of the needs of your audience for each of your how-to videos and try to address it using your products or services.

How-to videos are efficient in terms of lead generation. They keep your customer retention rate high because they can signify your care for your customers. Keep your how-to videos short so that viewers do not get bored and learn how to do something as soon as possible.

Look at how House Beautiful uses How-to YouTube videos:

4. Top Tips Videos

Top tip videos are great for informing your audience. You can talk about the best tips for a particular issue in a video. For instance, if your audience is checking your video to get the most crucial tips for a travel destination, you can create an informative YouTube video that provides such information for your audience. Think of cultural tips, monetary system, food, religion, basic regulations, clothing, languages, dialects, and a lot more.

Taken as a whole, top tip videos on YouTube raises the awareness of your audience about a particular subject and such awareness makes them realize that you care about their level of understanding from that subject.

Take a look at this video by WatchWellCast:

5. Troubleshooting Videos

Naturally, when something stops working or does malfunctioning, we rather search to find a solution for the issue than to worsen the case. Here comes the importance of troubleshooting videos. The subjects of your troubleshooting videos can differ significantly. You can foresee the problems that your audience may have while working with your products or services. In addition, you can find out the most reported issues by a careful analysis of your data.

Here is an example by MDTechVideos:

6. Q&A Videos

These videos are both effective for you and your audience. They can save you a lot of time because you do not have to repeat the same answer to the same question every day. Instead, you create a Q&A video and in which you give the answer to the most frequent questions. Regarding the number of questions, you can create different videos addressing the question.

Look at how Hannah Kemp uses Q&A video:

7. Testimonial Videos

Testimonial videos are perfect to give your business reliable credit. You can interview a loyal customer and let them share their experience of buying from you. These videos can provide your audience with a higher percentage of trust so that they can take the last step of the funnel and become a customer.

Look at the video produced by WeAreNetflix:

Conclusion

Using these strategic YouTube video ideas for every stage of the funnel, you can increase the probability of turning your leads into lifelong customers. So, do our best to get inspired by these ideas and convert as many customers as you can. Wish you the best of luck!

Bio

I am Parichehr Parsi, a born writer, and a freelance copywriter in the fields of travel, fashion, and Instagram marketing. I currently write for Realtormate and online magazines in Italy and I love reading, writing, and researching. Find me on LinkedIn!

Insights Startups

6 Tips To Increase Mobile App Downloads From Your Facebook & Instagram Ads

Miley on January 4, 2021

Mobile apps are so valuable in expanding businesses that even small platforms like Instagram management services do not want to lag. After going through everything to design a perfect app, you notice that you are just at the beginning of your road because it is tricky to get users to download the app.

You already know how to run a campaign on Facebook and Instagram, so in this article, you will read about 6 essential tips to increase mobile app downloads from your Facebook and Instagram ads. The last one is extremely underestimated. Then stay tuned till the end!

Increase mobile app downloads from your Facebook & Instagram Ads

Given the data, among all social media, Facebook is the top and Instagram is the sixth platform with the highest number of active users.

So it makes complete sense if you try to increase mobile app download from your Facebook and Instagram ads.

Increase mobile app downloads from your Facebook ads

To understand better, let’s start with Facebook with its better chance of converting users to boost the app download, shall we?

Start from users with more potentials

If you wanna increase your mobile app download, start from users who are more likely to download your app.

Your now customers

70% of your customers are likely to convert and download your mobile app. So start from them and retarget them on your Facebook ads.

Don’t show the ad to just anybody

There are types of audiences who are either impossible to convert or there is a little chance for this matter! So, avoid targeting these types of audiences if you plan to boost your app downloads through Facebook ads.

Cold customers

According to rule 7, a user normally engages with your brand 6 times before they convert! (The seventh engagement is the act of conversion). To increase engagement or story views on Instagram, considering removing ghost followers.

The cold audience is at the beginning of the customer journey and there is little chance to get them to download your mobile app.

They are barely targeted in campaigns unless it is a brand awareness campaign.

Not compatibles

Other than that, make sure to choose the right device! If your app is android compatible only, don’t show your ad to users who can not even download your app!

Data connected users

A personal question! When you download an app, are you normally connected via WiFi or cell phone data?

Your answer applies to your audience!

Then tick the check box!

Don’t underestimate CTAs

Adding CTAs to your Facebook page can increase the click-through rate by 285%.

Since you want to increase app download, make sure you choose “Download”

Make your audience wonder

Display appealing video ads of your application in use and make your audience wonder. It works so much if it is the game app you want to get users to download.

Increase Mobile App Downloads From Instagram Ads

Before anything you should know that to run ads on Instagram, you should connect Instagram to your business Facebook account.

All the tips to increase mobile app download on Facebook applies to Instagram ads as well. There are, however, news tips worth mentioning. Here they are.

Use hashtags

Use seven hashtags to increase the findability of your Instagram ads and your mobile app download as a result.

One hashtag must be your brand; For Instance #Sony
One hashtag must be what your brand owns; for instance, #weareForeverFaster
Five community hashtags; such as #running #fintess #instagramfitness

Blend your ad into your organic Instagram posts

Your ad will remain in your feed with your Instagram organic posts. Then blend it.

The final step to increase mobile app download from your Facebook and Instagram ads

The final step to increase app mobile download via Facebook and Instagram ads is to measure your performance and improve your strategy.

Whether or not this is the first campaign you run to increase mobile app download, it is not going to be perfect, neither is it your last campaign, hopefully.

Make sure you measure your strategy to find out its bugs and come up with the flawless one in the future. Of course, Instagram and Facebook insights are a great help in this matter.

Author’s Bio

The writer is Zahra Zakipoor, a junior digital marketer and a travel freak who survived the quarantine during the COVID pandemic. She is working with Realtormate as a freelancer now.

Insights Startups

Why is Google important for your business marketing strategy?

Miley on December 23, 2020

With the Yellow Pages no longer being printed, we can all acknowledge the power of the internet. In the last century, we have seen a major shift towards digital information. But, not to be worried, if you can leverage the internet in your favor, it can be very beneficial to you and your small business! The internet makes your business easier to find and with resources such as Google My Business (GMB), you can attract the ideal customer – who you may not have been able to reach before the digital era!

Google My Business is a free tool created for small businesses to develop their online presence and attract the audience they truly want. Whether you are a law firm, yoga studio, or nail salon, Google wants to help your small business succeed by providing you with a GMB page.

What is a Google My Business Page?

Your GMB page is what appears in local search and map results in Google. It gives the user accurate information about your business such as: hours, address, business category, and reviews.

If Google recognizes that the user is searching for a local business or service, organic results will pop up with a map and a few local businesses at the top! These come before the pages and pages of websites below it. Meaning your website isn’t always going to be your first impression– It can be your GMB page. For many local businesses, searchers decide to become customers without ever visiting your business’s website!

What is the importance of having your own business listing?

Okay, so you understand what a GMB page is, but why should you spend so much time creating and optimizing it? We’ll go into some reasons here.

Helps your website rank better

Ideally, you want to show up as one of the top three businesses in the results page. By starting and optimizing your business listing, you are building a ranking in the top three.

Your business listing also shows up on a mobile device and Google Maps. With convenience being a big factor in 2020, many consumers use Google Maps to find a local business. Therefore, you have another way to showcase your business and bring in a new customer!

Engage with your audience

Your listing gives you a concrete way to connect with your audience. Within your business page, you can respond to reviews and answer questions. Additionally, by utilizing the posts section of your GMB page, you can give your customers insight into who you are and what you do.

Because all the information a customer needs is right in front of them– your listing gives them the option to connect with you. They can book an appointment or give you a call with one simple click. There is also a helpful feature called “Questions and Answers” which allows customers to ask you their own questions. After a question is asked, you will receive a notification to prompt you to answer!

Strengthen your local SEO

Perform local SEO tactics, like integrating relevant keywords, to generate high-quality traffic and conversions. Google has an algorithm that crawls and ranks your business in search results– keywords help Google understand what you’re about

Reviews increase appeal

Google also makes it easier for your customers to write reviews, by providing you with a URL you can share. The URL directs customers to leave reviews for your business in a quick and easy way. You can share this link on your website or emails. It is a good idea to share the link after a customer has just had a recent experience with your business, that way too much time hasn’t passed. Overall, Google wants your small business to succeed and start building reviews– that’s why they make it easy for you!

Google My Business reviews are also important because it will boost your SEO and rank you higher in Google search results. Google’s algorithm will pull keywords from your reviews (and replies) to give searchers what they are looking for. Not only that, but the more positive reviews you have, the more likely a potential customer will click on your business which continues to work in your favor.

Does this all seem too complicated?
There are many digital marketing agencies and companies that are willing to help your business grow and achieve the results you are looking for! Whether it’s criminal lawyer marketing or real estate marketing, there is someone who can help! Bottom line, don’t feel too overwhelmed and hire someone to help.