05 Apr

Posted at 13:07h in Website Design

When it comes to law firms, their website design is critical for success. A well-designed website can attract more clients, improve the firm’s reputation, and increase overall revenue. However, designing a great website for a law firm requires some specific considerations. This blog post will discuss some essential elements of a great website design for law firms.

1. Professionalism

Professionalism is the first and foremost aspect of a great website design for a law firm. The website should look and feel professional to the visitors. It should convey a sense of authority and expertise to potential clients. The website design should be simple, clean, and easy to navigate. A professional-looking website can give potential clients a positive impression of the law firm and increase their trust in its capabilities.

2. Clear Navigation

Another critical aspect of website design for law firms is straightforward navigation. Visitors to the website should be able to find the information they need quickly and easily. Navigation should be intuitive and straightforward, and the website’s structure should make sense. A transparent navigation system helps visitors find the information they need and can help them feel more comfortable with the law firm.

3. Mobile Responsiveness

Mobile responsiveness is an essential aspect of website design for law firms. With more and more people using their smartphones and tablets to access the internet, the law firm’s website must be optimised for mobile devices. A mobile-responsive website adjusts to the screen size on which it is viewed, making it easier to read and navigate on smaller devices. A mobile-responsive website can help ensure the law firm gets all the potential clients who prefer to browse on their mobile devices.

4. Contact Information

The law firm’s contact information should be easy to find on the website. Visitors should be able to find the firm’s phone number, email address, and physical address easily. A contact page or a prominent section on the homepage can make it easy for visitors to contact the law firm. Making it easy for potential clients to contact the law firm can help increase its conversion rate.

5. Quality Content

The website’s content is just as important as its design. The content should be high-quality, informative, and engaging. Visitors should be able to learn about the law firm’s services and expertise and should be convinced of the firm’s capabilities. High-quality content can also help the website rank higher in search engines, increasing its visibility to potential clients.

6. User-Friendly Forms

The law firm must have user-friendly forms to generate leads through its website. Contact forms, newsletter sign-ups, and other forms should be easy to fill out and submit. The law firm should ask for only essential information, and law firms should optimise the forms for mobile devices. Making it easy for visitors to fill out forms can help increase the firm’s conversion rate.

7. Visual Appeal

While professionalism is critical, the law firm’s website should also be visually appealing. The website design should be visually engaging, with images and graphics complementing the content. However, the design should be manageable and manageable, as this can distract visitors from the main message. A visually appealing website can make visitors more likely to stay on the site and learn more about the law firm.

8. Speed and Performance

Finally, legal companies must prioritise website performance and speed. Pages or forms should load promptly for visitors. Slow website performance can lower conversion rates and raise bounce rates. Law firms should use clean code and appropriate image optimisation to speed up and perform the website.

In conclusion, in today’s digital age, having a website is essential for any business, including law firms. A well-designed website can help law firms attract potential clients, build their reputation, and increase revenue. A website can also provide essential information to clients and streamline the communication process.

07 Jul

Posted at 09:56h in Video Animation, Video Marketing

Animated explainer videos are the current buzz for any marketing campaign, but without the right copy, it’s just cool pictures with no direction, that won’t yield the results you want. These videos capture the brand essence and highlight significant points the brand or product has to offer in a simple and understandable yet powerful manner. The following steps, though not set in stone, will help you with writing copy for explainer videos;

1.Write a creative brief

The creative brief encapsulates your vision and goals for the project, which will determine the direction in which you go.

Answer the following questions in your creative brief:

  • What problem are you solving with your product/brand?
  • What is your goal for the project/campaign?
  • How are you solving this problem?
  • How is your solution different/better than alternative solutions?
  • What are the key elements of your brand or product
  • What do you want people to do after watching your video?

Your answers to these questions will help you form an outline of the copy for your explainer video.

2.Target audience

Identifying your target audience

Defining your target audience early on will guide the tone of your copy, which will, in turn, help you generate a strong connection with them via the video.

Before you start with your copy, answer these questions;

  1. What do they look like?
  2. How old are they?
  3. Where do they live?
  4. How do they dress?
  5. Where do they work?
  6. What lingo (language) do they use?

With this information, you’ll be able to carve out the exact person you’re talking to and to ascertain how to talk to them in a way that is relatable to them, it’ll also help you with the storyboard for characters later when you start putting the video together.

3. Three-Act Structure

Utilizing the three-act structure template will help you package your video into sections. Having a structured approach will make your video more coherent, and memorable.

Act 1: The What

Act 1 is all about outlining the reason for the video, this is where you show what the problem is.

This step is very important, and ideally should grab the audience’s attention within 15 seconds, these 15 seconds will determine whether or not they’ll continue watching.

Act 2: The How

The “How” demonstrates how the product or brand solves the problem mentioned in Act 1. The copy here should be an expansion on The What, highlight the brand or product’s USP (unique selling proposition), and give the audience a reason to believe in your brand/product.

Act 3: The Why

In the final Act, the copy should explain to the audience why they should pick you over the other existing alternatives/competitors.

The first two Acts are more of a story about your brand/product, whereas Act 3 is where the “sales pitch” comes in; this is the part where you persuade them to believe that your product/brand is better than the others, thus influencing them to choose you.

Always remember to have your call-to-action at the very end, the call-to-action prompts your audience to take steps towards becoming your customer.

4.Consider The Whole

While the focus here is the copy, you need to consider the video as a whole; this includes the music as well as the visuals that’ll go with it, to ensure that everything works in unison. Every element of the video needs to make sense together, it doesn’t help to have a video with beautiful images, and good music but the copy doesn’t make sense in the context of the video, or vice versa.

5.Stay Focused

it’s easy to get carried away when writing copy, that’s why it is so important to keep the objective of the explainer video in the back of your mind. Ensure that the bulk of the copy explains the brand/product’s benefits, or how it works; whatever the purpose of the video is, ensure that it doesn’t get lost along the way.

6.Technicalities

The length of the copy, and ultimately that of the video is an important part of the process. You don’t want to make the video too long and risk losing your audience halfway through, but you don’t want to make it too short either and not get enough information in.

People are more likely to respond to communication that evokes an emotional response in them, ensure that your copy doesn’t only harp on about benefits, and what makes you different. Include elements that’ll make your explainer video memorable, elements such as storytelling that’ll evoke emotion from your audience.

In short, your script has to make sense in the context of the video; it needs to work in unison with the other elements of the video. Moreover writing copy for explainer videos needs to be short and to the point.

04 Jun

Posted at 10:38h in Digital Marketing, Social Media

Do you ever wonder if all the Facebook ads you see in your news feed are effective? It’s especially interesting considering that sometimes you find them to be annoying and a total nuisance. In actuality, they can work wonders and if you’re a business owner, you should think about getting on board, because you might see a massive return. But just what are the benefits of Facebook ads, exactly?

Aside from email marketing, flawless web design, SEO, and organic social media, Facebook ads are important. There are billions of people who use Facebook every day, and if you place a targeted ad on the platform, your chances of reaching them skyrocket. This is a necessity — organic traffic on Facebook is almost non-existent. We’ll talk more about that later.

Note: To be clear, when we’re referring to running ads on Facebook, we’re not talking about using the Boost button. We’re talking about going to business.facebook.com to create highly targeted ads from scratch. This is an important distinction!

If the benefits of Facebook ads are still vague to you, let’s talk more about why you need to invest in them. Here are some of the benefits of Facebook ads that you need to know.

1. The Facebook Advertising Platform Offers Robust Analytics

Mark our words: You won’t find these analytics elsewhere.

Facebook has no limits when it gives you reports and analytics about the performance of your ads. You’ll never have to guess or make your assumptions about what’s working and what isn’t. Instead of having to determine your conversion rates and other social metrics, you’ll see them already neatly laid out for you right within Ads Manager. All you have to do is analyze them and determine your next step.

You’re provided with metrics about your weekly reach, post engagement, page likes, and which posts have the best performance. But it doesn’t end there. Gain insight on things like clicks, conversions, and even sales. And honestly, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

By seeing this data, you can adjust your ads based on what’s needed, instead of having to guess or finding out later on that your investment was for nothing. Remember, if you can’t track and measure something, you can’t know if it’s working or how you can improve.

Facebook gives you so much power when it comes to tracking and measuring the progress of your ads.

2. You Can Micro-Target Your Exact Audience

Facebook’s targeting capabilities when it comes to the level of granularity are beyond amazing. You can target based interests, behaviors, demographics, age ranges, connections, locations, or languages. You can even target your competitors’ fans.

The targeting capabilities can dig deeper than any other platform, and you can layer them and combine them to make sure you’re eliminating users who aren’t your target market. This is important! The audience quality is more important than the size. We want conversions. You should be looking for Facebook users who are potential customers — the people who will most likely buy your product, instead of just random visitors.

Targeting is probably where Facebook excels the most compared to other advertising platforms. You just won’t find these options elsewhere.

3. You Can Create Ads Catering to Your Specific Objective

The act of creating an ad on Facebook is made simple by the platform. It guides you through steps that let you choose the kind of ad, target your audience, and set a timeframe and your budget.

Furthermore, the ad is customizable based on what exactly you’re trying to accomplish. Facebook refers to these as “objectives.” Whether you want post engagement, website clicks, page likes, or something else entirely, you can create an ad-based around that.

This allows you to better control the ad you create. It also tells Facebook how to optimize your ad to deliver the best results possible.

Since the ad is customizable, you can create something that will reflect your brand and target audience for a better response.

 

4. You’ll Reach Far More People Than You Ever Will With Organic Posts

Ah, yes. Organic reach. Let’s talk about this now.

If you’re running a business page, you might not be aware that only the tiniest fraction of your followers even see what you post. It may sound extreme, but it’s completely true.

Over the last couple of years, Facebook has been decreasing business pages’ visibility in news feeds — a frustrating algorithm update for business owners everywhere. Even Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that they would be prioritizing posts from friends and family more frequently, effectively putting our business pages on the back burner.

If you’re going to use Facebook for marketing in any capacity, you must use ads if you want your potential consumers to know about your business. You don’t need a big budget, but you do need a budget.

Facebook ads give you a lot of bang for their buck, and if you know how to target and create them, the return you’ll see will be worth every single penny.

 

5. Ads Allow You to Remarket to People Who Have Already Interacted With You

Remarketing is another way of reaching your target audience because users who have visited your website in the past will see your ad. Let’s talk about why this matters.

The first time people see your business on Facebook or your website, they probably glance at it and don’t go any further, even if you piqued their interest a little bit. And why would they? They don’t know you, and they have no reason to trust you. In the future, if they see your ad again, it gives you a higher chance of converting those people.

One touchpoint isn’t going to be enough. People need to see your brand anywhere from three to seven times before they’ll finally take action.

6. With Proper Targeting, You Can Get Clicks and Conversions for Cheap

That is made possible because Facebook’s CTR (click-through rate) is steadily increasing due to their of their improved advertising tools. That’s why businesses are learning how to use ads properly. Due to the constant improvements in targeting capabilities and creativity, business owners can effectively target audiences they want to reach, and they can do so for a low cost.

With the minimal cost you pay to run a Facebook ad and specifically target only the people you want, you’re spending a small amount of money to reach however many people you need to and ultimately make money off of your ad.

To be clear, what ends up costing the most money is testing your ads, which you’ll almost always have to do. Facebook ads hardly ever work on the first try and need to be tweaked. This is very normal. You should account for this testing phase when setting your budget.

7. You Can Easily Find New Leads With Facebook Ads

Once you find your audience that converts the fastest, it’s possible to attract people who are just like them by using Facebook’s “lookalike audiences.” This feature allows you to take a custom audience and use Facebook to find similar people who are most likely to purchase from you.

Conversion pixels, those who install data from apps, and your Facebook fans can be used to build lookalike audiences. You can define the size and targeting options a lot more deeply to ensure that your lookalike audiences accurately reflect your target market.

8. You Can Add a Custom Call-to-Action Button

The majority of digital ads have a CTA (call-to-action) button that will take your audience to the desired destination, like your website. This is effective because you quite literally have to tell people what to do. Then, they’re far likelier to do it. It sounds simple, but it makes a huge difference in the performance of your ads (and your blogs!).

Plus, users are often looking for more information before making a decision.

By using Facebook ads, users can easily go to your website; but there are other options, too. The current available CTA buttons include Book Now, Apply Now, Contact Us, Sign Up, Download, and Learn More.

 

9. People Are Almost Always-on Social Media

Businesses cannot ignore Facebook. It’s huge. It’s everywhere. That’s why your business needs a Facebook page — because current and future customers are there. On average, a person spends almost 2.5 hours daily on social media, and Facebook is their go-to.

Follow the crowd. If most of your target audience is on Facebook, you need to be on Facebook.

 

10. You Can Easily Scale Your Content Promotion

If your website always has great content, you want people to be aware of it. That’s the reason why you consistently share updates across your social media networks. But do you think that’s enough? Unfortunately, it’s not.

Facebook ads are there to amplify your content reach. Because of ads, you’ll end up reaching more people than you ever will organically. This makes it not only feasible but easy to scale your marketing strategies. Once you’ve got an ad that converts well, you put more and more money into it until it no longer performs the way you want it to.  You can also create duplicate ads and target other segments of that audience.

When you put a little ad spend toward it, amazing things can happen.

11. You’ll Encourage Customer Loyalty

Today, a lot of businesses correctly use Facebook pages to help their followers feel like they belong in that community. These pages give businesses a chance to have direct interaction with customers to build their brand image and enhance customer loyalty.

One of the many benefits of Facebook ads is that they give businesses heightened opportunities to engage audiences. This will lead to more growth, a higher retention rate, and eventually more sales — all because you used Facebook ads to establish better relationships.

Facebook ads may be cheap, but don’t underestimate them just because of the price tag. They’ll take your business to new heights. Bear in mind that there is a learning curve. Ads Manager isn’t intuitive, and you can’t expect results overnight. Truly, you can never expect results overnight when it comes to business.

However, if you dedicate time to learning how to use the platform, and you test, test, test your ads, you’ll eventually find success spending money on Facebook.

Are you currently running any Facebook ads? How are they going?

 

 

15 Apr

Posted at 08:04h in Thought Leadership, Website Design

The building of websites for the promotion of internet business plays a crucial role in enhancing sales and profits in the marketing field. How to create a website for an online business and how to make it search engine friendly are some of the common questions that can be heard from the newcomers in the business. The inclusion of certain tips while constructing the website can make the site search engine friendly so that it can promote more sales and profits from the online shopping center. Let’s see below some useful factors that need to be considered while developing a website for businesses.

 

Creating a website with junk audio and video files may not ensure the high performance of the site in the search page results. You can minimize the above-specified factor by uploading the required audio and video files to the shopping website. This feature in turn can minimize the loading time and can reduce the bounce rate from the required web pages. Today you can find a wide range of website designing and marketing companies all over the world to assist newcomers in the internet marketing field.

 

The creation of a website for the development of business is very important to get a top position in the search page results. We will start with the quality of the content provided on the site. The quality of the content provided on the website can decide the number of customers coming to the online shopping sites. High-quality content with proper keyword optimization can promote the number of customers on online websites. Generating content with the help of software techniques may not give the required results. Hence writing off quality content as per the required amount can grab the targeted number of audiences to the online shopping site.

 

When you do a search online, you can find a good number of freelance article writers to help you in providing the content required for the site. Hence feel free to make use of efficient freelance writers for the required content. Lack of sufficient keywords can also reduce the site position in the search pages thereby reducing the number of customers to the online shopping sites. You can minimize the above trouble by arranging the content in such a way that the content ensures the right keyword density.

 

Many of us have heard about the keyword generator tool options that can be availed online. Today, you can also make use of keyword-generating tools to analyze the keyword inside the published content. Publishing the images and videos inside the website generally plays a key role in making the site in the topmost position in the marketing field. Images and videos on the site are edited to obtain a leading position in the business strategies. Always make sure that you publish unique and quality images as per the requirement of businesses. You can also do a comparison with similar sites by making use of software options here.

Several website design services are available at present to assist you in constructing commercial websites. The business sites are generally constructed in simple themes so that the products included in the site can be made more visible to all eyes. The utilization of video streaming platforms like YouTube and Facebook had created a stunning impact on the development of online businesses. Today, you can find various online services to help business owners in promoting their companies via social media websites. Getting more Facebook likes and more Twitter shares can only improve the number of targeted customers to the online shopping websites.

 

The price rate assigned by a service in getting more Facebook likes depends on the reliability of their services and their experience level. Always make sure that you never focus on service with a cheap price rate and low quality. If possible, feel free to rely on the high-quality services that ensure a better position in the search page results. Improving the website’s popularity is one of the important factors that all businesses need to be considered for their development. Link building is one of the best techniques that can be utilized to enhance the popularity of newly developed products. Link building is generally done by making use of the links of the popular websites of the niche topics so that it can grab more targeted customers to the shopping website.

 

The majority of the marketing experts had already utilized SMS and email marketing techniques to boost their sales. You can utilize SMS marketing options and email marketing facilities to do the developments in the business field. Increased flexibility in enhancing the popularity of the business is one of the important advantages of email marketing and SMS marketing options in businesses. You can utilize the above-specified marketing strategies from anywhere in the world and at any time as per the requirement. Today, small to large groups of businesses are making use of Search Engine Optimisation techniques to enhance their businesses across the globe. You can specify SEO as an ideal companion to make your website in the top search results.

16 Nov

Posted at 10:14h in Advertising, Website Design

Website promotion is a dynamic process that requires constant work both on the website and through accompanying marketing activities to retain existing and attract new visitors. Your website must be the main reason for the increase in visitors.

Therefore, the trend of increasing traffic must be caused and accelerated by the quality of the website design. The content of the website must be attractive enough for the visitor to want to return to it.

Below, read more about effective ways to promote your website.

 

WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION FOR GOOGLE

All those activities that are done on the website through Internet marketing to promote it and better position the site, and under Google’s guidelines, we call website optimization for Google.

The basic requirements that each website must meet to have a realistic chance of high positions in organic search results (SERP) are:

* On-page optimization
* Offpage optimization, SEO optimization

The question that anyone who wants to have a competitive website needs to clear up is whether they should do SEO at all or optimize their site for search engines. The answer is that for a successful promotion, you need to do search engine optimization, primarily for Google.

It is not enough to think that the content of your website is unique, the best, prestigious, special, enchanting, but the same content must reach the principal internet players, first of all, Google. The way search engines rank your website as a target in search results for keywords or search phrases is one of the most current topics on the Internet.

There is no magic formula for good website positioning. There is hard, professional, long-lasting, and creative work that requires multidisciplinarity and the engagement of experts of various profiles.

 

REFRESH YOUR WEBSITE WITH QUALITY CONTENT

Nothing will impress visitors to the website than the fact that they will find something new. The content of your website is the main reason for excellent attendance. The attractive graphic solution of the site plays a significant role in promotion, but still, the content is the reason for the return of visitors. The solution is to always leave something in the content, which could be realized and completed only during the next visit.

 

GOOGLE ADWORDS CAMPAIGNS — FASTEST TO VISITORS

You aren’t the first to want to be on the first page of Google, as close to the top as possible. Many of them want to do the same. Google Adwords will allow you to be present at the top of the first page of search results for a while for a fee.

You need to have a Google Account and an online payment card. For your ads to appear on search engines, you need to design and implement appropriate campaigns. This job should be left to companies with experience because the effects of advertising will be excellent if the campaigns run professionally. The ad must comply with Google advertiser guidelines.

There is an organic search result for the searched keywords. These entries are visible on the left side of the screen.

In contrast to these results, paid ads are usually at the top (sometimes on the right) and must always be appropriately marked so that the visitor knows that they are paid ads.

 

PUT A BLOG ON A WEBSITE.

Install a blog on your site because Google loves blogs. Specifically, Google loves fresh and frequently updated content with quality and relevant text, as well as linking between internal pages of the site. By adding a blog to the site, you get the opportunity to publish new content, to insert a link to important pages in the text, to add images, videos, and everything else that is relevant to the topic of your website.

 

USE FACEBOOK ADS TO PROMOTE THE WEBSITE.

Facebook offers several different options for those who want to make an ad. You can create an ad to promote your website with which you will send Facebook users to your website. Facebook allows you to advertise a website even if you don’t have a Facebook page, but you can also include it in your ad later.

 

First of all, precisely define the target group you are addressing. A missed target group means money thrown at an ad that will show to people who are not interested. You can determine your audience first by country, by selecting the appropriate search territory, region, or city, then choosing the age of the target audience you want your ads to show, gender, interests, and more.

 

INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR WEBSITE PROMOTION

Take advantage of the impact of a marketing promotion by hiring influential people. It does not refer to any influence but on social networks.

Some of these people live on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram — and believe it or not — on forums, chat rooms, and email lists. Influencer marketing is good old PR extended to these new people as well.

 

YOUTUBE AS A PROMOTION CHANNEL

You can use a video that is extremely popular and influential to promote the website, and in that way, you will attract a large number of new visitors.

These are just some of the many examples of successful website promotion.

Sharing links and banners with other, primarily related websites is a necessary way to increase the rating (PR) of a website and the number of visitors.

Various marketing campaigns such as email marketing, sweepstakes, promotions are also a reliable tool for more visits.

That does not exhaust the modalities of website promotion. Which strategy and when to apply, you will determine by your business and vision of its development.

09 Oct

Posted at 09:30h in Internships

I embarked on seeking a  workplace practical opportunity as part of a practicum fulfilment of the BBA (Hons) in Media Operations Management qualification. I was fortunate to be granted a customer relations internship opportunity at  BWD Advertising for a period of two weeks.

I was allocated to Dimpho Sibanda, Social Media Manager at  BWD Advertising  as a supervisor to guide me throughout my internship program. Despite the short duration of my internship, I was equipped with the necessary skills and capabilities which are key to a media practitioner role. 

Overview of my host employer

BWD Advertising is a marketing agency which combines business intelligence with great ideas to deliver real results. The company’s slogan is “Grow When You Grow” which is incorporated in branding, design and digital marketing to connect their clients with their clients. BWD Advertising collaborates to uncover and develop real opportunities that help businesses matter more and perform better. Moreover, it believes in the power of great creative ideas that are intelligently researched and sharply executed to achieve memorable and measurable results. 

On my first day, I went through the onboarding process to understand what BWD Advertising does, for whom, how they conduct the business practices and why it exists. This taught me a lot about the BWD Advertising culture and what sets them apart from other advertising agencies.

Highlights of the internship

 

The customer relations internship at BWD Advertising gave me an insight into the facets of an advertising agency. BWD Advertising capabilities include marketing, public relations, strategic planning, media buying, brand identity, customer analytics, creative design and events management. 

I learned the basics of media planning and its significance to an advertising agency. I learned about the criteria of identifying and selecting media outlets in which to place paid advertisements.

I also had an opportunity to be directly involved in the production of content for a client. I was part of a studio session to record a voice over for an advertisement and was allocated the general assistant role for a client’s photo shoot.

 

 

These functions taught me a lot about the inputs or processes which go into BWD Advertising services and the importance of aligning the company’s efforts or activities with the objectives of the campaign.  

The internship also taught me how to compile a social media calendar. Thereafter I was tasked with compiling a one-month social media content for the company. This taught me a lot about creating engagement in the most effective way. 

 

 

I also learned  how to compile a social media strategy. I had to conduct research on a brand and come up with a  compelling strategy to pitch to the client. 

This task taught me a lot about the process of developing an idea. For instance, the communication channels were chosen based on their suitability to the campaign objectives. 

 

 

I could go on about my lessons at BWD Advertising non-stop. I still have a lot to learn and I am grateful for being granted a foot into the world of advertising. I would like to thank all the staff members at BWD Advertising for making this experience worth looking forward to every day.  

Word of advice to future interns

-Exhibit a positive attitude and greet everyone you meet to establish good work relationships.

-Do your research, make it a point to do research and learn all you can about the company and industry to become familiar with the company’s culture. 

-Set personal goals and keep yourself busy, if you find that your work is done to ask for new projects to ensure that you gain the relevant skills employers are seeking when hiring future full-time employees.

-Ask questions about everything you don’t understand. The more questions you ask the more you will learn about the job and how the industry operates.

-Be professional, maintain a professional image both inside and outside the office i.e make efficient use of your time by avoiding the use of company time for personal phone calls and emails. 

28 Sep

Posted at 10:05h in Thought Leadership, Video Marketing

With so many traditional and unconventional ways to market your organization nowadays, corporate video shoots are often overlooked for fear of being time-consuming and daunting.

Well, worry not; it need not be such an unnerving task to seamlessly produce top-notch promotional videos with these simple guidelines, no matter the size of your organization.

Understand the Purpose of Your Video

Here we look at the best possible way to tell your story; through your interviewee and your content.

The Individual you select needs to be someone in tune with the core competencies of your business; an individual who not only understands but also resonates with its history and can eloquently communicate this. This can be the CEO, Director or an Executive/ Managerial member of your team; anyone who has a high-level and specific comprehension of the vision, mission and key objectives of the business.

Types of Questions You Should Prepare for?

Remember that a video communicates best within the first 10 – 30 seconds. To get ahead of the curve, try to highlight your best selling points from the onset by devising an elevator pitch that answers the following;

  • Introduction – your name, surname, and position in the company?
  • What makes you unique or sets you apart?
  • What does your company do? (Key selling points)
  • Why is what you do important?
  • What is the history behind your organization?
  • What is the meaning behind your company name?
  • What are some of the company’s future plans/goals?
  • What do you like about your industry?

 

Sync Up with Your Videographer

For that extra touch in ensuring that you’re well prepared before the shoot takes place, communicate with your videographer and provide them with any additional brand material they can use to enhance the quality of your production.

These may range from video clips, which are already existent and can be edited into the video to enrich its message. Additionally, high-resolution photos of your products, venues, projects, awards, staff, diagrams, & visual presentations that showcase the work you do, can be factored in to bulk up visual content appeal.

Where your Video Shoot will take Place and For How Long?

Determine a location where there won’t be unnecessary disturbances; i.e botanical gardens are not the way to go.  Opt for a neutral, controlled environment wherein videographer, interviewer and interviewee can work efficiently. A soundproof, warmly lit office boardroom or meeting room, with a banner, logo or attractive wall imagery provides the perfect backdrop for any subject.

The interviewer should be scheduled to arrive at least 20 minutes prior to the interview to set up and round up the team in preparation. The average corporate shoot takes between one (1) to two (2) hours; everyone involved should best block off that time to allow for seamless execution without disruptions for meetings.

Additional Interviews with Testimonial Clients

Herein lies the pièce de résistance. Nothing says “ crackerjack” like words of praise from your peers. It’s best to leverage off this opportunity to have a select few of your best clients, subtly, brag about your service offering.

Ideally, initiate the conversation well ahead of time (a few weeks in advance) to avoid disappointments or double bookings. Also, remember to communicate a gentle reminder within the week of the testimonials so all your interviewees are well-prepped.

Wondering what to ask them?

Now is the time to really put your best foot forward, focus on open-ended questions that allow them to elaborate on their satisfaction, such as:

    • What was their experience working with your company?
    • How have you added value to their business?
    • What did they find were the best aspects of working with your company?
    • Would they recommend your services to other clients?

What about Wardrobe Selection?

First and foremost, wear colours, which are complimentary. Certain hues may compliment your skin tone, whereas others may wash out one’s complexion and dull out your natural aura. Fashion Beans provides some great insight into what works best for which tone in gentlemen and In Style has all the insider tips for ladies.

Style your hair in a professional manner. There are a time and place for an impressive mohawk & pigtails, it’s called the weekend. For professional shoots, rather select hairstyles that naturally contour to your face and head shape so they don’t detract from the primary focus.

Wear make-up you usually wear and feel comfortable in. Both ladies and gentlemen may want touch-ups prior to a video interview. It’s crucial that as the interviewee, you feel comfortable in your own skin, it translates on camera. Opt for a natural look, which you can transition into your next meeting with, sans discomfort.

DO NOT wear shirts with small stripes and blocks as this creates moving lines on the video, which is very distracting for the viewer. You want to captivate your audience with your words, not your blouse. To be on the safe side, select two solid colours for your primary items, top, and bottom.

No large branding other than your organizations. This is also a marketing opportunity, which you should, ideally, capitalize on. A crisp white or golf shirt with your company logo on the left or right breast pocket does wonders for your brand presence.

Remember, YOU are the Connoisseur

Perhaps most important of all, this is a prime time to shamelessly promote, not only your organization but also your expertise within your particular industry. While the questions, dress code, location, lighting, and testimonials are all very important; what ties it all up is the confidence you exude as an interviewee and the natural flow of insight you’re bound to bring forth to your peers.

Let us know if you have any other handy tips on how businesses can get the most out of their promotional corporate video shoots?

22 Sep

Posted at 11:05h in Digital Marketing, Website Design

Owning a website today is paramount for anyone aiming to make a living on the internet.

Look at it like this. A website is your digital portfolio. It may house your business, work resume, blog, or other digital assets. More than that, creating a website is easier than ever. Virtually everyone should own one.

With that said, the two popular ways to own a website are by creating your website from scratch or using a website builder such as WordPress, Wix, BigCommerce, etc. In this article, we’ll help you decide which way of creating a website is best for you, coding your website from scratch with HTML, or using WordPress CMS. Let’s get into it.

 

What you need to know about WordPress

WordPress is one of the best content management systems with over 25 million users. It offers a hosted service for setting up and launching your website.

With WordPress, just about anyone; beginner and expert can set up a functional website in a matter of minutes. WordPress provides you with endless functionality and customization options for creating your website from start to finish without any technical knowledge.

Now, bear in mind that WordPress two different platforms; WordPress.com [http://wordpress.com/] and WordPress.org [http://wordpress.org/].

Here are the main differences

WordPress.com [http://wordpress.com/] is a self-hosted domain that provides you with thousands of plugins and integrations for creating your website and managing your web content. While WordPress.org [http://wordpress.org/] is an open-source CMS that allows you full control to design and create your website. However, with WordPress.org [http://wordpress.org/] you’ll need a bit of design and web development knowledge to manage your website.

The next important criteria to consider when setting up a website is the cost.

Both WordPress platforms have considerable cost-effective and more than that offer a tonne of value.

WORDPRESS.COM [http://wordpress.com/] offers a free subdomain, if you want a personalized website for your blog or online store, you’ll be required to choose a plan to register a personalized domain, $4 for a personal blog to $45 for eCommerce.

While WordPress.org [http://wordpress.org/] allows you free download. It offers more control and customization. And like we mentioned, it is best suited for more technical persons or web developers.

Pros

* Offers free website plan
* Ease of use
* With a tonne of plugins and integrations, WordPress is highly customizable
* Easy setup and management
* No technical knowledge needed to maintain your website
* Access to automatic updates and system support teams and we’ll as manual management with WordPress.org [http://WordPress.org].

Cons

* Limited access to themes and plugins
* inability to monetize your website on a free plan
* No access to backend and customization options

What you need to know about HTML

HTML stands for a hyper-text markup language. It is the basic programming language for building a web page or website. It contains commands that can be used to inserts different elements that make up a website.

However, for building a functional website, HTML is used with a combination of another coding/programming languages such as CSS, Javascript, or Java – depending on the type of website project.

HTML allows you to establish the basic structure or framework of your website.

CSS helps style the basic framework of your website developed by HTML. It controls the visual appearance and how the content’s layout is present to your web visitors.

JavaScript is used to add functionality to your website. It controls the behavior of different elements based on your web visitors’ actions.

With these programming languages, you have the freedom to develop your website to your exact specification.

Note that – although creating your website with HTML costs you nothing, you’ll need to have specific expertise to create a fully functional website. This takes time and effort. You’ll also have to manage your website and content manually, which requires technical know-how.

Pros

* You have full control of your website and customization options
* It doesn’t cost you anything to get started
* HTML website uses fewer resources
* Little need for backups

Cons

* Requires technical Know-how and time, not beginner-friendly
* High maintenance cost if you don’t have technical coding skills

Summary

Comparing the cost of creating a website with WordPress, HTML is absolutely free. However, when we look at the cost as it relates to time, WordPress makes sense.

Which is best for you?

For the technically sound with a design and functionality preference, using HTML is worth looking into. However, if you are an absolute newbie, WordPress can get you started in record time. However, your final decision will boil down to what type of website you’re looking to build, your target audience, and the nature of your business.

17 Jul

Posted at 13:32h in Internships

My time as an intern at BWD Advertising has come to an end, after being an intern for almost two weeks. As I needed to complete my assignment from college, Boston Media House. Firstly, I would like to thank my boss, Bongani Gosa, for allowing me this opportunity, after being turned down by many advertising agencies due to the pandemic. Yes, two weeks is a very short time for an intern to gain experience and I fully agree. However, due to the dedication of the BWD Advertising staff that helped me along the way, I was able to learn a lot of things, not only about this industry but about myself as well. As I was always pushed to do things beyond my boundaries, in order to, uncover my full potential.

Agencies like BWD Advertising can sometimes be overshadowed because they aren’t as “big” / “popular” as other agencies. But one thing I can tell you is that, in this agency, size doesn’t determine the standard and the quality of their work. As they believe that “Practice makes perfect”. Therefore, I’ve learned that the more I put in more effort in practising and mastering my work, the more I’m going to be able to deliver nothing but good quality work to my clients. In simple terms, this means, I will grow when my clients grow. Furthermore, my experience at BWD Advertising has truly been an amazing one. From the first day of my internship, although I was terrified, I was treated like I was part of the BWD family rather than an outsider.

Learning how to write and publish a blog was never really something I thought I’d do and to my surprise, I ended up loving every minute of it. Although, I was looking forward to learning more about being a Copywriter. I’d say to my advantage, I was able to learn more than what I initially planned on learning. Because in this industry, I’ve come to realize that being versatile in terms of your work might work to your advantage. Therefore, after getting an insight into the copywriter’s world, as mentioned above I got the privilege to be able to, write and post blogs, create a social media content calendar for a month or two and know how to communicate with clients on the phone. Yes, telephone communication training was also part of my training.

All of this wasn’t going to be possible if it wasn’t for the BWD Advertising staff members, who individually took me under their wings and made sure I get the experience I need. However, I would like to personally thank Dimpho Sibanda (Project Manager), Lesedi Ngwako (Social Media Manager) and Miles Mosoabi (Marketing Assistant), whom I worked closely with for always making sure that, whenever I had work, I would deliver good quality work and complete it on time. Their patience and work ethic really made me work hard and not hide behind the fact that I’m an intern.

Tips for Future BWD Advertising Interns.     

 

Be Professional:

Learn to differentiate work from school/ college. What is accepted at school, might not really be accepted work. Whether it is the way you talk to people and address certain situations, to how you dress. Whatever the case may be, be professional!

Be on time:

I cannot express how important it is to be on time, don’t forget that these internships give you the “real-time work experience”. Remember that this is your job, although you are not getting paid, make it your goal to make a good impression on your employer/s.

Work, Work and Work!

Take every opportunity that is presented your way to prove that you have potential. Because being an intern doesn’t mean that you must be “babied” all the way right through, to the end of the duration of your internship. At first, yes you might need guidance on how to do things, here and there but when you get the hang of things, challenge yourself to do things on your own and explore your full potential.

Be eager to learn:

Imagine having the opportunity to learn about something that you’ve always wanted to learn., amazing right? Well, that is no different from the main purpose of an internship. All the things that you’ve learned at school, are basically going to be applied, practically. Every business/ company has a different way of doing things. Therefore, be eager to learn how things are done and most importantly, be coachable.  Do not be afraid to ask questions if you do not understand something. Because if you don’t ask, you will be basically depriving yourself of learning new things.

These are the top 4 tips I have for future BWD Advertising interns. All in all, use this opportunity wisely, gain the experience that you need and explore your full potential. Ultimately, I am thankful for the experience I got at BWD Advertising agency. Although it was a short period of time, I have learnt a lot. This was indeed an experience of a lifetime and I will forever be grateful and thankful to everyone who made my experience awesome. Remember, you don’t know what you’ve got until you push yourself, explore your potential.  

15 Jul

Posted at 08:48h in Digital Marketing

The days of physically going to the store to purchase a product, only to find out that the item is no longer available, are over! Consumers can now utilise social media, Google search, and e-commerce for, or to search for information regarding a specific brand. It is no doubt that the business sector is one of the sectors that has been affected the most during this pandemic. As companies are no longer relying on traditional marketing and advertising, instead companies are now moving towards the digital marketing and advertising direction. A way in which both big and small businesses can use marketing tools, to reach their target audiences using search engines, mobile devices, social media platforms and other channels. Here’s how both digital marketing and digital advertising impacted consumers. 

Target Market

We define our target market in terms of age, geographic location, etc. For example, it’s rare to find an 80-year-old having access to the internet and engaging in digital advertising. You need to be very specific with the type of audience you’re targeting because they will determine the sales of the product you’re trying to get across.

As businesses are moving more and more towards a digital direction, it goes without saying that the only thing that lies between brands/ businesses and their clients – is a device. People are now becoming more reliant on their devices, for work, school, getting information and even online purchasing. Therefore, with so many people using their devices, it is now easier for businesses to market their companies digitally. As a result, people can now expect their social media pages and feeds to get bombarded with marketing and advertising content from companies.

Young consumers between ages 16 and 35, prefer doing everything online. Which makes them the ideal target audience for digital marketing. They rely on fast-paced technology to get things done and moving accordingly. For example, instead of queuing at banks, they can use the internet to do their transactions online and get instant results.

Platforms for Digital Marketing

Below are the most famous platforms used for digital marketing:

E-commerce

E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the internet. These business transactions occur either as business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-business. The terms e-commerce and e-business are often used interchangeably. The term e-tail is also sometimes used in reference to the transactional processes for online shopping

There are a variety of e-commerce sites. Most famous sites include Takealot.com, Superbalist.com, and also Amazon.com. Each site is unique in its own way. You can basically choose what “fits” you, or choose whichever site that speaks to your personality and comfort.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, which is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. All major search engines such as Google and Bing have primary search results, where web pages and other content such as videos, images or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the gold standard for website analytics. Nowadays, it’s hard to operate as a digital marketer if you don’t have some level of Google Analytics expertise. At its most basic level, Google Analytics can show you who is coming to your website, from where, and on which pages they’re spending most of their time. Beyond that, you can set up goals to track conversions, build an enhanced e-commerce setup, and track events to learn more about user engagement.

Top Digital Marketing Trends in 2020

Chatbots

Brands can now chat with their client 24/7. On the other hand, consumers will be able to share their thoughts and experiences about the products anytime. This will help build the consumer-client relationship, as it will enable consumers to report any unsatisfying experiences directly to the company.

Influencer Marketing

WOM – Word of mouth remains the most powerful marketing tool till this day, as clients trust products/ services that are recommended by people, especially if the promoter is a celebrity. Another way brands can use influencer marketing is by using the younger generation or as they are popularly known as “Generation Z”, as influencers to promote and share content while getting incentives. Because according to Geo Marketing, the generation Z account for 40% of all consumers in 2020

At a fundamental level, influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers–individuals who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche. Influencer marketing works because of the high amount of trust that influencers have built up with their following, and recommendations from them serve as a form of social proof to your brand’s potential customers.

Interactive Content

Quizzes and polls are the way to create interactive content, as they engage with the audiences instead of posting the same content all the time. This gives brands/ clients the opportunity to see both positive and negative feedback from clients, instantly.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, we can now see how effective digital marketing is nowadays. Therefore, I encourage people, most companies, to make use of digital marketing as a way of helping promote their business/brands. As seen above, there are numerous ways to make use of digital marketing. In order to reach a large scale of target audiences but to build brand loyalty with existing consumers and attract more customers.