You have big goals for your business this year. Maybe you’re dreaming of breaking a sales record, snagging a high-profile client, or launching a new product. In theory, February is a sleepy month, and the real action is still months away. But what you accomplish in the first months of the year can determine whether you win 2019 – or repeat 2018.A strong 2019 action plan will help you monitor progress throughout the year, hold yourself and your team accountable, and keep your eyes on the prize.
A great plan can also help you increase your revenue and turn February into a busy month of growth. However, if you don’t start on the right foot, it can become difficult to steer your team in the right direction, plan ahead for big challenges, or recover from mistakes as the year progresses. And while starting the year strong is easier said than done, we’ve got your back.
We’ve pulled together 4 projects that can help take your business to the next level, and curated some freelancer solutions to perfectly fit your needs. If you follow this playbook, which you are more than welcome to download, 2019 could be your most successful year yet.
Brand consistency is critical for every business, regardless of size, customer, or location. The power and professionalism of your social media presence, website, and design elements are essential in building a loyal customer base. Proper branding can have a huge impact on your goals:
But a missing piece of the puzzle, like a bad website, can work against you. For example:
Inconsistent branding also causes market confusion, making it difficult for customers to differentiate your company from competitors. However, brand consistency isn’t just important because of how it affects your bottom line. At its core, branding is marketing. Though your branding strategy may not necessarily involve running an ad, every blog post, every tweet, and every interaction serves as a form of marketing for your business.
Consistency communicates to your customers that your brand is dependable. The more recognizable your brand is, the more trustworthy it is. Every time you utilize the same branding elements, you’re delivering on your brand promise. To put this in perspective, think of meeting a new person for the first time. You won’t instantly trust this person because you don’t know much about them. But through repeated conversations, you gain understanding of their personality, their knowledge, and their humor. The same goes for your brand and your target customer.
To really communicate brand consistency, you must choose a branding style that represents the essence of your company. Rather than start from scratch, consider some of the following styles created by Fiverr sellers, and feel free to contact them directly:
Ensure your chosen elements are prominently featured on your website. Your site is ground zero for purchases, and it’s the place your customers will visit to learn more about what you do or sell. These elements let them know they’ve arrived at the right place. Our Web & Mobile Design experts can help you effortlessly integrate your new designs:
Use your branding elements on all of your social media accounts, too. These elements let customers know that wherever they encounter you, they’re going to get the same quality content. Look to our Social Media Design Pros for some creative ways to build that consistency:
In addition to establishing your branding basics for 2019, there are a few emerging trends to be mindful of:
Bold Color – Brand designs are taking a page from cartoon animation with bright, bold colors that are super saturated and grab attention wherever they’re seen.
Motion Design – Animation is captivating on its own, but many brands are using it with purpose, either to reveal deeper meanings, entertain, or educate customers about products and services.
Asymmetry – Misplaced letters and scrambled sentences force the viewer to stop and ponder what they’re reading. This is a powerful way to make a lasting impression.
Gradients – They aren’t exactly new, but gradients are still eye-catching, and they’re making a big comeback this year. Stay on top of design trends and get inspired for your next project by checking out Fiverr Discover.
To recap, brand consistency is about creating design elements that showcase your brand’s values and personality, and those elements need to be used across your social media accounts and your website. This is one of the best ways to build trust with your customers and boost your market presence.
Business success in the digital age isn’t just about a great service or product – it’s about engaging existing and potential customers in ways that inspire them, fit into their lifestyle, and capture their attention on the platforms they’re already using. To do this, you need to constantly refresh your content, advertise using short, engaging videos, and ensure your website and app have seamless UI and UX.
Modern customers have short attention spans and high expectations. They want to hear from you often, but they don’t want your content to take up too much time.
For maximum results, make sure to execute on the following tips with every piece of content you create:
Short, engaging videos have become the preferred way to advertise, compared to more traditional ad formats. These videos still serve the same function as an ad, but they’re cheaper to produce and offer a more authentic way to tell your brand story. Not to mention, video is a huge part of most customers’ lives.
Short videos are effective because they demand attention regardless of the platform and, since every major social media network today is video-focused, you have no shortage of ways to reach your customers. Additionally, videos have been shown to increase SEO results faster, and they lead to better email click-through rates. But not just any video will do. There are a few common rules to follow:
If you’ve got great video concepts but you’re not sure how to bring them to life, the following Fiverr video experts can produce videos that deliver results:
Content alone isn’t enough to seal the deal. Think of UI and UX as the icing on the cake. You’ve done the work to get customers to your website, either to learn more about you or make a purchase. Once they’ve arrived, their experience should be a breeze – easy navigation, intuitive functioning, and not a single issue from homepage to checkout. Customers expect strong UI and UX:
The average user is accustomed to sites and apps that are simple. Though you want your brand’s design to stand out from your competitors, you’re still expected to heed a few rules:
Looking ahead in 2019, there are some powerful and creative ways to build on your content basics.
To be successful this year, you need to stay relevant. And there are no better ways to do that than with a constant stream of content, short video ads, and purposeful, well-designed UX and UI.
To sustain your progress and continue growing your business, you need to expand your reach. There are several ways to advertise your business, but the following three are the most effective in the digital age: social media marketing; search engine marketing (SEM); and search engine optimization (SEO).
Social media remains one of the most dynamic and cost-effective ways to reach your target customer.
Social media marketing is no longer an option for small businesses – it’s mandatory. The number of users on each platform and the amount of time they spend there, offers unprecedented access to your customer base. Through this method, you can accurately target your audience. Platforms like Facebook employ state-of-the-art analytical tools (i.e. Facebook Pixel) to help you see who’s visiting your site and who’s interacting with your posts. You can use this data to refine your audience and ensure your ads end up in the right feeds.
Additionally, you can build trust by solving customer service issues directly and in a personalized manner. And, you can engage with your audience consistently, keeping your brand top of mind and ensuring your company stays relevant. Executing great social media marketing requires a few things:
Use a content calendar: Plan your posts ahead of time to ensure you never scramble for content and to carefully curate content that’s relevant to your customers and fits your brand vision. Fiverr’s Social Media Marketing pros can help you get ahead:
Use professional influencers: When it comes to influencing, businesses tend to focus on celebrities or influencers with large reaches. However, your objective is not to reach as many people as possible but to build trust within your specific niche. This means finding professional influencers or micro-influencers who exist within your niche and leveraging their power to engage with others in a specific community.
Our influencer marketing freelancers can help you build a new fanbase:
SEM involves buying ads on search engines to increase your company’s visibility for specific keywords and phrases, and it should be part of every business’ marketing plan.
SEM helps you work smarter, not harder. Instead of chasing after customers, you’re gaining access to what they’re looking for, and you’re ensuring you’re in the right place. You can target a wide audience, tailor your ads to specific search terms and keywords (instead of vague demographic criteria), and you can even make your ads appear in searches for your competitors. With SEM, you ensure your content gets seen. You put your business on the first page of search results, right at the top. Creating a great SEM strategy requires you to be strategic:
Fiverr’s SEM experts can help you get it right the first time:
Search Engine Optimization is just as important as SEM, however there’s a big difference between the two. With SEO, you use a series of strategies and best practices to increase your online visibility instead of buying ads.
Optimized SEO content shows near the top of a user’s organic search results when a user searches for keywords that are relevant to that particular post. SEM will always show at the top of the page as well, but it’s displayed as paid advertising. Thus, SEO provides two major benefits. First, your content will rank high in search results without paying for traffic. And second, some users consider SEO content more trustworthy because it’s pure content and not advertising.
However, to ensure your SEO content shows up on the first page of results, you need an abundance of expertly-crafted, keyword-specific content. And this content should be driven by what matters most to your audience. A keyword-loaded piece won’t achieve the desired result if it isn’t relevant.
Strong search rankings help your business stand out in searches that could return millions of results. Great SEO also connects you with your target audience. For example, if someone is searching for “business coaching”, and you rank in the top 5 results for business coaching, you’re likely to get site visits and generate leads. You can even employ SEO strategies without a website. By just having a Google Business Profile, you can still work your way into search results. And, SEO can be used on any searchable platform, not just Google.For best results:
An effective e-commerce marketing plan: You need to drive customers to your website. Create a plan that’s catchy, well-designed, and inspired by your customer’s journey. Have clear goals and objectives, a defined target customer, and a clear value proposition.
Write product descriptions that sell: Detail the product benefits, tell a full, emotional story, and use natural language. However, don’t forget to include a few power words (i.e. breathtaking, spectacular, stunning, etc.).
Keep your site simple: Minimalism is key, but you also want to include functions that ease the shopper’s experience, like a “View Cart” button, search bar, and product filter options.
1. Brand consistency – ensure constant use of your brand’s design elements on social media, your website, and any related brand collateral.
2. Relevance – provide a steady stream of valuable content, utilize short, engaging videos, and prioritize seamless UX/UI.
3. Marketing – social media, SEM, and SEO are the best ways to stand out in the digital age.
4. Optimized E-commerce – a well-designed digital storefront with thorough product descriptions can boost revenue. Take the start of the year to perfect these elements, and with the help of Fiverr’s expert freelancers, 2019 will be your year. Good Luck, The Fiverr TeamSome additional resources you can use to help start your year strong:
5. Get inspired at Fiverr Discover.
6. Connect with hand-picked, high-end talent at Fiverr Pro.
7. Get matched with a freelancer by using Post a Request.
8. Develop your skills at Learn from Fiverr.
9. Get advice and resolve issues through our Resolution Center.
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