Lisa Trevelyan

About Lisa Trevelyan

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10 Ways to Write Better Blogs

Lisa Trevelyan September 18, 2023 Blog, Marketing, Tips & Tricks

How do I write a better blog and why is this long form content so important to my business?

Today’s digital age is all about life over the web. There is nothing you can’t get access to with a click of a button. Your whole life revolves around the internet. Whether it’s your workout routine, the movies you watch, the shopping you do, the music you listen to, or the work you do, it is all in the palm of your hand.

Woman typing better blogs for her business

With the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, the world became even more digitized. It is all about work from home and online classes. In this era, you naturally look to the internet for everything. At this point, the internet’s data has to be of the utmost quality.

All articles, blogs, and academic writing are more in the limelight than ever before. To give the best to your customers, writers need to up their game. The blogs and content found on various websites now are the sole providers of information; this is why the writing has to be immaculate. The blogs need to be good enough to hold the reader’s attention and also include pertinent information it is being read for. Writing a blog may seem like a simple enough task, but you don’t know just how hard it is to create a really good blog post.

Here are 10 ways to help you with writing better blogs:

1. Define the Purpose: First of all, you need to figure out why you are writing a blog. Whether for information, something fun, or serious, and take it from there. Blogs should usually be about whatever is currently trending. You will get more views if you pick a topic that everyone wants to read about presently. For example, in the current situation of social distancing, most people are unable to go to their gyms and do outdoor exercise activities. They would love to read about exercises they could do at home. The purpose of your blog gives you a clear understanding of how to go about it.

woman looking up information for writing better blogs

2. Engaging Headline: The first thing the reader sees about your blog is the headline. Therefore, it has to be catchy. If your headline is interesting and appealing, it will motivate the reader to click on it and read further. Even if the blog content is great, but the headline is unable to catch the reader’s attention, it will be of no use. The headline is the key to get the hits you need, so make it engaging.

3. Target Audience: Make sure you know who you are targeting with your writing. This makes a huge difference in your approach. The demography is critical. It will help you in figuring out HOW to write about what you are writing. For example, suppose you are writing a blog about technology and targeting the youth. In that case, you can use all the abbreviations and slangs as the younger generation will automatically know what you mean. But if an older person reads your blog, it will be gibberish to them. Tweak the writing according to your target audience to get the best results.

Man in target audience reading better blogs

4. Easy on the Eyes: Break your writing up into short paragraphs. One whole long section looks heavy on the eyes, and the reader does not want to go through it. Long paragraphs and unbroken writing give the image of a lengthy, tiresome read. You need to make sure your blog has points and short paragraphs that make it look easier to read.

5. Compact: Too many words, too much repetition is always a bad idea. Try and keep your blog short and compact. Blogs should be easy reads and should give the reader information they need in a short time. Make sure your writing is precise and to the point. This will give you extra points with the readers. They will prefer reading something that takes up very little of their time and gives them ample information.

woman reading better blogs at night in bed

6. Visually Pleasing: The use of pictures and colors always helps break the monotony of the writing and helps keep the readers engaged. The images can be related to the writing to give the reader a better understanding of the article or blog. You can use charts and graphs as well.

7. Error Free: It is important for your writing to be grammatically correct, and there should be no spelling mistakes. If a piece of writing has spelling mistakes, it lowers the writer’s credibility and makes the work look non-serious. Bad grammar can have the same effect. So, you must go over your writing a few times before posting it to make sure it is smooth and correctly written.

man taking time to write better blogs free of errors

8. SEO and UX: While writing blogs, you need to keep two main things in mind – search engine optimization and user experience. Nothing is as important as user experience, which will help you build your name up as a blogger. The readers and customers would be more interested in reading blogs from writers that focus on giving them a good experience. You must also make sure to use words in your blogs that make your piece come up in searches related to your topic.

9. Find a Good Platform: Your blog can go up on related websites, or you can create your own blog site. If you are looking for a website to post your blog on, make sure it is authentic, well designed and with a lot of traffic, so that your blog is read. If you want to create your own blog site, make sure to register your domain and come up with a good name for it. The platform you post on is as important as your writing.

two women publishing better blogs on their website

10. Call to Action: A call to action makes your blog interactive. You can ask the readers to share comments or visit a website you have recommended. This gives your blog a boost and increases the reading. A call to action is a clear message, which goes like ‘please visit us on our Facebook page’ or ‘share your feedback with us.’

What other tips have you found that work to help you write more engaging blogs for your business?

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Lisa works with Spherical Strategies as a content creator and copywriter. She brings a deep understanding of human motivation to her mastery of writing by utilizing her education in market psychology. She has worked over the past several years as a private contractor, providing industry-specific content and editing for companies of all sizes.

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re interested in discovering more, take a look at our website and connect with us to help you fulfill your branding goals. Visit https://sphericalstrategies.com today.

Your Website Doesn’t Matter…

Lisa Trevelyan September 16, 2023 Graphics, Website Design

Your Website Doesn’t Matter… if it Isn’t Good.

Businesses experience a higher bounce rate when their website’s user experience (UX) is subpar.

Studies find that even if a website looks great and has sufficient written content, if it does not provide a good user experience (UX), it risks a higher bounce rate (the percentage of visits to a site that result in only one page being visited) and lower engagement rates, among other unwanted business results.

What is user experience (UX)?

UX refers to the overall experience a user has when interacting with a website.

What does UX involve?

UX involves the site’s navigability, load speeds, shareability, and accessibility, including access for users with disabilities. It involves the layout, design, and color scheme.

Business websites are expected to look great and provide valuable information. UX goes beyond aesthetics and focuses on creating a seamless and enjoyable experience for its audience.

What a Good UX Does for a Website

A good UX, by definition, makes it easier for visitors to find the information they need quickly and easily.

It allows businesses to remain competitive in today’s online market.

72% of users will tell five or more people about their good UX on a site (Kolsky, 2015).

A good UX positively impacts the SEO and organic rankings of a website.

When a site is easy to use, it experiences:

Lower bounce rates
Increased time on site
Higher engagement metrics
Enhanced social sharing (especially when widgets or tools are available for direct social platform sharing)

UX helps build brand identity.

A well-designed website has the capability of helping establish a brand voice that communicates a business’s values.

A website that provides a smooth and enjoyable UX has a better chance of standing out from the competition with better rankings.

What a Poor UX Does for a Website

A confusing interface results in lower site ratings from users and rankings on search engines.

One study found that 88 percent of users are less likely to return to a site with a poor UX (Toptal, 2018).

13 percent of users told 15 or more people about their bad UX on a site (Kolsky, 2015).

The internet is flooded with options and studies show that when a mobile website doesn’t work properly, users click away to find a better alternative in an average of 3 seconds (Google).

Tips to prioritize UX:

Ensure mobile-friendliness. Over half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. According to a study by Google, users are 67% more likely to make a purchase on a mobile-friendly site. (2012)
Simplify navigation. Users that are able to quickly and easily find what they’re looking for on a site without having to click through multiple pages, are more likely to come back to that site in the future.
Prioritize load times. A 2020 study found that by improving a website’s load speed by .1 seconds can increase conversions by 8 percent and 10 percent for retail sites and travel sites, respectively. (Deloitte, 2020). Google PageSpeed Insights is a tool that can help measure a site’s performance.
Use accessible design. Considering the needs of users with disabilities opens up accessibility to all, including those who are visually-impaired or hearing-impaired. Tools like WebAIM can help evaluate the accessibility of a site.
Have a clear call-to-action. An encouraging call-to-action (CTA) paves the way for visitors to “take the next step.” CTAs can be buttons, text, or designs, with buttons showing a significantly higher click-through rate (CTR) than the other types.
Contact information on every page. Users report having more trust for a company that is easy to get in touch with for questions and concerns.
Test frequently. Using data and analytics to continuously test the user experience of a site allows marketers to adjust their strategies if needed.

“Think of your website as a first impression – and we all know how important those are. A good UX establishes brand identity, builds customer confidence, and helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace.”

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re interested in discovering more, take a look at our website and connect with us to help you fulfill your branding goals. Visit https://sphericalstrategies.com today.

2302-SphericalBlog-Higer-Education-Marketing-UCG-and-Influencer-Marketing

Higher Education Marketing: User-generated Content and Influencer Marketing

Lisa Trevelyan March 1, 2023 Advertising, Higher Education, Influencer Marketing, Marketing

When it comes to making the decision of where to attend college, students are looking for authenticity. They want to know that they are choosing the right school for them and that their investment will be worth it. Any school can say what they want about themselves but real-life testimonials from actual students, visitors, and influential people are far more impactful. In this digital age, higher education institutions can promote this sense of authenticity about their school by utilizing user-generated content and influencer marketing.

Keep reading to learn more about what user-generated content and influencer marketing are and how colleges and universities can use them to better connect with their current and prospective students and ultimately, increase enrollment rates.

User-Generated Content and Higher Education Marketing

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any type of content that is created by real people rather than the brand itself, that is shared publicly. This can include reviews about the college experience, blog and social media posts, photos and videos taken on campus, and more. UGC has become an incredibly popular marketing tactic in recent years because it allows brands to genuinely connect with their customers.

For higher education institutions, UGC provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into the student experience. It can also be used as leverage in recruitment campaigns. By highlighting positive user-generated content on their websites and social media profiles, universities can demonstrate how students are thriving at their schools and encourage more prospective students to apply.

Influencers and Higher Education Marketing

In addition to user-generated content, influencer marketing is another powerful tool that colleges and universities can use to reach potential students on a deeper level.

An influencer is someone who has a large following on social media and who is seen as an industry expert or thought leader. Influencers have built-in networks of followers that trust them and look to them for advice or guidance. Influencer marketing involves partnering with these influential figures in order to promote a brand or product.

For colleges and universities, having an influencer share their experiences about an institution will help generate positive buzz about their schools. Pairing up with a trusted influencer creates a more favorable image and a sense of authenticity around a brand and in the case of higher education institutions, will help attract new students.

Additionally, universities can leverage their strong relationships with the student community to spread awareness of their programs and campus offerings. They can also run contests and giveaways to drive engagement and encourage more people to apply.

UGC and Influencer Marketing

By using both user-generated content and influencer marketing, higher education institutions create an engaging online presence that promotes the genuine student experiences that make their school unique. This will not only draw more students to their institution but also give them a chance to build more meaningful relationships with their current and prospective students.

Why UGC and Influencer Marketing are Effective

These types of posts are highly valuable because they are honest and real – they provide potential students with an insight into what life at the school is really like from those who have already experienced it.

Overall, UGC and influencer marketing are both effective tools for higher education institutions looking to build trust with prospective students. UGC allows schools to authentically showcase the student experience at their school, while influencer partnerships enable them to tap into existing trusted relationships among potential applicants. Both tactics allow colleges and universities to get their message out there in a way that resonates with today’s students.

Tips to Get Started

Consider Engagement Rates

Higher education marketers should look into how much engagement each influencer gets with their target audience and then consider creating an online community of influencers that are cohesive with their school’s brand message. Not only does this simplify communication between advocates and the school brand, but it also provides the opportunity to offer incentives and rewards for sharing content with the goal of building a movement.

Utilize Analytics

With so many platforms offering analytics, it’s now easy to find out what content reaches the largest audience and which influencers are actively engaging their followers. Influencer marketing strategies will evolve as higher education institutions prove the value of their schools to prospective students through evidence rather than just using a celebrity endorsement.

User Engagement and Storytelling

The demand for content that has been produced with user engagement in mind will continue to rise as colleges and universities seek more ways to connect with their students online. A storytelling strategy will be especially effective with social media influencers utilizing videos and images to show how a product works in real life. Storytelling can also provide an emotional connection with potential students, helping them connect with the school beyond just its academic reputation.

Conclusion

It’s clear that user-generated content and influencer marketing can be powerful tools for higher education institutions looking to build strong relationships with current and future students. By leveraging these tactics, universities can authentically show the student experience at their school and inspire more applicants to apply. However, it’s important for colleges to choose their partners carefully and make sure that their messages are genuine and reflective of their actual student communities. When used correctly, UGC and influencer marketing can be powerful ways to reach potential students and create meaningful relationships with them over time.

Looking for help creating an effective higher education marketing strategy? Contact us today and let our experienced team of digital marketers help you create a powerful campaign!

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

Higher Education Marketing: Connecting with Gen Z

Lisa Trevelyan February 1, 2023 Higher Education, Marketing

As higher education institutions continue to compete for a shrinking number of potential students, it has become increasingly important for them to adapt their marketing strategies to connect with Gen Z. “Gen Z,” the generation born between 1996 and 2014, is now the largest in the United States. Higher education institutions are bracing themselves for an influx of students by taking a closer look at who Gen Z is and what makes them tick.

This innovative generation is making decisions about their education and future careers, and higher education institutions that want to attract them must understand what makes them unique and how to reach them.

In this blog post, we will take a look at some of the benefits of adapting your school’s marketing strategy to connect with Gen Z, as well as provide tips for how you can do it!

Who is Generation Z?

Gen Z has been described as the most diverse, connected, and entrepreneurial generation ever. They’ve grown up with technology at their fingertips and are often more comfortable communicating online than in person and are used to getting their information, instantly, from the internet.

This is a generation that is used to being bombarded with marketing messages and is very adept at tuning them out. In order to reach Gen Z, higher education institutions must be more strategic and innovative in their marketing than ever before.

Innovative and Adaptive

One of the most important things to know about Gen Z is that they are an innovative generation. They are the first true digital natives and they have grown up in a world of constant change and technological advancement. This has contributed to their strong problem-solving skills, creative perspectives, and natural ability to adapt to change.

Independent

Gen Z is also an independent generation. They are accustomed to researching and finding information on their own, and they value their ability to do so. Their decision-making has been described as “crowdsourcing,” meaning they seek the opinions of their peers, influencers, and reviewers. They also use multiple screens simultaneously and have an impressive ability to multitask.

Social Media Savvy

As the first true digital natives, Gen Z is extremely social media savvy. They are heavy users of all the major social media platforms and have a vast network of connections. Higher education institutions that want to connect with Gen Z must be active on social media and use it to reach out to potential students.

Diverse

Another important thing to know about Gen Z is that they are a diverse generation. They are the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in history and come from all walks of life. This diversity is one of their greatest strengths, and higher education institutions that can tap into it will be able to better connect with Gen Z.

Purpose-Driven

Gen Z is a purpose-driven generation. They are passionate about making a difference in the world and are looking for higher education institutions that can help them do that. When marketing to Gen Z, higher education institutions need to focus on how they can help students make a difference.

What are the benefits of higher education institutions connecting with Gen Z?

There are many benefits for higher education institutions that connect with Gen Z, including:

– Increased student enrollment

– Improved retention rates

– Enhanced brand reputation

– Increased alumni support

Connecting with Gen Z can be difficult if not approached correctly. They’ve been accused of having short attention spans, not checking their email, or distrusting brands. In reality, if you speak their language and build loyalty, they can become your best advocates.

Now that we’ve discussed some of Gen Z’s unique qualities and the positive impacts this generation can make, let’s take a look at how higher education institutions can adapt their marketing strategies to connect with them.

Tips for Connecting with Gen Z

Higher education institutions that want to appeal to Gen Z need to understand how they research and make decisions. To reach Gen Z, higher education marketing must be authentic, personal, inclusive, mobile-friendly, and visual.

Use technology to your advantage.

This generation is used to getting their information from the internet and is very comfortable communicating online. Higher education institutions can use this to their advantage by using the countless digital channels available to get their school’s name in front of prospective Gen Z students. While printed material can still be effective in reaching Gen Z through the mail and while they’re out and about, utilizing technology such as phones, tablets, and computers is certainly the best way to reach them.

Use social media to reach out to potential students.

With Gen Z, higher education marketing should be rooted in social media. This generation is active on all the major social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Institutions will benefit most by using these channels to reach out to potential students and provide them with valuable content.

Create meaningful relationships with influencers.

Gen Z values its relationships with influencers, so higher education institutions would be wise to consider partnering with influencers to reach this demographic. Influencers can help higher education institutions spread their message and build trustworthy relationships with potential students.

Appeal to their sense of adventure and humor.

Gen Z loves “weird” – and there have been a lot of exemplary social media case studies where universities and other companies are overcoming Gen Z’s skepticism of brands by getting in on the joke. More and more brands are getting savvy to this dry wit and approach to marketing and in 2023 it is likely to boom. Get in quick, though, as it is well-established that brands and politicians kill memes.

Be active and engaged on social media.

During the lockdown, Gen Z turned in their droves to TikTok. If you work in marketing, no doubt you’ve made an account. If you haven’t, you’ve definitely been asked to. No app encapsulates the Gen Z sense of humor better than TikTok. But beware! It’s filled with in-jokes and long-running memes: if you get it wrong, you will face mockery.

Be authentic and transparent.

Gen Z is more likely to trust higher education institutions that are transparent and authentic. Gen Z appreciates brands that are honest about their flaws, share their successes, and strive for continual growth and improvement. By understanding their values and priorities, higher education institutions have a better chance of connecting with this generation of students.

Focus on how you can help students make a difference.

Gen Z is a generation that cares. They want to make an impact and they’re looking for higher education institutions that will help them do just that. Higher education marketing should focus on how the college or university can help Gen Z students be successful, make an impact in their community, and achieve their altruistic goals.

Include them in the conversation.

The best way to speak their language is to involve them in the conversation. Higher education institutions should ask their current students to share their experiences and invite prospective students to join in and contribute their ideas, ask questions, and voice their concerns. This will help Gen Z feel more connected with your institution, and it will also provide valuable insight into what they’re looking for in a higher education opportunity. Social media platforms are a great place to support these conversations.

Be Inclusive

Higher education institutions must be able to show that they value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all students. Students from all backgrounds should be represented in higher education marketing materials, and higher education institutions should make sure that their policies reflect a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Not only is this important for all companies to embrace, all the time, but especially when tailoring your marketing towards this diverse and inclusive generation.

These are just a few of the ways higher education institutions can connect with Gen Z. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Still, higher education marketing teams should be aware of the unique traits and qualities that make up this generation to create effective strategies for connecting with them.

Gen Z has already started making waves in the world and higher education marketing departments cannot afford to ignore them if they want to stay competitive. Higher education institutions that are able to adapt their marketing strategies to connect with Gen Z will be able to better compete for potential students. Higher education institutions must be authentic and transparent, show that they value diversity, and are committed to creating an inclusive environment. They should establish a strong social media presence and use it to engage with Gen Z, and show how their school will help students make a difference in the world.

Looking for help creating an effective higher education marketing strategy? Contact us today and let our experienced team of digital marketers help you create a powerful campaign!

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

Benefits of Video Marketing

Lisa Trevelyan December 14, 2022 Advertising, Blog, Marketing, Video, Video Marketing

Video marketing has been the talk of the town recently. It has dominated the online world, which is why marketers focus on making it a priority when creating new marketing strategies. Video marketing is not something that is new; it has been around for a while. However, the use of video marketing by large businesses is relatively new. In recent times, videos have gained popularity so much that they are being used by everyone, from large corporations to individual influencers. Video marketing is the new big thing. Videos are still a progressing area and are expected to evolve sooner than we think. Furthermore, this trend is powered by 83% of firms being convinced that using video marketing will result in good ROIs.

Without any doubt, video marketing is the newly added tool in your promotion toolbox. You might still be having doubts about whether video marketing is right for promoting your business. Also, questions like “do you have enough budget and resources to add video marketing in your tool list?” are things that need to be addressed. The answer to this is a simple YES. If you’re a business owner (large or small), you need to adopt video marketing as a promotion tool, not only because everyone is using it, but because it has become one of the most practical and versatile digital marketing tools out there.

Benefits of Video Marketing

Video marketing achieves all kinds of goals that traditional marketing does, but the impact is more significant. Video marketing provides countless benefits to a business, particularly the ones that include potential customers. Video has become such an important part of the digital era that one in four customers will lose interest in your campaign if there is no video used. Even if your business has not yet taken advantage of this remarkable tool, it’s never too late to use video to grow your business. Following are some benefits that video marketing has to offer:

1. Exposure

Videos account for around 74% of online traffic, making it necessary for your business to have an online presence. If your company wishes to initiate online activity, using video marketing is the best way to grab your user’s attention. It has been found that Facebook videos are shared 1200% more than the posts that include links and text. Video marketing can help your business get exposure to a broader target audience. Around 50% of marketers believe that video marketing leads to brand awareness. It is a strategic action to reach out to your potential customers. The more platforms through which your potential customers can find out about your business, the better your chances are of converting them into paying customers.

2. Building Trust

Establishing better exposure was just the initial step to reaping the advantages of video marketing. Improving your online presence with the help of video marketing can be a way that leads to building trust with your customers. With videos, you can make a connection with your target audience. Videos can become a conversation starter in any case. It can motivate potential customers to ask questions about your service or product. This is how they can become more familiar with your brand. According to research, users will most likely respond to video content compared to any other form of content such as text, images, etc.

3.Increased Social Media Engagement

Videos have taken over a larger share of social media content. There are Facebook Videos, Twitter Periscope, Facebook Live, Instagram Live, and more. Why should your business care? You should care because videos are the most shared content on social media. Videos are what users want to see; that’s why Facebook focuses more on video content. Everyone likes to share interesting content that would entertain the audience, and there’s nothing better than a video that can do so. Videos are most likely to be shared by people. They also increase the chances of social media engagement.

4.Boost Sales and Conversions

Videos can bring in a lot of money to your business. Adding a video on your landing page can result in increasing conversions by 80%. Furthermore, it has been found that videos can lead to an increase in sales. There are examples where individuals watched an explainer video and ended up buying the product. Videos are a great tool to grab your user’s attention and keep him hooked. It’s one of the best ways to showcase your product to your potential customers. You cannot demonstrate your product in such a way with only text or images. You can also add an effective call to action in your videos by asking your customers to follow you. Video marketing not only creates awareness and understanding about your product, but it also makes the potential customers comfortable with your brand and leads them to make a purchase. Videos can also make visitors stay on your page a little longer.

As a business owner or marketer, investing in video marketing will lead to a prosperous future. Elevation in sales, exposure, building trust, increasing awareness, and increasing engagement are ways video marketing can help your business. If you wish to create compelling videos to meet your marketing goals, hire a video marketing agency.

If you haven’t started using video marketing in your marketing strategy, now is the time. Contact us and discover more about how you can reap the benefits of video marketing. Your video and business goals are worth a discussion.

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re interested in discovering more, take a look at our website and connect with us to help you fulfill your branding goals. Visit https://sphericalstrategies.com today.

Creating A Buyer Persona

Lisa Trevelyan November 1, 2022 Advertising, Marketing, Tips & Tricks

You will not be able to plan workable business strategies if you do not know about your targeted audience. To understand your customers and to meet their needs, you need to create a buyer persona. A buyer persona helps you make the right business strategies, including planning product production, business campaigns, services, offers, and website content.

Create a detailed buyer persona to fully understand the interests and needs of your ideal buyers. There are several ways to get insight into your targeted customer’s mind, but nothing is possible without market research. To get some valuable information you need to conduct interviews, surveys, etc., to know the demands and interests of the targeted customer base. The number of buyer personas depends on your business; you can have more than one business persona, but make sure that it represents your ideal customer. Be careful about negative personas because it will attract the audience that you do not want as customers.

What is Buyer Persona?

A buyer persona is a model made after in-depth market research to represent the ideal customer from a wide audience range. If you think your brand can serve different people who can use your products for various reasons, it will help you design more than one or two personas. Make sure that each of your buyer personas includes buying patterns, demographics details, goals, and behaviors. The sole purpose of a buyer persona is to craft marketing messages for targeted customers by making an ideal buyer’s profile. The tone of your marketing messages should be appropriate to address customers’ desires and needs. Keep in mind your buyer persona, think of the customers as real people, and plan your business strategy according to your hypothetical customer’s wants. There are several steps that you need to follow in order to create a buyer persona. These steps are listed below.

1. Gather your Customers Information.

The basic thing you need to do is collect all the relevant information from your targeted customer base. Collect information about your customers’ buying behavior, age, gender, income, location, activities, and interests. As mentioned above, this information can be collected through online surveys, customer interviews, or asking key questions over the phone. It will help you to develop some descriptive buzzwords for your buyer persona.

2. Use Online Analytic Tools.

Another way to gain insight into your customer’s details is to use online web analytic tools, e.g., Google Analytics. Google Analytics provides valuable and detailed customer information, including who visited your website and from which region of the world. In addition to this, it reveals if the person has found the desired product or not. Google Analytics will help you a lot in developing your buyer persona.

3. Recognize Customer Goals.

Try to find the source of motivation for your customers. Know what they want to achieve, and what their aspirations are. Knowing your customers’ goals will help you change products to give customers what they want. Create a buyer persona that seeks the same goals and aspirations.

4. Recognize Customer Pain Points.

You have taken information about your customers’ goals, now find out what is holding them back. What are the problems that your customers are trying to solve? To get an idea of this, engage yourself in social listening by conducting sentiment analysis. Learn what is going right, and what needs improvement according to the customers.

5. Provide Help to the Customers.

Since you know your customer goals and pain points, think about how you can help your customers or what benefits you can offer them. This stage of thinking is the buyer’s point of view, where you start to think about your customers and stop thinking about your product features. The question of how your services will benefit your customers will help you realize an important point for your marketing message.

6. Narrow down the Information.

It is time to narrow down the data that you have collected through research. Go through your research and find out the vital details that will help you know how to deal with the audience’s demands. Identify the most common answers given by the customers.

7. Develop a Buyer Persona.

Create different buyer personas that will represent customers with a variety of goals and demands. For example, if you are a nutritionist, you will probably have clients who want your guidance on enhancing their skin glow; on the other hand, you might have customers who want to stabilize their sugar level through a healthy diet. So, create personas accordingly.

8. Name Your Personas.

To give life to your buyer persona, provide them with a name. This will remind you that you are thinking about and talking to a real person. Furthermore, it will help you to create personalized content while writing an email. Besides giving a name to your personas, find pictures for them to represent your real customers. Doing so will allow you to think about your personas humanly rather than considering them just research points.

9. Create Marketing Messages.

This is the last step in creating business personas. You have already developed your persona with a name, face, and identity, but now is the time to use them for marketing purposes. Start crafting marketing messages by keeping in mind the buyer personas you have just made. Construct marketing messages that show you are willing to help your customers with their goals and interests. You will write this while creating content for each buyer persona.

Above all, creating a buyer persona gives you a chance to know whether or not your brand is capable of meeting the demands of your customers. A significant part of your business success depends on your targeted audience, so it is important to think about the buyer persona while deciding your company’s business strategy.

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re interested in discovering more, take a look at our website and connect with us to help you fulfill your branding goals. Visit https://sphericalstrategies.com today.

The Benefits of a Site Audit

Lisa Trevelyan October 11, 2022 Blog, Marketing, SEO, Tips & Tricks

The Benefits of a Site Audit (Technical SEO) for a Business

Site Audit: An Overview

Technical SEO is a broad term used to cover a wide variety of elements ranging from server configuration to on-page design elements. It also helps in determining the overall performance of a website. In the continually evolving world, it is vital to align your website with modern-day practices and standards. The technical site audit aims to evaluate the current standing of your website, analyze its architecture, and recommend ways to make your website aligned with current practices and standards. This will eventually help yield the growth of your website’s organic traffic, unveil blockages to conversions, and achieve quick wins. A technical site audit will enable you to identify problems that could become a hindrance to future SEO projects.

As the world evolves, various significant elements have changed with it. For instance, your website now needs to display correctly and load quickly on mobile devices; it should not consist of links to external sites and should be secure. Technical SEO is an efficient method to apply deep expertise and experience to site audits to identify issues that may arise. It can help to optimize and improve site content and structure for better performance.

Do Businesses Need Site Audit?

What is the ultimate site goal of any business? To create a website that is technically sound and can provide content that can be found by consumers in organic search. A site audit can be applied to your website without causing any harm to your search engine ranking. If we consider basic SEO campaigns, they usually emphasize factors like keywords, headings, meta-tags, titles, etc. A site audit will enable the business to analyze external factors such as third-party hyperlinks to your website, server configurations, page loading speed, and so on. In every aspect, your website will be benefiting from these insights. After the technical site audit is complete, you will be provided with recommendations to improve your SEO with recognized and proven strategies.

Benefits of Site Audit

1. Enhanced Visibility of Organic Search

To elevate your search engine ranking, you first need to have a clear understanding of what you want to rank for. An excellent keyword strategy is a path that leads to a high organic search ranking. Knowing your competitor and market will allow you to create an on-page SEO code for your website. A site audit will involve discovering keywords and doing in-depth research that links to your on-page SEO.

2. It Improves Usability

Your website design and its functionality can only be restricted by your SEO team or your imagination. A website that is loaded with information, has busy webpages, slow-loading time, and is complicated will not work well for your business. Your website needs to be precise and clear; otherwise, the customer will not think once before leaving your site. A site audit helps you identify areas that need improvement to enhance the overall user experience and make it simpler. It is how you’ll be able to identify the function, content, and structure best suited for your users.

3. Detailed Analysis of Competitors

SERP tools and keyword research help analyze your website’s keywords and rank them against competitors. Through research and analysis, organizations can understand what SEO strategies are being used by successful leaders in the market to attract customers. Your business can also adopt similar keyword tactics and strategies for better results.

4. Better Content

A technical site audit will be analyzing the technicalities of a website, such as the bounce rate, time spent on the site, page views, etc. These areas will require work to guarantee an enhanced search engine indexing. The quality of your content impacts how many search engines or people, continuously visit your website. When you audit your content, you’ll be able to identify the content people like, such as videos, text, or images. Furthermore, with a site audit, you can easily develop a strong content strategy for your website and blog. This will result in better organic rankings on search engines.

5. Better SEO

Search engine optimization has seen a drastic change in recent years. This is a clear indication that what works for your business at this moment, might not work for you in the coming months. The aim of a good SEO for your website should be to consider user experience as the priority and search engines as the second priority. With the help of a site audit, your SEO will be assessed, and professionals will determine its impact on the user experience. When this happens, you will be presented with recommendations and strategies to enhance user experience and search engine ranking.

6. Enhance Distribution of Keywords

Distribution of keywords has been a simple task in the past. The best way to elevate the ranking of your website on organic SERPS is through the natural and strategic use of keywords. Furthermore, technical site audit professionals will be able to identify areas of your website that need to be improved. They can then recommend strategies that need to be adopted to attract more traffic to your website and enhance the overall user experience.

A site audit is a comprehensive analysis of your website, which will help your business get a clear view of where your website stands at the moment. It is an in-depth analysis that focuses on everything that has been overlooked by the company, ranging from page views to bounce rate. Hence, you will be able to determine the overall performance of your website. A site audit will enable you to enjoy more traffic, enhanced growth, increased sales, and increased organic search ratings.

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re interested in discovering more, take a look at our website and connect with us to help you fulfill your branding goals. Visit https://sphericalstrategies.com today.

The Benefits of SEO for a Business

Lisa Trevelyan September 20, 2022 Advertising, Marketing, SEO

As an owner of a business, investing in suitable search engine optimization (SEO) strategies can distinguish between a successful, well-known business and the one that is stumbling.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a technique used by businesses to enhance the position/ranking of a website on search engine result pages (SERPs), including Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Working on an SEO strategy can help your business by increasing traffic to your website, increasing revenue and sales, and attracting potential customers. It allows you to become more visible to your target audience.

In this modern and digital era, SEO is a skill that is vital for any business. Whether you’re operating in the retail industry or any other industry, SEO will help you achieve your goals faster. If you wish to get started with SEO, you don’t necessarily need an expensive SEO agency for that. There are various tools to help you in the initial phase. However, if you’re a leading brand and wish to reach higher targets, bringing in an SEO agency and digital marketing consultants might be the right choice. Considering that you are new to the business and lack knowledge about search engine optimization, getting help from a professional such as an SEO agency would be great.

Before we move forward with the benefits that search engine optimization offer to a business, let’s understand how search engines work. The main aim of a search engine is to provide users with the information they are looking for quickly and unbiased. In order to give quality information, search engines rank information in terms of their relevance and quality. Have you ever searched for a topic on Google? How many results did you get? Among the list of thousands of results that Google provides us with, which one do you go for? The majority of the users take information only from the first page of Google.

125,000,000 results in 0.61 seconds. The search engine can analyze billions of fragments of data in less than .5 seconds.

Which website do you opt for?

Do you go beyond the first page?

The first page is basically where the most relevant and quality information is present. The actions that a business takes to optimize its website will have a direct impact on SEO ranking. Some factors that impact your SEO ranking are keywords and content density, backlinks, content used in your site’s meta-description, and more.

What are paid rankings?

If your business is earning expendable revenue, spending money to get the first spot on Google rankings will be worthwhile. The picture below portrays the placement of paid and unpaid/organic results on Google.

Benefits of SEO for a Business

Being placed on the first page of a search engine will not happen overnight. The SEO strategy you follow should be a long-term and continuous process. As the world evolves and technology developments occur, search engines like Google also adapt to these changes. Your SEO strategy must be up to date. If your SEO strategy is appropriately maintained, you’ll not only be able to keep your current customers, but you’ll also be able to attract new customers towards your website. The following are some benefits of SEO for business.

1. Leads to an Enhanced User Experience

Among the various ways to enhance the user experience, SEO is one of the most significant ones. Providing your customers with relevant information, a mobile-friendly website configuration, related videos, or images that support your information and easy-to-navigate pages will result in more views, clicks, leads, and high conversions.

2. Increased Traffic

Being placed at the top positions on a search engine leads to more clicks and impressions. Therefore, if your ranking is at the top spot on the search results, it will cause a significant increase in traffic on your website. SEO emphasizes creating relevant and informative meta-descriptions and keywords in order to stay in the top position. Having optimized descriptions and tags will result in a high click-through rate, which also leads to qualified website traffic.

3. ROI

Whether you’re an ecommerce or regular website, SEO will provide quantifiable and traceable results to your business. SEO agencies can easily track every element of their strategy, such as conversions, an increase in traffic, and an increase in rankings. For ecommerce sites, the SEO agency will be able to track the entire path that the user takes to make the sale and the keyword they used to search before purchasing. For non-ecommerce sites, the SEO value can be calculated by attributing values to your lead conversions such as “contact us” fill a form, and so on.

4. Better Management of Cost

SEO is a cost-effective method that lowers your advertising costs. Considering that you’re already in the top-ranked results on Google, there will be no need to invest money in pay-per-click or advertising your page through any other method. Inbound lead generation activities (which have low costs) include social media management, referrals, blogging, and search engine optimization.

5. Builds Credibility and Awareness

If you appear in the top-ranked results on search engines, it might give the customer an idea that you’re one of the top leaders in the industry. It portrays that you’re sought-after and searched by many users. Furthermore, SEO also ensures that your product can be found easily on search engines. It increases the awareness of the brand and makes it more visible to the users.

In the end, relevant content should be the heart of your SEO tactics. We at Spherical Strategies provide the right marketing touch that your website needs in order to succeed.

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re interested in discovering more, take a look at our website and connect with us to help you fulfill your branding goals. Visit https://sphericalstrategies.com today.

Why Should You Link Your Google Ads Account to Search Console?

Lisa Trevelyan August 30, 2022 Advertising, Marketing, SEO, Tips & Tricks

The internet did not only come as a source of entertainment for most of us but also as a source of income for many. Within the internet, many platforms work towards the well-being of online businesses. And when we talk about these, we cannot skip Google as it is a superhero for every business relying on the internet.

Google Ads has been of immense importance to everyone.

Back in 2013, Google dropped exciting news for all those interested in online marketing. The announcement was something like this:

“You can now link Google search console in Google Ads Account.”

It left many digital marketers amazed as it was a milestone and offered considerable opportunity to bloom their businesses by trying out something totally new. It was also great for their businesses to expand their reach and improve marketing and advertising processes.

However, it raised many questions for some, as they were clueless about its purpose and benefits. Today, new online business owners are also confused about why they should link Google search console and Google ads account.

But it’s all good as it’s never too late to learn about new stuff going around. If you don’t know about it yet, then you can learn it now.

We are here to talk about the entire Google Ads Account and Google Search Console matter!

First, the question is, what is a search console?

Google offers a free service that goes by the name of Google Search Console. Through this service, you get to maintain, monitor and troubleshoot your site’s presence in the search results. This very tool helps you get a better idea of how Google views your site.

Search Console helps with the following:

· Confirming that Google can search and crawl your site.

· Recover indexing problems

· Checking google search traffic data

· Get alerts for suspicious activities

· Troubleshoot issues

The search console is generally used by:

· Business owners

· SEO specialists or marketers

· Site administrators

· Web developers

Now, let’s get to the real talk ‘Why should the Google Search Console and Google Ads be linked together?’

Linking the two is quite harmless and takes your business to another level. Which business owner wouldn’t want to see their business reaching new heights by using modern techniques?

Linking Google Ads and Google Search Console, you get a reflection of organic vs. paid keywords. You get the relevant information at the Search Query, allowing you to figure out the incremental value of organic vs. paid terms.

Without a doubt, this is news for all paid advertisers out there. Moreover, it is great for SEO campaigns that are commonly carried out by nearly all businesses with an online presence.

What would be better than seeing new, organic opportunities along with paid search opportunities? By understanding where you are performing great organically, you can then make adjustments or changes to drop paid search bids or even pause keywords if your budget is tight.

This is a massive step taken by Google for those who own businesses and even those who work with advertising agencies offering services to various clients. It is excellent for clients who are using PPC and SEO services simultaneously.

Unfortunately, not many are aware of how to actually go about it despite knowing the benefits of linking Google Ads and Google Search Console.

For your convenience, here is a step-by-step guide. Once you get the hang of it, we recommend you do it right away and don’t miss out on any further benefits.

Step 1: Sign up to your Google Ads account. Having a functional Google Ads Account is necessary if you plan on linking it with Google Search Console.

Step 2: Click on the tool option available on the upper right corner of your Google Ads Account.

Step 3: Click on linked accounts

Step 4: You will see the option of search console when the drop-down menu appears. Click on the ‘details’ button to proceed further.

Step 5: You will be asked if you want to link Google Search Console and Google Ads Accounts. Click ‘link’ to continue.

Step 6: Add the URL of the website you want to link it with. Make sure to add the URL without ‘www’ and click continue.

And now you are good to go!

In case the process is unsuccessful, you will be notified immediately. You can click ‘claim’ to further look into and resolve this matter.

Google has revolutionized the domain of online marketing. It keeps giving businesses more opportunities to grow and reach audiences that are otherwise unreachable due to geographic distances.

The number of reporting features within Google is overwhelming, which has opened numerous avenues for business owners wherever they are in the world. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the linking of Google Search Console and Google Ads Accounts has made it super easy to run an e-commerce platform.

To us, it seems like Google really wants business owners to access new frontiers and add versatility to their marketing processes. It’s like a one-stop-shop that has all the solutions to your needs.

What a time to be an online business owner!

It would be hard to believe, at least for us, if you tell us you haven’t been using Google tools religiously to grow your online presence.

Our advice would be to do so now. Most importantly, link your Google Ads Account and Google Search Console to see the magic it is going to bring to your business.

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re interested in discovering more, take a look at our website and connect with us to help you fulfill your branding goals. Visit https://sphericalstrategies.com today.

Ten Ad Networks to Consider

Lisa Trevelyan August 2, 2022 Advertising, Marketing, Tips & Tricks

There is no doubt that opening new growth channels requires you to have some type of medium that serves your product in front of the world. You might be wondering what medium is capable of providing you with such a golden opportunity. You don’t have to worry since there are plenty of existing advertising mediums to serve this purpose. These advertising channels allow you to promote your brand, product, and services on their platforms.

These ad networks are essential monetization variables for the business world. They act as technical and marketable intermediaries between publishers and suppliers. On the marketing level, the ad networks encourage transactions and payments where the supply side provides their stock, and the demand side monitors the campaigns on a technical level. Both the supply and demand-side work in close collaboration to run the business through ad networks.

What is an ad network?

Before looking for the right publishing ad network, you first need to understand exactly what an ad network is? An ad network is no less than a broker between the publishers and suppliers. Ad networks help suppliers find and buy advertising slots in various publishers. The term ‘ad network’ basically refers to online advertisements where the unsold advertising slots from various publishers are collected by the ad network and provided to the supplier at an extremely low cost.

If you are a supplier and looking for reliable ad networks, listed below are the top steadfast ad networks. These networks are ideal for online advertisement for your products and services. They not only offer you the slot at low costs, but they also give you full control over the targeting and placement options.

1. Airpush

This is a mobile advertising network that runs your offers over 15,000 mobile applications. This ad network allows the supplier to showcase their services and products to a wide range of customers. Airpush is known for its transparency and authentic content. The customers of this advertising network are more responsive to the ads than other ad networks’ customers.

2. Yahoo

By using this advertising network, you can reach over one billion customers because Yahoo is considered the sixth most visited social site. If you endorse your brand here, your products are advertised through video and native ads. Moreover, Yahoo has promoted brands for years; therefore, it is a reliable and experienced ad networking site.

3. YouTube

It is not a debatable fact that YouTube is the second biggest search engine and video sharing site since it is one of the most influential advertising networks. YouTube advertises products in videos that pop-out at the start or in between the videos. Investing in this online social and ad networking site will help you get targeted audiences from different countries.

4. Instagram

Instagram is another social networking site that advertises products in between stories and posts. Here, your products will be promoted through videos and pictures to reach its 600 million monthly users. This advertising network is the best platform to engage customers by showing them visual content.

5. SiteScout

It is the first media buying network that runs almost 31 billion advertisements on 70,000 online networking sites per day. SiteScout also enables suppliers to closely analyze the ad campaigns and optimize their ads to reach out to customers using different search engines, e.g., AdTech, Google, and Appnexus.

6. Conversant Media

Conversant Media is a famous advertising network that gives suppliers a chance to advertise their offer using several available options. They have developed some publications (Vice and Foxtel) with slots that you can buy for ads. On the other hand, Conversant media also offers advertising services, such as Outbrain and Largetail.

7. Advertising.com

As the name indicates, this network is specifically for advertising purposes. It is the oldest advertising network that offers modern features, including re-targeting, which is responsible for sending ads to every viewer. Besides this, it permits you to connect with a wide range of consumers on every device.

8. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an online networking site for professional business users; therefore, it is best suitable for business to business suppliers. The advertisement can be targeted through Industry, Job function, geography, and seniority on LinkedIn. One exciting benefit of advertising on LinkedIn is that it reports to you about your advertisements’ progress response. It is one of those social networking sites that permits suppliers to find the desired customers through their job titles and roles in an organization and industry.

9. Taptica

Taptica is a mobile ad network that reaches out to 220 million mobile users. At this advertising site, you will find various options for your advertisements. Your offer can be advertised in the form of a banner, video, text, and interstitial. In addition to this, you will be given an option to target the audience yourself. This ad network gains new users and gets benefits from their investments.

10. Epom

It is an advertising network with many ad options. Using this networking site, you can advertise your offer at a low rate. The advertisements will be shown on different mobile apps, either in the form of videos or display. This site also offers its ad marketplace free for 30 days. During the 30 days’ trial, you can gain almost one billion expressions that will later help you gain more customers.

When it comes to online advertising networks, you have plenty of options other than those mentioned above. Before going for any of these advertising networks, consider asking yourself a few questions. You may want to know which ad network suits your business, which site has the most users, and which ad network provides ad slots at lower rates. Determine whether you want these networks to work for you as a publisher or an advertiser and then invest wisely.

About Lisa | Spherical Strategies Content Creator & Copywriter

Outside of her work as a content creator, Lisa is passionate about caring for her young son and is only slightly obsessed with gardening.

If you’re interested in discovering more, take a look at our website and connect with us to help you fulfill your branding goals. Visit https://sphericalstrategies.com today.

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