SOLOPRENEUR: Self-Employability in Remote Regions of Europe

Marketing Communication when you are alone


COU_2_EN  

 Title
Marketing Communication when you are alone

 Keywords
Marketing, digital technologies, website, social media, netiquette

 Author
IWS

 Languages
English

 Objectives/goals
In this course we will introduce the concept of ‘marketing communication’ and specifically ‘digital marketing’. We will learn how digital technologies can help us reach our target through internet and how to use social media for our business benefits.


 Description
This course gives the basics about marketing communication and some digital technologies designed to improve our marketing strategies. We present them and explain how to apply them to our business. Likewise, we give a brief description of some social networks that would increase our dissemination. We devote a section to ‘netiquette’, a special issue to take into account nowadays when we interact online. We also consider important to keep a good reputation of ourselves and we give some tips for it.

 Contents in bullet points
Unit 1: Marketing communication through digital technologies • Digital technologies for marketing • The role of a webpage Unit 2: Engaging potential clients through digital technologies • Social Media Unit 3: Netiquette and online marketing communication (Social media policies) • Netiquette • Social media policies Unit 4: Manage one’s digital identity and reputation • Our reputation


 Contents


 Marketing communication when you are alone

Marketing communication through digital technologies


  Digital technologies for marketing The role of a web page

Companies adopt different media to exchange information about their products or services to the customers.

Important:

Care about presence on the Internet

Notes:

Marketing communication is the different media that companies adopt to exchange information about their products or services to the customers. In our current competitive labour market, companies must make great efforts to stand out from the rest of companies. To achieve this, they need to care about their presence on the Internet and specifically about digital technologies, which are the biggest communication channels. They offer companies a wide range of digital tools they can use to approach target groups and stay in touch with customers.    

Digital marketing

 

Online public relations: marketing communications that encourage positive perception of your company

 

Feedback from customers through digital platforms contribute to the success or failure of your business

 

Notes: This new kind of marketing through digital technologies is called ‘digital marketing’. It affects the same aspects of the traditional and service marketing; however, digital world provides more opportunities for the promotion of our products.

Thanks to digital technologies there are new ways of applying the elements of communication, which include public relations, advertising and direct marketing:

•Online public relations: they refer to marketing communications that encourage positive perception of your company. The feedback you receive from your customers through digital platforms will contribute to the success or failure of your business.
•Digital advertising: more information on the next slide.
 
                                                                                                  *Statistics: 64.6% users click on Google ads when they are looking for a product to buy online

Notes: Apart from investing on traditional advertising we find nowadays new forms online to promote our business.

oDisplay advertising: this is a type of online paid advertising, which usually uses images and text. Banners, landing pages (LP’s) and popups -- the most popular (commonly found on websites and blogs to redirect user’s attention to the company’s product).
oSocial media advertising: paid ads, promote posts or post stories which have become a popular tendency to reach more potential customers without paying anything.
oPay per click (PPC) ads: advertisers only pay for if a user clicks on them. PPC ads are normally text with a small picture sometimes. Statistics: 64.6% users click on Google ads when they are looking for a product to buy online.
o Mobile advertising: we recommend you that all advertising campaigns are adapted to mobile platforms as well. They will have to follow specific requirements so the format suits to the mobile device screen. Nowadays there are more access to internet from mobile phones than from desktop computers, so it wouldn’t be a bad investment.
o Search Engine Marketing: this advertising technique is used to increase companies’ rankings on search engines according to the keywords. Once these keywords have been selected, experts carry out techniques to ensure that users discover the company after inputting related terms into search engines. Among the techniques we find Search Engine Optimization, which consists of associating websites to keywords. A web designer will include a text on a site's home page with some preferred keywords at a specific density.

Currently we cannot run a business if we have no presence on the internet and this presence starts through a website.

Both logo and motto must be the first thing seen in the homepage.

Notes:The main and first step is obviously to create a webpage. Currently we cannot run a business if we have no presence on the internet and this presence starts through a website. It will be our main platform from which our potential clients will be able to see who we are and what we do. We need to provide important and useful information to our potential clients as well as pictures of ourselves so it’s more personal. Both logo and motto must be the first thing seen in the homepage.

 

How to create an effective webpage?

✔Content and structure based on 3 basic criteria: usability, user-friendliness and accessibility
✔Your website must reflect your brand image - use good and appealing photos and videos of your daily life activities
✔You need to define clearly your services/products, messages and targets
✔Contact details (email, phone numbers/WhatsApp, fax, address, skype, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) and navigating menus, must be easily accessible
✔Keep it updated and lively or people will think you are not “active”
✔Content is fundamental - All information must be coherent with brands mission and values
 
 


Engaging potential clients through digital technologies


  Social Media

It’s Essential to be present in different social networks to disseminate/promote products and/or services

In case you want to have an account in several platforms, there is a free social media management tool which simultaneously publishes yourposts in all your social media at once: HootSuite

Notes: Nowadays, it is essential to have presence in different social networks platforms if we want to disseminate our products/services. You may be already familiarized with them as you may have a profile in any social media, but in any case, we present here below some of the most popular social networks you could have in order to promote your business and how to use them:

Facebook: we can create a specific Facebook profile with the company’s name to present our products through pictures and descriptions. In case of providing a service, we can also post information or news related to it.
Twitter: you can use it as a platform to share some news about your business but in a more direct way as this app only allows 240 characters to be written. You can engage your clients asking them ‘to follow you’ so they do not miss any news.
Instagram: with similar functionalities as Facebook, this app is more suitable when we have products to offer as it is mainly intended for sharing photos and videos. People can ‘follow’ us and they can ‘like’ our pictures so we can get an idea of how much users like it. Make sure you use quality photos and videos of your daily activities instead of stock photos in order to convey a more reliable message.

 

Be active in social networks

→ people tend to spend much time on them

→ especially young people, so if they’re the target group, it’s almost compulsory to update social media very often!

 

Newsletters: another way to keep clients engaged

→ to deliver news or any kind of relevant information about our business to those clients who have joined the newsletter list.

Notes: We recommend you to be active in social networks as people tend to spend much time on them and, in case our target group is young people, it’s almost compulsory to update our platforms very often. Another way to keep our clients engaged is through newsletters. We can deliver news or any kind of relevant information about our business to those clients who have joined the newsletter list.



Netiquette and online marketing communication (Social media policies)


  Netiquette

 ‘netiquette’ = network + etiquette

It’s a set of rules for appropriate behavior on the net: respecting other users’ views and display courtesy when posting your opinion to discussion groups. Having an excellent behavior online is essential if we want to succeed in our business.

Notes: The word ‘netiquette’ is a combination of two words: network and etiquette. It is defined as a set of rules for appropriate behavior on the net, which is respecting other users’ views and display courtesy when posting your opinion to discussion groups. Having an excellent behavior online is essential if we want to succeed in our business. As we said, online presence is very important as it is the first impression our clients will get so we have to take care of every detail.

 

 

 



  Social media policies

If we don’t show good behavior, we lose credibility and customers!

Social media policies have been designed to establish a code of conduct → guidelines for employees who post content on the Internet either as part of their job or as a private person.

Notes: As we have referred above, social networks are very important nowadays for any company in order to succeed. However, if we don’t show good behavior on them, we may lose credibility and as result, customers. Due to the popularity of social medias, social media policies have been designed to establish a code of conduct that provides guidelines for employees who post content on the Internet either as part of their job or as a private person.

As solopreneurs, you don’t need to design special policies, but here are some aspects to take into account instead:

⮚Avoid personal opinions: Avoid commenting issues like politics, religion or any current affair that may cause controversy. Keep neutral and without judging others.
⮚Keep calm : Be always respectful with users who interact with you through your platforms or post in your wall. Try to keep patient and do not answer back in a rude tone even though the other person has not shown any manners.
⮚Careful with spelling: respect grammar rules and avoid spelling mistakes that would give a bad impression about your business and will not take you seriously.
⮚Distinguish between personal and professional account: it gives better impression and so better reputation.
 


Manage one’s digital identity and reputation


  Our reputation

Have a good behavior: keep a good reputation in our social networks

  • Show good appearance in all your accounts: professional and personal (There’s NO control of how far our picture can go on the internet)
  • Any potential client may find our pictures
  • Use LinkedIn (professional social media)
Share career achievements and CV
Improve your professional reputation
Post articles or news related to a business → clients see that you keep up to date!
Notes: Every social media has a section for security. In case of a professional account we recommend you to have it open so everybody can connect you. On the other hand, you’d better have your personal accounts with the highest level of security so that you have control of who wants to follow you or ‘become your friend’.
To improve your professional reputation you should have an account in LinkedIn which is a professional social media where we can share our career achievements as well as our CV. We can also post articles or any news related to our business so that our clients see that we keep up to date!

 

 


 Results

• Digital marketing affects the same aspects of the traditional and service marketing; however, digital world provides more opportunities for the promotion of our products. Moreover, thanks to digital technologies there are new ways of applying the elements of communication. • We cannot run a business if we have no presence on the internet and this presence starts through a website. It will be our main platform from which our potential clients will be able to see who we are and what we do. We need to provide important and useful information to our potential clients as well as pictures of ourselves so it’s more personal. • Nowadays it is essential to have presence in different social networks platforms if we want to disseminate our products/services. We present here below some of the most popular social networks you could have in order to promote your business and how to use them: • Netiquette is defined as a set of rules for appropriate behaviour on the net, which is respecting other users’ views and display courtesy when posting your opinion to discussion groups. Having an excellent behaviour online is essential if we want to succeed in our business. • Due to the popularity of social medias, social media policies have been designed to establish a code of conduct that provides guidelines for employees who post content on the Internet either as part of their job or as a private person. • As well as having a good behavior it’s also important to keep a good reputation in our personal profiles, that is, in our social networks. Even though we have different profiles for our personal and professional life, it’s as well advisable to show good appearance in our own accounts.

 Bibliography


 Training Fiche PPT:
181_2.solopreneur_marketing_and_communication_when_you_are_alone(iws).pptx

Consortium

Open it
Maptic
Radio Ecca
HAC
IHF
Internet Web Solutions
IDP


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