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Online retail has expanded rapidly over the last two decades, going from obscurity to a multibillion-dollar sector. Millions of individuals all around the globe regularly make purchases from eCommerce retailers.

This means the eCommerce industry is a treasure box of opportunities. However, creating a successful brand identity is crucial for online stores to surpass the competition and generate sustainable revenue.

Branding establishes a unique and strong business identity for the product or service that a business offers. However, it’s more than just a beautiful, catchy company logo and involves many other elements that distinguish it from competitors.

Branding involves various tactics in promoting a brand, which include advertising, raising brand awareness over social media, customer service, and more. In addition to this, branding is a component of SEO optimization, which helps customers find a company/brand.

Why Store Branding Matters

Store branding is the method of creating a unique identity for your business. It involves constantly developing your store’s features, products, and services. Store branding matters because it helps customers understand the brand image and influences their opinion of the store’s product, value, services, and quality.

As branding helps customers to understand the business and its mission in a better way, they pay more attention to the business and prefer it over others. Strong branding will provide continuous satisfaction to regular consumers and draw the attention of new ones.

This article outlines several steps to develop strong branding for your online store.

7 Steps of a Successful Online Store Branding Strategy

Branding an online store is a method that uses various tools to create a brand image and promote it. It is also known as e-commerce or e-branding.

This could be done using a blog, a social website, or social media platforms. Let’s look at the seven ways that could help you step up your branding game.

Identify Your Target Market

When you talk about building a brand, it’s important to know who you are trying to reach and send a message to.

Finding the right target will help you in the following ways:

• Improves target approach
• Simplify content for your audience
• Helps analyze your competitors and their audience
• Helps to choose your design

Here are a few ways you can determine your target audience:

• Notice the type of people who are interested in your products. Segregate them by age, interests, and locality.
• Find out where the competition is putting their time and money by doing market research and analyzing industry trends for comparable items.
• Build “Personas,” or “Profiles,” of your ideal customers to learn more about their demographics, interests, and requirements.
• Identify the audience that is not your target.

Name Your Brand Fittingly

A great brand name is more than simply being cool and sounding nice. Just because you think it’s good does not make it right.

The fact that it says something about your business to the consumer base is what we need. Here are a few things that a good brand name possesses:

• It’s meaningful
• It’s distinctive
• It’s memorable
• It’s easy to spell, interpret, or say
• It’s legally available
• It can stay relevant with time

A lot of work is involved in creating a memorable brand name. A growing number of services are available to simplify the process for you. For example, you can get name suggestions from Shopify’s Business Name Generator, Wordoid, etc.

Develop a Brand Story

A brand story conveys the reason and motivation for starting a business. It encompasses the facts and emotions involved in building a business. The story expresses your drive to run a business that engages your targeted customers. Here are a few things that make up your brand story:

● Vision

Vision statements of a business include the goals and objectives of the mid-term and long-term growth of the business. It states the current and future goals, which helps motivate you and your employees to work better. Vision is also a future-oriented concept that helps create better strategies to expand the business.

● Mission/Goals

The mission is the purpose and intention of an ongoing business. It supports the vision of a business and drives the employees to reach certain goals. A mission statement states how to achieve the company’s vision. A strong mission of the company could be a good tool for marketing.

● Values

Values of the business stand for its ethics, philosophy, work pattern, and principles involved in running a business. A business without any values cannot have a smooth process and can’t keep the employees working towards the same goal in an organized way. Business values are an integral part of shaping a company’s culture and improving teamwork efficiency.

Outline Brand USPs

A unique selling proposition or USP is a specific benefit your business offers that makes you better or different from your competitors. Every company needs a USP product to connect with customers and make them believe why and what sets you apart. Your business’s USP does the following in the branding process:

• Adds brand value.
• Grabs attention to your company in the market.
• Develops an image for your brand.

For setting a USP for your brand, you must understand what competitors are providing and where they are lacking, in addition to what customers want. Your brand’s USP fills that gap and elevates your position in the market.

Establish Brand Voice

The company’s brand voice is your brand’s personality while communicating with the customers through marketing and branding. Your voice should be different and unique to stand out in the competitive market. It must run consistently as it reflects the company’s values and shows what you say and what you do.

The key to making a good brand voice is to make it relatable to the targeted audience. It could be motivational, friendly, or joyful.

Create a Visual Identity

A brand’s visual identity comprises of the logo, color palette, typography, and graphics. You can use these elements to convey your brand’s essence, who you are, and what you stand for.

● Logo

A logo is an effective way to portray your brand. You can use apps like Photoshop and Canva to create a logo. You can also hire a professional logo designer to do the work for you. This can be design studios or freelancers from platforms like Fiver and Upwork.

Your brand logo could be a design that represents the name of your brand, the initial(s) of the brand, or anything creative that stands out and conveys your brand message.

● Color palette

Color palette plays an important role while setting a logo and marketing your business, as it represents your brand. Use color psychology to choose shades that match your brand’s identity.

● Typography

Typography organizes typefaces and text for maximum readability, clarity, and aesthetic appeal. Choose fonts that go well with the visuals and are easy to read.

You should go for simple and easy fonts as they are easily remembered. Customers will likely forget the brand name if you go for complex typography.

● Graphics

Graphics have always played a big part in marketing, as seen by banners and media advertising; however, their significance has increased greatly due to the rise of social media.

A customer’s (or prospective customer’s) emotional connection to your brand may be strengthened via the strategic use of visuals. Catching up with the latest visual trends might be really good for branding your business.

Pick the best images representing your company ethos as a part of your strong branding game.

Create Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines are an instruction manual that includes rules and standards that project how your brand should be represented. It describes the overall look of the brand and ensures that your brand is communicating correctly internally. It also helps audiences to recognize your brand on all platforms distinctively.

Here are some elements included in forming brand guidelines:

• Trademarked logo
• Consistent brand color
• Consistent fonts
• Developing visual identity
• Typography
• A solid brand mission
• A clear brand vision
• Easily defined values
• A good brand story

Parting thoughts

Now you know that branding is not just about creating a remarkable logo and getting a catchy tagline. It involves strategy and techniques that keep your customers engaged and loyal to your brand.

Use this article as a guidebook while creating a branding strategy for your business to set yourself apart from your competitors.

Stunning design obtained from a powerful graphic designing tool (Source: Unsplash)

As a graphic designer, having the right graphic design tools at your disposal can make all the difference in your work. Whether you are creating designs for print or digital media, a variety of software and online tools can help you create professional-looking designs in a fraction of the time it would take to do it manually.

In this blog, we will discuss some game-changing tools for graphic designers in 2023, including the best graphic designing software and tools for digital artists.

Valuable Graphic Design Tools for Designers In 2023

Graphic design is an essential element of marketing and branding. It helps businesses communicate their message to their audience in a visually appealing way. However, designing stunning graphics requires the right set of design software tools. Here are some of the best graphic design tools that can be valuable for you in 2023:

1. Adobe Creative Cloud

Crafting colorful graphics with Adobe Creative Cloud (Source: Adobe)

Among graphic design software, Adobe Creative Cloud is considered the industry standard. Its suite of tools includes popular software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and more. Each tool is designed to work seamlessly with one another, allowing for efficient workflows and stunning results.

One of its built-in tools, Photoshop, is a powerful photo editing software, while Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and is considered one of the best illustrator software in the graphic design market. The InDesign desktop publishing software allows you to create books, brochures, and magazines. While Adobe Creative Suite is not cheap, it is a worthwhile investment for anyone serious about graphic design.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides designers with tools for building and sharing online portfolios, working with a wide variety of fonts, and publishing their work on Behance. Photographers can use Adobe Photoshop’s built-in editing capabilities to adjust, remove, improve, and combine photos to meet specific needs, as well as to make posters, webpages, and banners. Brochures, magazines, reports, booklets, and flyers can all be created with InDesign, as well as animations, audio, video, and slideshows, making the tool useful to enterprises in the electronic media and printing industries.

Companies can use Adobe Creative Cloud to edit videos or movies and construct apps, games, and websites. To expedite review processes, users can make comments or annotate files with Adobe Acrobat DC after creating, converting, sharing, editing, archiving, or signing PDF documents.

Key Features:

Image editing, compositing, and painting with various tools and filters.

Pros:

It is easy to learn with a large community for support, constant updates and new features, and compatibility with other Adobe programs, and Professionals widely use it.

Compatible Platforms:

Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Web.

2. Canva

Canva’s dashboard comprises a multifunctional graphic design suite (Source: Canva)

Canva is one of the most popular online graphic design tools available, offering a wide range of features and templates for creating various types of visual content. It offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for non-designers to create real-looking graphics and is accessible through any web browser.

It is an excellent tool for small businesses and individuals looking to create social media graphics, marketing materials, presentations, and more. While Canva does offer a free version, its Pro subscription unlocks additional features, such as custom fonts, animations, and team collaboration.

Key Features:

It offers drag-and-drop design, collaboration tools, and social media integration. You can download and share your design with team access.

Pros:

With the freemium version of Canva available to the general public, it is easy to learn through a rich collection of resources and tutorials.

Compatible Platforms:

Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Web.

3. Sketch

The attractive user interface of Sketch graphic designing tool (Source: Sketch)

Sketch is a vector-based tool that allows designers to create scalable designs with precision and ease. It has a user-friendly interface and offers a range of design tools, including vector shapes, text tools, and image editing tools, as well as various plugins that extend its functionality.
Designers use Sketch to create digital designs for websites, mobile apps, and other digital products. It is known for its intuitive interface, speed, and ease of use and is popular among designers who work on Mac computers.
For optimal performance, use Sketch on a Mac with macOS Ventura or higher. This helps prevent slowdowns and the infamous spinning coloured wheel on Mac, ensuring the app runs smoothly and efficiently.

Key Features:

Uncluttered interface with guest collaboration. It also supports various mobile application templates, making it easy to create mobile interfaces.

Pros:

It is easy for beginners with excellent documentation, and there is strong community support in case you are stuck with something.

Compatible Platforms:

Mac

4. Procreate

Design spectacular graphics with Procreate (Source: Procreate)

iPad users can create digital paintings and illustrations using Procreate. It offers a wide range of brushes and tools that make it easy for artists to create stunning illustrations. Procreate brushes mimic traditional media, such as pencils, watercolors, and oil paints, allowing artists to create realistic artwork digitally.

The app’s interface is also highly customizable, allowing users to create brushes and import custom color palettes. Procreate requires a one-time payment and does not need a subscription.

Key Features:

Editing tools that support 200 customizable brushes, color management, finishing filters, and one-time purchase.

Pros:

It has an extensive tutorial library with an intuitive user interface. Procreate supports Apple Pencil, and we can import Photoshop brushes.

Compatible Platforms:

iPad

5. Figma

Bringing your ideas to life with Figma (Source: https://www.figma.com/)

Figma is one of the best online design tools for User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI). It is a cloud-based tool that allows designers to collaborate on designs, making it an excellent tool for team projects. It offers a range of features for designing user interfaces, including prototyping, animations, and more.

It can be used on Mac and Windows. It offers a range of integrations with other tools, such as Slack, Trello, and Jira, making it easy to incorporate into your workflow. Users on Figma can also choose from various pricing options, including a free plan. A significant advantage of Figma is its flexibility.

Key Features:

It is a collection of creative tools to enhance your work with different fonts, shapes, and colors. It gives a lot of latitude for small teams with free drafts and unlimited cloud storage.

Pros:

Excellent features in pricing plans, cross-platform support in free-tier, and private plugins at an organization-level plan.

Compatible Platforms:

Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS

6. Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer brings an engaging design experience (Source: Affinity Designer)

Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor with features similar to Adobe Illustrator. It includes a range of tools for creating illustrations, logos, and other graphics, as well as a range of advanced features for professional designers.

Affinity Designer also includes various features for working with typography, including full OpenType support, text styles, and a range of vector-based text effects. One of the main features of Affinity Designer is its ability to handle both vector and raster graphics, allowing users to create a wide range of designs and artwork.

Key Features:

Color management, time-saving tools, real-time changes, and one-time purchases are the key features of Affinity Designer.

Pros:

It provides unlimited artboards with less resource usage. With excellent customer support, they also have Affordable pricing plans.

Compatible Platforms:

Windows, Mac, iPad.

7. Corel Vector

Formerly called, Gravit Designer, Corel Vector is a vector graphics software developed by Corel Corporation. It is a vector-based tool that allows users to create designs, graphics, and illustrations using various tools and features. Gravit Designer has a user-friendly interface and offers a range of design tools, including pen, shape, line, and text tools, as well as various effects and filters.

Gravit Designer is available as both a desktop application and a web-based tool, and it supports multiple file formats, including SVG, PDF, JPG, and PNG. Designers, illustrators, and artists use it for various projects, including logos, website design, social media graphics, and print materials.

Key Features:

Intuitive and simple to use

It’s simple to get started thanks to the user-friendly interface, the available themes, and the thousands of images, fonts, and other graphics.

Reachable from any location

Use it on all your favorite gadgets that support touch input, knowing that your creations are always backed up, synced, and accessible in the cloud.

Let Your Imagination Run Wild

Use potent tools for vector editing, designing multi-page layouts, writing and typography, applying non-destructive filters and effects, and much more.

Pros:

It has advanced vector editing with cross-platform support. It supports many file formats and is more affordable than other graphic design tools.

Compatible Platforms:

Windows, Mac, iPad.

Our Recommendation

The graphic design tools we have discussed offer many features and functionalities to help you create stunning designs this year. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned professional, these tools can help you convert your artistic ideas into breathtaking designs.
We have given you a head start to browse and select one or more of these graphic design tools to kickstart your design journey in 2023. Choose the tool that suits your needs, and be ready to mesmerize your artistic audience!

QR codes are short for something known as a “quick response” codes. This is basically a square shaped box that consists of various black and white symbols. Many people use them to scan stuff while utilizing the services of a smart device such as a smartphone to learn more about the item they have scanned.

As a general rule many, if not most of these little encrypted squares located discreetly on containers can potentially hold various links, event details, coupons, and other relevant information that the QR user may want to see or even to want to save on their device for future reference purposes.

When it comes to the creation of custom QR code with a logo, it is really not that difficult, to begin with. All you have to do is to follow a series of steps: These steps are as follows:

Step 1: You have to select a specific QR code generator

There are literally tons and ton of Quick Reference code generators available today. However, some of the better ones usually give you multiple entirely varied options for using the QR code itself. Apart from that, they also help to solve various compatibility issues with many if not most mobile QR code reading capable apps.

Step 2: You have to choose the most relevant reader for the type of content that you aim to promote

Let’ us select a popular QR code generator so that you would be able to generate your free qr code with logo. For this purpose, we will use the very popular qr-code-generator.com. This generator is used by many professionals all over the world, and it will help you to make your own QR code with logo.

First, you will have to select precisely which type of content that you would want in your QR code so that it will be visible to the person who scans the same.

Step 3: You should try and enter your data in the specific form in which it appears

Once you select that very specific type of QR content that you are interested in promoting with the help of your custom QR code with logo, a field or form will then appear in the space where
you are supposed to enter the relevant information so that it can correspond with your campaign.

If you want your QR code logo to save the contact information it has been provided, then you can even set specific fields where you can enter your subject line, email address, and any associated message by default.

Step 4: You might consider downloading something known as dynamic QR code

If you are really interested in trying to make a QR code with logo, then you should opt for a dynamic QR code with logo. One unfortunate drawback of making a QR code is that it is not possible to edit the data or information it contains once the code has been printed. However, with the invention of dynamic QR codes, it is now entirely possible to easily edit this data.

If you are using the right QR code generator you will be able to print a dynamic QR code, then scan it, and finally pull out an editable form. You will easily be able to modify the information your visitors will receive whenever they scan that specific QR code for themselves.

Step 5. Customizing your QR code logo

This is actually the really fun part of creating the perfect QR code. That is the customizing of the design of the code as per your own brand and logo. In fact, if you really want your QR code to look just like your logo, then you should definitely go for it! In fact, it is also entirely possible to reflect your online ecommerce website design scheme with the help of your dynamic QR code.

However, it is pertinent to note that not every QR code maker is built alike. And many of the free ones do not offer such a design option. If you really want to create a QR code with logo, then you have to check out all the different options that are currently available in the QR code generation industry.

However, the more options you generate when you want to create QR code with logo, the more difficult it becomes for the unit to pick up the code. So be careful of what you want.

Step 6: You should really test your QR code to make good and sure that it works

Sometimes a custom QR code with logo is quite difficult for many different mobile apps to “read,” properly enough. It that is the case, all your hard work will go to waste. This is why you should not forget to check and see if your QR code reads correctly or not. Make sure to try out multiple readers here.

Step 7: Track and execute a detailed performance analysis

Here you will have to make it a part of your whole marketing campaign plan. This is why you have to create and distribute collateral while using your new QR codes to see if the campaign is actually working.

Conclusion

The above steps if followed properly enough can easily help you to not just make your own QR code with logo, but also ensure that this code is up and running and easily scannable for the target audience that you have selected.

Effective logo optimization can enhance a brand’s online search engine visibility

For many individuals, search engine optimization (SEO) consists merely of choosing keywords and producing pertinent content. Due to this, they give lower weightage to other vital factors. But SEO is more than just using keywords and content. Several different elements can affect brand visibility on the search engine results page (SERP).
One of these elements is logo optimization. Knowing that your corporate logo can significantly improve your brand’s online visibility is crucial. Google has a major global search market share, standing at 84.69%. This indicates how boosting search visibility on Google through optimized logos can be a game-changer for SMEs.

Google leading the overall online search market (Source: Statista)

A company’s logo is a critical component. The world of a corporate logo is diverse, ranging from Nike’s swoosh design to Twitter’s blue bird. This variability can make it challenging to adhere to the image search optimization requirements for brand logos.
Greater online visibility of logos can enable your customers to distinguish your company by simply glancing at the logo. An effective yet simple optimized logo can help you greatly in increasing your brand awareness.

How To Enhance Brand Visibility Through Logo Optimization?

Brands must ensure they are easily visible online by following modern SEO best practices and becoming familiar with how different search engines rank digital brands according to their logos.

The following measures can help optimize logos to boost visibility on popular search engines:

1. Conducting an SEO Audit

Optimizing your logo is crucial for improving the overall SEO rankings of brand websites. Brands must thoroughly assess their websites according to the SEO requirements and check whether their logos adhere to them. Google Optimize is an effective tool for conducting an SEO audit, which also includes an optimization check of business logos.

An SEO audit can help determine the current optimization level of your brand logo and identify areas that can be further optimized to boost search visibility. Doing it periodically will help you identify the areas of your website that still require work to rank higher in search results on Google and other engines.

The following stats depict the different SEO factors that impact a website’s performance.

Different SEO factors that affect website ranking (Source: Statista)

The stats indicate that on-page elements have the strongest impact on website rankings. Since a logo is one of the crucial on-page elements, it should be optimized for enhanced visibility.
It is equally important to ensure that your logo complies with specific requirements before commencing an SEO audit. You must also consider the following questions:

• Is there a genuine need to use logo optimization techniques?
• How will my brand logo change once it is optimized for search visibility? Will it impact the brand values which the logo has to exhibit?
• Will my blog be recognizable in the same manner the way online users recognized it before its optimization?

Companies spend a tremendous amount of money on optimizing their logo as per best SEO practices. Significant sums of money are spent on revamping and connecting logos. However, they often miss the trick by not conducting regular SEO audits to ensure their logo (and other SEO essentials) are optimized for enhanced online visibility.

It’s crucial that your optimized logo embodies the principles of your business while also including the components that any logo should have. It should also help form your brand identity, as an investment in your logo can be crucial for maximizing your online reach.

2. Image File Type Must Be SEO Friendly

You can also optimize your logo by ensuring that the logo image file complies with SEO best practices. Your website usability will be affected if your logo’s image file size is too large. This can irritate and even offend the users, resulting in an increased bounce rate which can have a negative impact on your business.

You should start with a vector-based picture format for your logo’s original file. It’s a common practice to employ compressed image formats to economize on storage and transfer time. There is a wide variety of file formats now in use. AI, EPS, PDF, SVG, PNG, and JPG are the most frequently used file types for logos.

In most cases, the ideal logo size for use on the web is below 200 kilobytes (KB). Larger file sizes take longer to load and are harder on websites. The smaller the logo file size, the better it becomes for loading quickly in SERPs.

It is worth noting that 72% of search engine users browse through images before making purchases. This makes it essential to optimize your logo image as per the best practices, and reducing the file size can be a vital step towards matching user searches.

3. File Schema Should Be Wisely Selected

For those who don’t know, microdata comes in the form of schema markup. When added to a site, it generates a description that later displays in search results. Leading search engines Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Yandex joined to find Schema.org. The fact that such major players worked together to produce it shows how significant a notion of schema markup is.

It would help to remember the schema markup when creating your logo. Let’s suppose a website features your logo. This is visible to the search engine, which interprets it as an image. The search engine will be informed that the logo is not just a meaningless image if the proper schema markup is used to surround it.

Using schema markup, you can distinguish your logo from the other images on your website. When someone searches for images that resemble your brand logo, the search engine will pick the logo and show it in the top SERPs.

4. Importance Of ALT Attribute

The ALT tag is among the most crucial ways to connect text to an image if users search logos by image. Search engines are constantly improving, so they can now comprehend a page’s content much better. Nevertheless, the ALT attribute feature is still producing top-notch results by giving the right cues to the crawlers.

The ALT property aids in a better understanding of an image. It provides access to keywords that the algorithms have not yet shown. This elevates the search engine ranking and boosts your brand’s online visibility.

These are some obscure facts about the ALT property for a logo. Even though the actual corporate name is far better than having no details on your logo, the likelihood of having your logo appear in SERPs increases when you include the distinctive brand name in the ALT element. It provides a little bit of information that is sufficient enough for search engine crawlers to match the search results with your brand logo.

Images that serve a purpose other than aesthetics should include an alt attribute. It is important to ensure that the image’s description is helpful. For instance, if the image is a company logo, the alt text should reflect the name of the business. The word “logo” is neither required nor helpful in the alternative text, as shown in the example below.

Alt Attribute: NIKE’s trademark symbol

The keywords pertinent to your business are ideal for inclusion in the ALT text. The more specific the keywords you use, the better will be your logo’s rating on SERPs. The information on the different parameters used by search engines for matching keywords can be seen in the bar chart below.

Different factors used by search engines for matching keywords (Source: Statista)

The bar chart shows that Domain Authority (DA) has the greatest say when it comes to the matching of keywords by search engines. So it is crucial to focus on projecting an optimized logo that complements the SEO best practices described above.

An optimized logo can connect your brand values with users. This is why it’s important to incorporate your optimized logo into your SEO strategies and keep your online visibility as well as credibility intact.

5. The Name of the File Must Be As Per SEO Best Practices

A website designer would publish your logo under “logo.png/jpg.” An SEO expert will ensure that the logo’s file name contains a keyword for better logo optimization. Experts say it is crucial to do so to educate search engines about the substance of the image. The file name associates the logo with the business, highlighting the brand’s connection with the optimized logo. An example of a logo file name for Starbucks can be ‘Starbucks.png’ or ‘Starbucks Coffee.png’.

6. Title And Link Attribute

The logo must be linked to the website’s home page for optimization to yield the intended results. Creating a canonical link to the website is the best way to form this linkage. Enhanced logo branding can result from the introduction of a title attribute. It may also be supplied in the IMG tag. Ensure the title and ALT content are the same to create an effectively optimized logo.

Users typically click the logo to access the homepage; these elements serve as a sizable “home” link icon. As a result, you have the incentive to include the logo on each website page, making it a key component of the overall layout.

While building valuable links, you must ensure the company logo is visible from every angle. A logo may occasionally suffice if your organization is highly known to your target market. The logo thus turns into a valuable marketing tool.

In A Nutshell

Even though leveraging different logo design trends can be an optimization in itself, a logo’s image optimization for SEO can create a massive difference in connecting with current and potential users, maximizing brand reach and awareness, and maintaining a competitive edge in the business industry.

We have given you a head start to initiate full-fledged logo optimization for your brand. Let’s connect with more users and share your brand!

As any marketing whizz will be able to tell you, the best way to grow your audience is to advertise your services on as many channels as possible. Moreover, with ad prices constantly increasing, many businesses are using owned channels for marketing themselves.

This is where text marketing comes in. It is relatively new on the marketing scene, but it’s already proving popular.

However, that begs the question: which is better for marketing—SMS or MMS services? Many prefer the MMS format since it allows a greater degree of personalization. In this article, we will tackle the subject of MMS marketing in more detail, explaining what it is, how it should be employed, and its benefits.

What Is MMS Marketing?

MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) marketing is a type of text-based mobile marketing that allows marketers to attach images, videos, and audio clips to their messages. Marketers can make their texts more appealing and engaging by interspersing them with fun emojis, attention-grabbing GIFs, and colorful graphics.

Even though it is only recently beginning to see wider use, MMS has already proven itself to be a powerful marketing tool. Most people respond more strongly to visuals than to text. MMS messages usually leave a longer-lasting impression than SMS texts. This leads to higher conversion rates.

What Is the Difference Between MMS and SMS Marketing?

We’ve explained what MMS marketing is. But what is SMS marketing? And in what ways does it differ from MMS?

Unlike MMS messages, rich media cannot be included in SMS (Short Message Service) messages. SMS messages can only include plain text, making SMS marketing far less eye-catching and memorable than the MMS equivalent.

This is the main difference between MMS and SMS messages, but it is not the only one. The other big difference between these two forms of texting is that SMS messages are limited to just 160 characters, including spaces. The character limit on MMS messages is ten times as much. What’s more, MMS messages can carry as much as 3.75 GB of data depending on the carrier you use.

What Are the Advantages of MMS Marketing?

MMS may be more expensive than SMS, but the sheer number of benefits you can enjoy using it make this investment more than worth it.

To learn all about the pros of MMS marketing, read on and see how this advertising method can help boost audience engagement.

Create Engaging and Shareable Texts

Where SMS texts are dull and dry, MMS messages have the potential to be far more engaging. You can use GIFs, images, videos, and more to give your texts a real sense of personality, helping to convey something about your brand.

Not only will your multimedia messages grab the recipient’s attention and attract them to your company, but they also have the potential to be shared with even more people. Customers are unlikely to share a plain old text with their friends—but if you embellish your message with an amusing GIF or an enticing picture of a new product, they might pass it on.

To further establish your brand, you could acquire a new vanity number for your business—a number where the final seven digits spell out a word. This will make your phone number far more memorable to your customers. Instead of struggling to remember your number, they’ll be able to recognize it at a glance.

Cost-Effective Marketing

MMS messaging may cost slightly more than SMS, but it is still much more affordable and effective than other marketing strategies used by online brands today. With the press of a button, you can reach out to a vast audience, all for just a few cents at a time.

Not only does MMS marketing cost less, but it also takes less of a toll on the environment. The cost to our planet is too often overlooked; sending MMS messages means you can forego the need for printed posters or pamphlets.

Reach Customers Instantly

When using MMS, you can reach customers instantly, no matter where they are. Some devices don’t even need mobile data to allow their users to receive MMS messages.

An MMS message usually takes between 3-5 seconds to reach its recipient. You can immediately reach customers even when they’re out and about. You don’t have to rely on them coming across an ad on their social media feed or checking their email inbox for your latest newsletter. Instead, you can get their attention immediately, whenever you like.

Personalize Your Text Messages

One of the best things about MMS marketing is the potential for personalization. Receiving a message on your mobile phone is already quite personal. How much more so when attached to that message is a picture of products you’ve been interested in?

Personalizing your marketing messages to your audience shows them that you really care about them. This can help foster a sense of brand loyalty and make your customers more likely to return to your business.

Higher Character Limit

When compared to SMS messages, MMS texts have a larger character limit. This means you can fit more information into your marketing messages. Generally speaking, it’s still a good idea to keep your messages relatively short—that way, it’s easier to hold your audience’s attention. However, if you’re promoting the release of a new product and want to give some information about it, an MMS text will allow you to do so.

Best Practices for MMS Marketing

So, we’ve established that MMS texts are an excellent tool for marketers. But how can you make sure that you utilize MMS marketing properly? What practices should you implement to ensure you’re making the most of this fantastic tool?

That’s precisely the topic we’re going to cover here! Read on to find out our top five best practices for MMS marketing.

Get Your Audience’s Permission

The most important thing to remember when it comes to MMS marketing is that you must have informed consent from a customer to send them promotional material. This regulation, put in place by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, applies to MMS and SMS marketing.

Not only is consent a legal requirement, but obtaining permission from your customers first will also make them more inclined to trust you. Unsolicited messages are rarely welcome and are likely to cause outrage and upset. On the other hand, when people willingly sign up for marketing material, you’re likely to have a higher engagement rate with them.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with providing some incentive to encourage people to sign up for your promotional material. Discount codes, first access to new products, and exclusive content are just some exciting incentives you can offer your customers.

Create Clear Designs

Another critical best practice is to create clear, attractive designs. Here are a few things you should keep in mind to ensure that your texts are not only striking and attractive but are also accessible to your audience:

• Use large, clear text in your graphics. If someone has to squint at your design to make out what it says, then you’ve not done a satisfactory job! Using a bold font will ensure that your message is easily legible, even to those who struggle with their eyesight.
• Consider designs that are friendly to color blindness. When choosing the color palette for your marketing material, consider accessibility and branding. Try to stick to colors that are clear for people with color blindness. Also, avoid bad color combinations, such as yellow text on a white background.
• Don’t clutter your texts. Remember, the goal is to make your messages engaging, not overwhelming. While putting together your design, keep in mind the fact that phone screens are usually relatively small. You don’t want to cram too much into one text.

Optimize Your MMS

Optimizing your MMS messages is an essential step in MMS marketing. Some of the people in your audience may not use smartphones or cannot access mobile data. To accommodate these people, you should resize and optimize your MMS messages before hitting send.

Not only will resizing your MMS make it easier for customers to download and view your files, but it also means you won’t have to send as much data. This, in turn, keeps you within the data limits of your plan, helping you save money.

Send Your Texts at the Right Time

As mentioned above, with MMS marketing, you can send out promotional material to your audience whenever you like. While this is true, your marketing will only be effective if you send your material out at the optimal time.

Figuring out the best time to message your customers can take a little bit of trial and error. Generally speaking, the weekend is an excellent time to send out promotional material since people are more relaxed at this time. But we advise experimenting with different days and times to see what works for you.

Remember, to make the most out of any marketing campaign, you must come up with a solid marketing strategy. You will likely see results in time if you consistently apply this strategy.

Keep Your Messages Relevant

Finally, when drafting MMS messages, be sure to keep them relevant to the needs of your audience. This means sticking to subjects related to your company and your goods and services.

One thing to keep in mind is that you aren’t limited to sending promotional material only. To mix things up, you might send helpful tips about your industry. This type of high-quality content clearly demonstrates the value of remaining subscribed to your marketing material. It also keeps your messages from feeling monotonous and “spammy.”

When writing up your MMS messages, be sure to include important buzzwords. These words help draw in the reader and quickly capture your audience’s attention. You might also consider including a call-to-action in your messages to encourage your customers to engage directly with your texts.

Experience the Benefits of MMS Marketing Yourself

In this article, we’ve taken an in-depth look at MMS marketing. As we’ve shown, the many benefits of MMS messaging are not to be scoffed at. Within seconds, you can send carefully-crafted promos straight to the hands of your customers, ensuring that you can stay at the forefront of their minds and keep their interest.

When employed correctly, this promotional tool can boost your customer engagement levels, leading to higher conversion rates and boosting your revenue. Not only that, but when used in accordance with these best practices, MMS marketing can even help you to build a trusting, loyal relationship with your audience.

The best way to understand the benefits of MMS marketing is to try it out for yourself. So, why not give it a shot today? We’re sure that you will begin to notice the benefits in no time at all.

“As soon as I accessed their website, the first thing that caught my attention was the logo right at the top of the homepage. A striking design with a subtle combination of colors, words, simplicity, and intensity. Even though it has been years since I saw that logo, the special thing is that I still remember it and the products the brand provides. I believe this will be one of the most important logo features in the years to come.”    

These precious words from one of the loyal customers of PNC Logos indicate that logo design trends for upcoming years will encompass a unique combination of several different features.

The excitement of the new year is one of the best parts of the holiday season. As digital enthusiasts, one of our favorite activities is keeping tabs on the logo design trends that are likely to be most prominent next year.

Keeping up with the yearly shifts in logo design can be challenging. You need to be aware of the most recent ones and other graphic design trends so that you can draw inspiration from them and use some of their components in designing a logo for your digital brand.

Let’s talk about some of the most important logo design trends that you need to keep an eye on in 2023:

1. The Simpler Minimalist Designs

The design principle of “less is more” will prevail in logo design in 2023. If your brand can be understood at a glance, it can be a powerful tool in attracting new customers. Customers may not always be interested in deciphering the hidden meanings behind a brand’s communications. One way to achieve this minimalist design is by taking advantage of platforms such as Freepik, which offers a vast library of easy-to-use templates and artwork, allowing businesses to create visually appealing designs quickly and easily.

Companies like Apple, Nike, and Uber have basic logo designs that convey a lot about the products and services they offer. Such logos can serve as inspiration for creating symbols with minimalist designs that effectively communicate your brand values.

Minimalist logo designs of renowned brands (Source: Tailor Brands)

2. The 3D-Gradient Design

A gradient design, in its most basic form, is a design element that emphasizes on the contrast of colors and creates an unexpected visual effect by blending colors.

Gradients offer an extra flair to your design, enhancing the other elements of your business logo. The added dimensions make the objects stand out by adding depth to the overall design. These logos are a sure-shot way to communicate an emotion or idea that perfectly represents your company’s values. Moreover, as the designers are free to play around with shades and build quick logo designs with gradients, the spectrum of possible color combinations and tonalities is practically endless.

Designers are increasingly using color gradients to showcase the brand’s originality and make a strong impression on customers.

The use of gradients in the logos of Sony Ericsson and Superman has garnered a lot of attention. This shows that gradients with colors attract attention in print and digital formats, standing out in any setting.

Superman and Sony Ericsson’s brilliant 3D-gradient design logos (Source: Pixellogo)

Therefore, it makes sense that this fad will gain steam in the next year. Colors and gradients can be used by businesses in the retail, software, and cloud computing sectors to convey the value they provide to customers. It’s smart to also bring interest to the brand’s message through unique, colorful logos.

3. Layered Geometric Patterns

Logos that consist of multiple layers will grow in popularity in 2023. Classic logos are getting modern updates as designers experiment with geometric shapes and fonts.

Keep an eye out for new geometric patterns in logo design in 2023. Brand recognition can be improved by including a symbol, initials, or brand name with it. Combining angular shapes with more delicate ones, like lines or stripes, can make even the most intricate geometric shapes, like a hexagon, more visually appealing.

Some examples of this are the Google Drive, Layerneer, and the HSBC logo. The use of strong geometric forms and patterns has been used to depict a sense of dependability and trustworthiness

Logos of Google Drive and Layerneer depict a perfectly layered geometric design (Source: Designerly)

This trend is growing in popularity and will continue to do so in the years to come. Use the shapes in unique ways with text, or combine them with white space or symbols for a memorable brand logo. Any business, whether belonging to the IT industry, the financial sector, the sports world, or the medical field, can benefit from using geometric forms in their logos to convey a meaningful tale or message.

4. The’ Blurred’ Logo Design

In 2023, designers will put less emphasis on legibility as they play with blur effects to highlight motion and fluidity.

You can blur only the letters’ borders, leaving the word’s main body legible. Alternatively, you can provide the reader with a complete picture of your brand recognition by including a published form of the brand name alongside the blurred logo.

Adding motion to your blurred logo is a great idea, and the blur effect will make it more memorable and captivating. People may remember the logo due to the vanishing effect. Parts of the company name, including forms, icons, lines, and text, can be blurred to create a unique logo.

A captivating blurred logo (Source: Dezeen Awards)

With this ‘blurring’ effect, even a small business can leave a long-lasting impression on the viewers. It can make your logo stand out and attract new customers.

In 2023, marketers may use a vanishing effect on their images or symbols to attract consumers’ attention. Logos related to fields like technology, computers, gaming, and entertainment can also benefit from the use of disappearing text or objects to enhance their visual appeal.

5. Retro Imagery in Logos is Here To Stay

Although simple and sleek logos are predicted to be popular, you should also consider using vintage-inspired designs or illustrations for your brand. It’s realistically possible that these won’t change much over the next few years. Many companies leverage retro imaging in their logo designs to impart a positive impression on their potential customers and evoke emotions of fondness and familiarity. Brands in the hospitality business, the building trade, agriculture, and manufacturing can all benefit from using retro and antique imagery

Vintage retro logo designs (Source: 99designs)

Since these logos can develop a memorable bond with customers, the trend will most likely continue. Logos with throwback designs can help get customers’ attention online. The layout might be one that people can easily remember and use again in the future.

6.  Twisted Typography Designs

Twisted typography is yet another style that will probably be standard next year. Word markings and letter marks featuring objects, lines, or waves will be prevalent in logos of many different digital brands.

Brands in the fields of beauty, media, and tech are increasingly opting for designs centered on typography as a means of conveying their core beliefs to consumers. These logos are also useful in the early stages of building brand identity and awareness.

People are more likely to memorize the brand name when using unique fonts. The word marking or initials may be remembered for longer if they are rendered in a monochromatic or two-color palette. It’s a style that might rule the field of graphic design for a long time.

Coca Cola is one of the finest examples of twisted typographic logo design (Source: Creative Bloq)

There are two distinct types of typographic logos, one in which the typography dominates the visual elements and gives the logo an emblematic form, and another in which the text is embedded within the visual elements.

These logos are great examples of how text and visuals complement one another. Unlike other logos, where titles can be written independently of an image, this type of design relies heavily on the accompanying text.

7.  B&W Logo Designs

Black and white (or B&W) is the most effective color combination for attracting viewers’ attention to logo designs. There’s no sign that these hues will ever go out of fashion together. While 2022’s design trends have enthusiastically embraced complementary color schemes, the timeless beauty of black and white hasn’t been forgotten yet.

The American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the automotive giant Lexus, and the shoe brand DC all have striking combination of black and white colors.

Unique B&W logo designs of famous brands (Source: Fabrik Brands)

This pairing of B&W echoes the understated elegance of a logo. While designers always produce a black-and-white version of a logo alongside the final color version, it’s not uncommon for the monochrome logo to convey the brand’s identity more effectively.

Parting Thoughts

From simple minimalist designs to twisted geometrical shapes and blurred logos, 2023 holds plenty in store for businesses looking forward to revamping their brand logos in the following year. It may be challenging to decide on a professional logo design for your business due to the various types of designs trending in the digital world. So embark on your logo-designing journey today to represent your business in a unique and timeless manner!

One of the most interesting facts about digital services is that Gen Z, which utilizes the web extensively today, was not even born when online services became accessible to the public about three decades ago. The same generation is now using the Internet to sell their products and services. However, setting up an online business thirty years ago was way different than it is today. Do you know why?
Back in the early 1990s, only the privileged could set up an online business because the starting costs were high and external funding was limited unless a fortunate individual was a part of a family-owned business. Today, individuals can start and scale businesses online with a limited budget, irrespective of their level of business expertise and background.

Starting an online business has become way easier than before (Source: Pixabay)

An online presence for small businesses is crucial in today’s competitive business environment. Check out why having a digital presence has become vital for small businesses.

The fact that 64% of SMEs operate through their business websites and 19% of small business owners believe that a website would boost their business growth by 25% within the next three years says a lot about how important it has become to start an online business.

The best thing about starting an online business is that it has become a simple, step-wise method, with each step serving as a building block of your online business. Let’s get your venture up and running with the following steps:

1. Own Your Business Idea  

The first step is to think about a business idea and test it with the following questions:

• Is the business idea providing solution(s) to problems faced by your customers?
• What kind of business have you thought about? Is it a product or a service?
• Who will be your customers?
• Which market will you target?
• Are there any established competitors for your product offering? Who are they?

There are a variety of correct responses that can fill up the question area above, but it is essential to keep in mind the ‘Why’ of your business. Remember that it takes more than just a good idea to develop something truly remarkable. According to data from the McKinsey Global Institute, for every 7 product ideas, only 1.5 launch, and only 1 succeeds. This explains why effective brainstorming is so critical.

Do You Know?

2. Assess the Market for Your Business Idea

Now that you have found a fine business idea, it is time to identify the unmet needs, product or service niche, and select your target market. You can check out websites that may already provide the products or services you plan to sell online. Remember that these websites are your to-be competitors, and you can evaluate how your product or service will meet customer needs and provide value in a much better way. You can also read customer opinions and feedback on online forums.

Finding the niche of your business idea is also a crucial part of setting up your business online. Demand for niche products is growing, and small business owners will have to use innovation to stand out from other businesses of the same niche.

It’s easy to get lost in the world of brands and forget about the practicality of having a single, straightforward answer to a common problem when there are so many products and services of the same niche that claim to be innovative and ahead of the curve.

Your business idea should be unique to stand out from the ordinary (Source: GIPHY)

Many new businesses launch with the goal of finding a market once they’ve developed a marketable product. For example, for a home exercise equipment product, the target market would be individuals who are interested in staying fit and healthy. Some specific characteristics of this target market would include: age, gender, income, and geographic location.

For an online business, it is crucial to check and analyze the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) for your product or service. This will help you to assess the online competition in advance and prepare accordingly.

Another important part of market research is to keep track of the keywords related to your product or service that are searched frequently online. You can use these niche-related keywords to improve the ranking of your product pages on the SERPs. Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner are free tools that you can use to find out high-ranked keywords, while Ahrefs and Semrush are excellent paid options.

Do You Know?

3. Check the Legal Requirements to Launch Your Business Online

In order to meet the needs of your customers, it will be helpful to have a firm grasp on the numerous regulations under which you’ll be expected to operate. It is necessary to obtain a business license if you plan to conduct business online. It is equally important to check state regulations before launching an online business in a particular state of a country.

Moreover, sales tax regulations also vary with the state where you are launching your digital brand. Without a valid seller’s permit in each jurisdiction where sales tax collection is required, you would not be able to conduct business online. A tax identification number will be required for all businesses. In order to file federal taxes, businesses need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). An EIN can be requested totally free of charge using the IRS’s website, regular mail, fax, or phone.

To be legally recognized as a company in the vast majority of states, you must make sure to come up with a catchy name for your company and register it with the state secretary’s office. Moreover, a specific domain name is required to start an online store for your new company. A domain name is a specific address for a website, and it is what customers will use to locate your company online.

Having a distinct trademark for your online business is just as crucial as selecting a special domain name. You should check the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database as you choose a company name and a domain name to make sure it is available.

Companies must have clearly articulated return and refund policies in order to comply with federal and state consumer protection regulations. While stores are not compelled to allow returns or provide refunds, they are required by some states to disclose their return and refund policies to customers.

4. Choose the Best Business Structure for Your Online Brand

Explore your options for forming a company before launching your internet venture. Your online business structure can be a partnership, sole proprietorship, Limited Liability Company (LLC), corporation, or an S-Corp.

Each business structure is suitable and essential for specific types and categories of businesses. A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is the most popular type and suits various business sizes. Many growing businesses and companies seek help from LLC formation services to manage tax burdens and ensure financial safety.

You can research more about these business structures online and decide which business structure best suits your business idea.

5. Work On A Reliable Product Sourcing and Business Funding Strategy

Product sourcing strategy is perhaps one of the most critical steps when initiating an online business. It is important to remember that you are selling a product or a service because:

i. You are a product manufacturer or a service provider yourself
ii. You are planning to dropship products of other businesses
iii. You are working with retailers to sell their products online

While it’s essential to keep your business funding sources flexible (i.e., crowdfunding and business grants), business loans and other conventional options are still great options. But if you want to find the best banks for business loans, you’ll need to do some research. Additionally, utilizing some of the best accounting apps can streamline your financial tracking and help present a clearer picture of your business’s financial health.

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6. Launch Your Business Website

With your business idea and structure finalized, market research completed, and product sourcing and business funding sorted out, it is now time to finally set up your website. One critical consideration in setting up a business website is to keep it simple and user-friendly. You only have a few seconds to grab the attention of a new visitor to your site. It’s crucial that the site’s navigation is user-friendly and easy-to-use.

A key building block of any website is its content. For your website to have solid content, you need to have persuasive copies for your home page and product pages. Always keep the reader (i.e., your potential customer) in mind when writing copies, and assist them in discovering “What’s in it for me?” by writing from their perspective.

Perhaps the most important page of any business website is its Contact Page. This is the page that will allow your customers to get in touch with you. The Contact Page must be easy to spot: usually on the top right or top left of every page of your business website. Ideally, the contact details you should include are the phone numbers for local and international customers, a corporate email address, and a complete address, along with the location on Google Maps.

The Contact Page of a business website should also have links to its social media accounts. These links can be in the form of hyperlinks or social media icons. You can also place these icons on the homepage of your business website.

Do You Know?

Short contact forms and live chats have become popular with customers, allowing them to connect with business representatives instantly.

It is essential to know that website visitors typically make their purchases in stages. Initially, visitors are not potential buyers. Everything from the customer’s initial visit to your site to the completion of the sale depends on how your website is set up.

As an online business owner, you will have to decide which payment modes to incorporate on your checkout page and how you will receive your business payouts. In addition to payment methods, it is also important to consider providing customer support during live streaming events using chat for live streaming, which can increase engagement and satisfaction with your brand. PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay are some of the most common payment methods in addition to credit card payments.

7. Promote Your Online Business

After setting up your online business, you must inform your targeted customers about your business offerings. This is where the final step of marketing comes into play. There are various types of marketing methods out there. However, some of these methods are more effective than others.

Some of the available online marketing options for small businesses (Source: Pixabay)

When talking about marketing, social media has become the most powerful advertising tool for online businesses. Instagram, Facebook, Google, YouTube, TikTok, and many other social media platforms have become popular marketing hubs for businesses. Since 69% of Americans have their social media accounts on Facebook, this social media platform has been identified as the major marketing channel for small businesses.

Paid marketing has also emerged as a popular marketing strategy for businesses. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Influencer Marketing are effective paid marketing channels today.

Do You Know?

In contrast with paid marketing techniques, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a technique used to increase a website’s visibility in search engines via free, organic search results. Another popular marketing method used by advertisers is content marketing. It is worth knowing that more than 80% of marketers use content for marketing their products, and 70% of marketers have invested heavily in content marketing. Blogging is one of the most common forms of content writing, as nearly half of the online businesses leverage blogging in their content marketing strategies.

That’s A Wrap

From a unique business idea in your mind to realizing that idea in the form of a product on the screens of billions of web users, this 7-step method has covered everything for you. Each step will serve as a building block for your online business. The only thing left for you is to begin setting up your online business with the first step and make your dream come true!

Small businesses have become the backbone of the global economy in 2022, as according to globalnaps around 400 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) represent around half of the worldwide employment and 90% of business firms. Amazingly, most of the SMEs survived the economic devastations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Do you know how?

According to a comprehensive research conducted by Salesforce, more than 70% of SMEs reported substantial growth in their online businesses, and 71% of those small businesses revealed that their investment in creating an online business presence was one of the crucial reasons for their survival during the pandemic.

An interesting insight obtained from the data provided by the Top Design Firms concluded that 28% of the 30 million SMEs in the United States (i.e., more than 8 million SMEs) do not even have their business websites. Perhaps the most crucial statistic for these small businesses is that the number of online customers is increasing every year, with the figures rising from 1.32 billion in 2014 to a whopping 2.14 billion in 2021.

Rising number of online customers worldwide (Source: Statista)

It is fair to say that regardless of the nature of products or services they offer, SMEs that have no online presence at all may not be able to connect with billions of online customers. However, digital presence is not only about reaching a wide customer base.

Let’s have an insight into the reasons why an online presence is crucial for small businesses and what SMEs are missing out on by not taking their business online:

1. SMEs have reaped Substantial Profits by Going Online

Even though the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the profitability and growth of SMEs cannot be overlooked, the pandemic forced many companies to shift their businesses online, and this proved to be a turning point for them.

A family-owned jewelry business in Indiana, Moriarty’s Gem Art, suffered a major setback when the COVID-19 pandemic forced its retail store to shut down. The company went through crisis until it went online and began live streams that were advertised through the company’s website.

The results of this online transformation from Moriarty’s Gem Art were remarkable. The online audience count surpassed 1000 during the live streams, and the firm made $12,000 in its July 2020 show alone. Another live stream during the pandemic days enabled the company to reap a whopping $20,000 from the sale of a single gemstone alone.

Moriarty’s Gem Art website traffic rise after the COVID-19 outbreak (Source: PipeCandy)

Moriarty’s Gem Art’s total revenue generated from sales through the website in 2021 and 2022 is estimated to be between $1 million to $5 million. The number of monthly orders placed on the company’s website is between 500 and 1000.

Another valuable benefit of online business is that you can conduct seamless business operations, regardless of whether there is an outbreak or a pandemic.

Netflix, which originated as an SME in the video rental industry in 1997, was way behind Blockbuster, the leader of this industry. In 1999, Netflix took its rental platform online and struck an online streaming deal with Starz in 2008 to take movies to the comfort of their customers’ homes. On the contrary, Blockbuster reinstated its unpopular late fee policy and didn’t provide online video streaming services to its customers.

Netflix’s rise after taking their video rental business online (Source: Drift)

In 2010, Netflix was worth $24 million, while Blockbuster incurred a colossal loss of $1 billion and filed for bankruptcy in the same year. The digital presence of SMEs in the shape of a website has not only helped them survive and reaped massive profits but has also enabled them to gain a competitive edge over their rivals.

2. Online Presence is Crucial for Brand Awareness & Growth

A digital presence plays a phenomenal role in enhancing the brand awareness and growth of small businesses. This is particularly true for emerging SMEs that are employing E-commerce as their medium of business operations. SMEs can use E-commerce to connect with customers living in those regions where the business is not operating physically.

Bavarian Clockworks, a family-owned cuckoo clocks venture in Florida, represents a perfect case of how E-commerce enables SMEs to increase their brand awareness. The venture was launched in 2015 on BigCommerce, a renowned E-commerce platform for SMEs, after thorough market research conducted by its founder Robert Ellis. The shift to BigCommerce reaped ample profits for Bavarian Clockworks, as the company recorded an increase in revenue from $483,171 to $ 1,448,318.

In addition to e-commerce, chat for live streaming has also become an effective tool for small businesses to engage with their audience and promote their products or services. By incorporating live streaming into their digital marketing strategy, businesses can provide real-time updates, answer questions, and showcase their products, allowing them to build a stronger connection with their customers.

Another U.S based SME in Texas, Beardbrand, transformed its beard-care business from humble proceedings on YouTube in 2012 to prosperous E-commerce business. Beardbrand now makes handsome earnings, reaping million-dollar figures in revenue every month.

3. Online Presence Brings Priceless Advantages to SMEs that are Unavailable to Offline Customers

One of the best things about online presence for SMEs is that it brings them unmatched benefits when compared with those small businesses that are not operating online. SMEs can operate their business dealings 24/7, even outside of business hours. In-person businesses suffered the most when their business operations shut down after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The North Carolina-based yoga outfit, Feel Better Yoga, was forced to shift its business online shortly after the COVID-19 restrictions were enforced. The company was able to continue its business operations online, hosting 35 virtual classes weekly. This enabled the business to continue its operations despite the closure of its business location in Burlington and earn thousands of dollars in revenue.

SMEs that are only conducting their business operations on site may face business disruptions or complete shutdown due to natural disasters or many other factors. This can result in a permanent loss of their tangible records and data. One added advantage online businesses have is that they can store their valuable business data online and recover it easily if their tangible records are lost.

Another crucial advantage of digital presence is the savings SMEs can make by eluding the costs of utilities, rent, and other expenses required to maintain business operations on site.

4. Digital Presence Enables Small Businesses to Monitor Customer Preferences and Sales

Digital presence allows small business owners to monitor and track customers and sales effectively. It allows SMEs to understand and analyze customer behavior; and then strategize their online marketing accordingly.

There are many free online tools to monitor website traffic. One of the most popular online tools is Google Analytics, which can show how users found your website, the time they spent on your website, and the pages they visited, what actions they took on your website, among many more.

Google Analytics overview of website traffic for a month (Source: Freepik)

Live Traffic Feed is another handy tool that can perform real-time tracking of visitors surfing a website, the pages they view, and their location. Clicky is also a free web analytic tool for websites. It does not only monitor the web analytics constantly but also updates the metrics immediately, enabling SMEs to get a live picture of user traffic on their business websites.

The California-based party clothing outfit, iHeartRaves, boosted its web marketing by monitoring the user traffic on its website. It not only enabled the firm to monitor customer preferences, behavior and understand their needs, but it also allowed iHeartRaves to make strategic decisions related to customer personalization. The company makes $25M-$50M in revenue every year.

And you don’t even need iHeartRaves level of resources to get the most out of personalization. Tools like Intellimize offer up an AI website optimization solution that personalizes unique experiences for every visitor. All the tool needs is contextual and behavioral data to serve visitors’ web pages that have the highest probability of converting.

5. Reconnecting with Existing Customers and Attracting a Wider Consumer Base

The COVID-19 pandemic has instigated a major shift in the shopping behavior and preferences of customers. Online shopping has become the latest trend, and it is here to stay. Customers are now looking for household products, daily essentials, medicines, and personal care products online. Growth in online purchases has also spiked in several other product categories.

Growth in use of online shopping before and after COVID-19 in different product categories (Source: McKinsey & Company)

The growth in online purchases has enabled SMEs to reconnect with their existing customers and extend their customer reach to untapped regions and customer base.

6. Adapting To the Evolving World

The world is evolving rapidly due to technological developments and the different demands of customers. It is crucial for SMEs to adapt to the changing market dynamics quickly and effectively. Having a digital presence allows SMEs to easily adapt to the changes.

Sears, an American department store failed to adapt to the changing market trend, which was shifting away from the ‘general store model’ and going online. Sears eventually failed to compete against Walmart and other smaller boutiques that went online.

The Michigan-based firm, Borders Group, began its bookstore operations in 1971. It didn’t take long for the company to become a successful book brand in the market. However, Borders failed to understand the evolving market fuelled by technology and the rise of the Internet. The company never took its business online, unlike its biggest rivals, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Borders Group declared bankruptcy in 2011, with the closure of its 399 bookstores and the lay-off of thousands of employees.

Hummer, a renowned manufacturer of military and civilian vehicles in Michigan, also made a similar mistake. The company failed to recognize that its customers were becoming more environmentally conscious in their vehicle purchases. Since Hummer’s vehicles consumed a lot of fuel, its sales went down drastically as customers opted for ‘gas sippers’ vehicles of their competitors due to their low fuel consumption and emissions. In 2009, the business was finally shut down. Online presence could have allowed Hummer to monitor the buying trends of customers and adapt to the evolving trends accordingly.

7. ‘Popping Up’ on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

An increasing number of people have started to use digital search engines, especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online search engines have become effective tools on the Internet, and billions of customers are using Google, Bing, and other search engine platforms to find the products they need. In 2019, 29% of the global web traffic was driven by search engine platforms.

Share of global web traffic in 2019 (Source: Statista)

An online presence allows SMEs to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) in the form of corporate websites and social media pages, enabling customers to access them with just a single click. A website also allows SMEs to showcase their products and services. Once customers start accessing your business website from SERPs, your website serves as a ‘24/7 salesperson’ for your business.

Appearing in search engine results can give your brand more credibility. A website can ensure this by allowing customers to post reviews and feedback about the company’s products or services. In this way, prospective customers can stay assured that the content on the website is reliable.

Most customers use Google to search for services and products. This is evident from the dominance of Google in the search engine market share for at least the last 12 years. Google dominates 83% of the market share as of June 2022.

Google’s dominance in the search engine market share from 2010-2022 (Source: Statista)

Interestingly, search, and navigation is the most critical factor in the online shopping experience because of the accompanying ease of finding services and products, followed by product reviews and ratings.

Search, and navigation is the most important feature of online shopping experience (Source: Statista)

In today’s busy world, people have hectic schedules, and they find it difficult to take out time to visit business outlets for purchasing products, especially during business hours. Customers prefer convenience and comfort, which is why online presence for businesses has become essential. The customers can access the products and services they need from the comfort of their homes.

In A Nutshell

We are witnessing the peak of a digital business world in which market competition is becoming more intense with every passing day. The survival of SMEs in today’s competitive business environment strongly depends on them shifting their business operations online. From monitoring customer traffic to reaching a wider consumer base, we have uncovered the crucial benefits of having an online business presence. Best of luck to thousands of SMEs out there!

Facebook has recently taken action against advertisers who have failed to adhere to their advertising policies when using the platform. As a result, there has been a spike in ad rejections as well as page restrictions, leaving many advertisers annoyed and uncertain of what to do next.

Facebook notifies you via email and also on the social media platform if your page is restricted for advertising. To learn more about the restrictions applied to your Facebook page or business manager account, you can go to Account quality and check the page’s status.

Having your Facebook page restricted usually disallows you from creating any ad. Questions like these will immediately pop into your head: What caused Facebook to restrict my advertising page? How long will it take for the Facebook page restrictions to be lifted? Can I expect to be able to run ads again at some point?

Many concerned advertisers post reactions such as the one below to know more about why their account was blocked or why the ad was restricted.

These are all valid concerns, and based on the Facebook support team’s reputation, it may take some time before you receive a response.

The struggles associated with Facebook Page Rejections and Restrictions

Advertisers have been posting regularly about their Facebook pages getting restricted and facing many ad rejections. A common reason behind their frustration is that they are not informed of exactly why Facebook restricted their advertising rights. Facebook usually replies with a brief and automated response that the advertiser does not comply with its advertising policies.

Another annoying thing noted by advertisers is that Facebook is also giving mixed reasons every other day for restricting Facebook pages with no certain information. Advertising access may be restricted depending on the nature and severity of the ad infringement.

Possible Reasons for Facebook Ad Rejections and Restrictions

Facebook’s ad review system uses automated reviews to assess advertisements for compliance with Facebook’s advertising regulations. The Facebook AI reviews ads and helps enhance the platform’s automated systems in some situations. Facebook’s AI also examines the final destination of a user’s click on an ad, such as a landing page, a lead ad form, or an instant form on Messenger.

Facebook’s success hinges on its users and marketers being able to connect in honest ways. Implementing Facebook’s advertising regulations, community standards, and other policies and terms is critical. Any attempt to avoid this regulation by dodging or tricking Facebook’s review systems is forbidden as it endangers genuine and valuable connections.

Ads that attempt to hide words or phrases by clouding them with Unicode characters; and restricting Facebook’s access to an ad’s location page are also some of the causes of page restrictions or rejections. Ads that attempt to create new advertising accounts after the current ones have been disabled for not adhering to Facebook’s policies are also considered to circumvent Facebook’s evaluation process and other regulatory systems. When Facebook detects such conduct, advertising access may be blocked.

Restrictions on ad placement may also be imposed when Facebook discovers fraudulent activity. This can include caps on ad expenditure, restrictions on access to specific advertising tools, or a complete restriction on advertising on Facebook’s products.

Facebook prohibits using fake accounts, artificially increasing the content’s popularity, and other behaviors deemed to be evading the evaluation process and other compliance systems because these actions undermine the platform’s goal of fostering trusting relationships between people and businesses.

What Can Be Done?

There are many approaches that can be adopted by advertisers while they are waiting for a response from Facebook for their ad restrictions. So without further ado, let’s look at some of these so that businesses can continue with their marketing efforts without any undue delays.

1. Check the Advertisements to Ensure Adherence to Facebook Advertising Policies

Advertisers should check whether their advertisements comply with the Advertising Policies of Facebook. It may be possible that changes were made to these policies shortly before you posted your ad, and it failed to fulfill one or more of the policy requirements. It is essential to stay updated on Facebook’s advertising policies before posting ads in the future.

2. Creating A Fresh New Page on Facebook

Another important step advertisers can take is to create a new advertisement page on Facebook. However, they must first unlink Instagram from their old restricted page. Once a new Facebook page is in place, connect your Instagram back to the new page and try to ‘warm up’ the Facebook page by posting regularly and running small-budgeted engagement campaigns. Once that is completed, you can start posting ads.

3. Keep other Advertising Options Open

As the old saying goes, ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,’ advertisers should not rely solely on Facebook ads. This has become even more important, keeping in mind the recent Facebook ad issues faced by many advertisers. Advertisers must shift their ad spending away from Facebook and engage in paid marketing campaigns on Google, such as PPC. They can also market their products and services on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Snapchat.

Parting thoughts

As more advertising-page-restriction cases surface on Facebook, advertisers should not waste their valuable time if they are unsure when the restrictions on their Facebook pages will be lifted. The three tips discussed above can help keep your marketing campaigns running without disruption. Best of luck!