Reinventing Your Business

December 31, 2014

It is believed that Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent species who will survive, but those who can best manage change,” and this rings true in several areas, including managing your business. Companies must adapt to an ever-changing economy and consumer base in order to succeed long-term; thus, reinventing your business is crucial.

Reinventing Your Business

When things start to dwindle, it’s important to recognize it and do something proactive before it’s too late. Stall Points, written by Matthew Olson, suggests companies who stall in growth and development have less than a 10 percent chance to ever fully recover. Two-thirds of stalled companies will be acquired, taken private or forced into bankruptcy. The upside is if you recognize the signs early (like complacency or little to no growth) and make strategic efforts to better the organization, you could come out on top. When reinventing your business, consider the following tactics:

  • Tweak your business model.
  • Throw it all out and create a new business model.
  • Take a calculated risk.
  • Change industries entirely.

An example: IBM began as the 1984 computer king, specializing in a streamlined production process for ready-made computers. By 1993, IBM had exhausted its time on Wall Street, as competitor prices drove them out – ultimately leading to an $8 billion loss. Fast forward to 2010; IBM had acquired over 200 companies in the IT services sector, and by 2013, IBM was back. This time, though, as the number one company in enterprise server solutions. The company changed its whole business model after recognizing the trend their company was headed to. So how can you look forward and adjust different areas of your organization to stay relevant?

Analyze where your company currently stands. Identify your group’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth and threats to the organization. Use these realizations to define changes you’d like to make in order to improve your company’s overall operation and reputation. All things need sprucing up from time to time, and reinventing your business is one way to stay savvy and ahead of the curve in whatever industry you work in.

Are you interested in evaluating and improving your business strategy? Please contact the team at Van West Media for a discussion and quote.

Van West Media is a full service design, support, and consulting agency, offering comprehensive Internet marketing solutions for small to mid-size businesses.

5 Things to Expect from Digital Marketing in 2015

December 30, 2014

Things to expect from digital marketingOver the past year, digital marketing has seen great changes and growth in several areas and is poised for another year of progression. Are you wondering what to expect in 2015? Blogs and articles detailing areas in which marketing will change are rolling out across the web, and we’ve compiled a list of the top five things to consider priority as we move into the new year.

  1. Content is still king.

With continual changes to Google, content is shaping up to be a focus in 2015; although the strategy behind your content should be thoroughly planned. If you want to influence the success of your business, consider what your content is, where it is and what it really says. Keep in mind that engagement as an algorithm is taking into account how long users stay on a particular page or post, as well as how many users click on page links to measure the value of published content.

Content should be relevant to your brand and message, but don’t let your company fall from the first page of Google. Optimizing your messaging for search engines is necessary, and we can help with our SEO-integrated content strategy model. Our strategic model takes into account your owned social media platforms, as well as your search ranking positions through targeted keyword analysis. Our SEO and social media optimization (SMO) work in tandem to lead your company in the right direction.

  1. Digital marketing analytics will expand.

We all are aware that marketers use many analytics tools to see how customers are interacting with a client’s products and services. In 2015, analytic spending is expected to increase by 60 percent, which tells us that collecting data on consumers is increasingly important to companies and marketers alike. With a plethora of channels, companies are seeking now more than ever to quantify their efforts, and this year is sure to be one for measurement.

  1. Personalization is key.

Although organizations have been saying it for years, it’s crucial that companies treat their consumers as individuals instead of segmented groups. Thanks to a focus on data analytics, we can better influence audiences and increase engagement by marketing specifically to them.

Last year, personalized content increased companies’ sales, enticed users to stay longer on websites and built customer satisfaction and retention. It’s expected to be a go-to practice in 2015, further developing the concept of 1-on-1 marketing.

  1. Don’t disregard mobile.

Similarly to 2014, we predict mobile advertising will continue to grow in 2015 as apps’ numbers increase and access to consumer data becomes accessible across large mobile advertising networks. With consumers spending nearly three hours a day on their smart phones, many predict to see a huge increase in location-based ad platforms in 2015.

  1. Online advertising budgets will increase.

Online advertising budgets are predicted to increase by 10 percent in 2015, and mobile advertising in expected to rise globally by 48 percent. Between the two, it’s almost certain that the cycle will continue to grow and develop, ultimately allowing for more hyper-local consumer targeting and increased online spending by consumers. If you’d like to boost your digital presence, we can help.

Van West Media is a full service design, support, and consulting agency, offering comprehensive Internet marketing solutions for small to mid-size businesses.

2015 Social Media Outlook

December 11, 2014

As we wrap up 2014, digital experts are already awaiting big changes in 2015 from social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. I know what you’re thinking: “Haven’t they run out of ideas by now?” Nope. Several exciting changes are in store for the new year, and we’ve laid out these expectations for you.

Twitter

Social Media Outlook 2015
Moving into 2015, it has been predicted that Twitter will release a variety of new features. Some of these expected changes and additions include:

  • a curated timeline to ease the process of finding people to follow upon initial registration,
  • in-feed highlighted tweets that users may have overlooked while away from their phone or computer,
  • introduction of in-app video editing and sharing features, which will surely lead the way for advertisers to make a greater impact on users,
  • breaking news alerts, which will be popular among those who utilize Twitter as a real-time news feed, and
  • a new and improved messaging service (perhaps similar to Facebook’s 2014 messaging app).

Representatives from the company continue to reiterate that their number one priority is to maintain Twitter as a real-time network. These changes are simply an opportunity to keep engagement relevant to each particular user based on his or her interests.

Facebook

The layout for Facebook changes in 2015 has already been shared by none other than the social network itself, as they continue to regain trust from many who were put-off by their failure to disclose how it uses data gathered from its users.

A recent revision to Facebook’s privacy policy informs its users of how their data is being collected and used by the network in words we can all understand. Coming in 2015, we expect several new features and changes to advertising that everyone will be grateful for.

  • Similar to the current “Nearby Friends” feature, there are plans to add functionality of promotion of nearby services to your feed. Examples might be the ability to see nearby restaurants and their menus or auto-push notifications when a friend is in close vicinity.
  • Facebook is embracing e-commerce in some regions, as they plan to roll out the “buy” button. This sale feature is one businesses will be jumping on, as the ease of in-app purchases is sure to drive sales.
  • The mobile app will require user permission to access phone data moving forward, thus allowing users to feel more secure and in-control of their shared information.
  • Perhaps the most exciting planned feature is the ability to control ads within user news feeds. Yes, you heard that right. Facebook users will be able to choose the kinds of ads that populate in their feed, and they say users will even be able to opt-out of viewing ads altogether. (Although we’ll believe it when we see it!)

Year 2014 was filled with lots of changes, and it seems that 2015 is shaping up to be big for both Twitter and Facebook. Either way, it seems the new year is bringing new opportunities for our most-active social networks. Happy Socializing!

Van West Media is a full service design, support, and consulting agency, offering comprehensive Internet marketing solutions for small to mid-size businesses.