Social media – the best way to get your business across to all types of people through multiple platforms. But the real question is: how do you help your account find the right people? People who need or want your business? It’s important to find out what your audience reacts to best and what they find most interesting so you can keep them coming back. There are a few ways to find out what your audience likes the most, and we are here to help you get started. 

What is a targeted audience?

A social media target audience is a group of people your business wants to appeal to. It might be their age, income level, job title, location, or behavior you are targeting. Your targeted audience are people who you believe are interested in your product or service.

Create a buyer’s persona.

A buyer’s persona is a detailed description of a person who represents your targeted audience. This person is fake, but the persona is based on research on your existing target audience. This helps your company get a better understanding of what your customers like and want. This will make it easier to create your posts, messages, products, and services. This will help you target different groups of people based on their likes and habits.

Find where your audience is most active.

There are a lot of different social media platforms, and it can be very difficult trying to decide which one is right for your business. Facebook markets to people in their 30s and 40s, and Tik Tok markets to young adults and teens. So how do we decide what platform is best for you? We have to break down your target audience. Are you reaching out to first-time home buyers? Or possibly reaching out to people who need legal help. What are the average ages of these people? Every platform caters to different people, and that’s why you need to find what platforms are right for you and your business.

Look at your competitors.

Studying your competitors’ social media can also give you valuable information. Their target audience is very similar to yours, so you can see what their audience reacts to the most and what posts get their attention. This will help you gain more followers on your platform with your targeted audience, and also helps you learn how to keep your audience interested in your business, service, or product.

Smart Marketing of Anderson, SC

Logos • Websites • Social Media Marketing

With more than a billion active monthly users, TikTok is an extremely popular social media platform. And although it is particularly popular with younger demographics, its target age range is 13 to 60. For this reason, the platform presents a unique and somewhat untapped opportunity to boost your company’s social media marketing to a broad and booming segment.

While many businesses are still getting familiar with other social networks, like Instagram and Facebook, we want to encourage you to get ahead of the pack and try marketing your business on TikTok. We’re going to give you some ideas on how to do just that.

Use Trending Sounds to Boost Your Brand on TikTok

TikTok thrives on trending sounds — reusable audio clips that can be added to other videos. Often, these repurposed bits of audio come from a popular song, a movie, or a viral video. Then users make fun and entertaining videos of their own using the audio.

We encourage our clients to be part of these trends, associating their businesses and online marketing with a particular trending TikTok sound. But keep in mind that lots of people, and even businesses, may be using that same sound, so think of creative ways to use it that will make your brand stand out.

Also, keep in mind that trending sounds are always changing in TikTok, so make sure you act fast — make your TikTok before the trend fades and always be thinking of new ideas. A great way to do this is to frequently scroll through the FYP (For You Page) on TikTok. You’re most likely to find the popular trends there.

Find The Right Balance

Now, you may be wondering why a business would want to create a TikTok using the same audio that thousands, if not millions, of other people are using. The key is to be part of the trend but stand out at the same time. You also want to maintain the integrity of your business while not coming across as boring or unappealing. The best way to do this is to find a healthy balance between TikToks that are informative and those that are fun and humorous.

In other words, if there’s TikTok audio trending of a dog barking, use that audio to make a funny video for your business. Perhaps one featuring your office pet? Then follow it up with an informative TikTok Introducing your business — what you do, the company’s mission statement, who the employees are.

You can also use the informative TikToks to tell a brief story of how your business was founded and the progression of how it got to where it is today.

Here are some other ideas for TikToks:

• Give a step-by-step tutorial about something relating to your business (e.g. How you package your products, how you prepare for an appointment or meeting, how you create a product)
• Make fun TikToks that show the lighthearted side of your business (e.g. What your employees like to eat for lunch, what their workspaces look like, have one of them do a “takeover” of the company’s TikTok)
• Encourage your followers to respond to your videos in the comments section and make sure to answer any questions they have. Interacting with your viewers is crucial. They are likely current or prospective customers.

At Smart Marketing Advertising Agency, we help our clients utilize digital marketing tools like TikTok and other social media platforms. Located in Anderson, South Carolina, we have been helping businesses with marketing for more than a decade now, and we would love to do the same for you. We are a full-service marketing agency. We can help you with your logo and website design, your social media presence, and even print and large media ads.

Contact us today for full-service marketing solutions!

In order to determine what makes a great logo, we must begin with the question: what is a logo?

Who better to answer this than one of the top designers in the world, Paul Rand. In his 1991 article Logos, Flags, and Escutcheons, Rand writes that “a logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it represents is more important than what it looks like.”

A logo must…

• Be immediately recognizable
• Inspire trust, admiration, & loyalty
• Differ from all other logos in the same market niche

A logo is only one aspect of a company’s brand, but it is the identifying factor for every company. With this, a good logo is simple and practical, yet distinctive and must convey a message. A logo should be able to be printed in any size as well as be effective with or without color.

The 5 Principles of Effective Logo Design are as follows:

1. Simple – unique without being overdrawn
2. Memorable – easily recognizable
3. Timeless – effective many years down the road
4. Versatile – works with a variety of media and applications
5. Appropriate – appropriate for the intended audience

While designing a logo is it also important to keep in mind the Graphic Design Dos and Don’ts for a logo design!

What if you want to put a border/frame around your logo?

If you choose to put a frame around your logo, be sure to allow there to be some breathing room between the words and the frame. This will ensure that your logo doesn’t look too cramped within its own design.

How do you choose a good font for your logo?

It is also important to choose a font that not only represents the persona of your business but is also legible. If customers can read your business name, they have no way of remembering it!

How do you decide on an icon for your business?

Choosing an icon or object to signify your business can be hard. It is a big decision to make for your company, but it is important to keep in mind that your icon needs to be scalable so that customers can recognize it at any size! It is also important to make your icon just as larger as the wording of your logo. Your icon should be a prominent feature and not an accent for your logo.

 Should you look at competitor’s logos when designing your business’s?

Looking at your competition is always a great way to identify what works well in your industry and what does not. Gaining insight of how customers of your direct competition respond to their marketing allows you to make strategic decisions to better market yourself and gain their attention. Looking at other’s logos also helps you make decisions to differentiate yourself from the crowd. If you are a business owner and you see that all of your competitors use blue and grey as their brand, maybe you will choose to go with red and white!

Logo Design, Anderson, SC

Smart Marketing Ad Agency

With 91% of people using search engines to find new information, it is more important than ever to have a quality presence online. One of the main components of a good online presence is professional photography. High quality images increase your visibility online, as it was found that people are 80% more likely to engage with content if there is also an image, and 64% more likely to remember what they read. 

Below we have listed just a few reasons why investing in professional photography for your business to showcase your storefront, and employees is so important. 

1: Photos establish your company’s brand identity. 

The images you use on your company’s website and social media are what customers use to get an idea of your brand identity, or your brand’s personality. Images can be used to convey a wittier personality, a more professional personality or whatever personality your business may have, but by making sure that those images are high quality you are ensuring customers think you are a reputable brand. High quality images show customers that quality is important to you, and they should trust you to deliver a high quality good or service. 

2: Professional grade photos give a good first impression. 

First impressions are everything when it comes to meeting new people and the same goes for businesses. Greeting potential customers with quality imagery and smiling faces that they can trust is a sure-fire way to make a good first impression. 

Using professional pictures of your actual staff gives customers a way to connect with your business and employees before you’ve even met! Showing customers the staff members of your business and a little biography about each individual they may meet when they visit your store is a great way to inspire trust with your potential customers and make that vital connection that will prompt them to patronize your business. For some professions such as lawyers, connecting with people and earning their trust is the bread and butter of what you do. 

Here at Smart Marketing, we have been helping businesses of all sizes across the United States for over 10 years and would love to help you take your business to the next level. As an advertising agency, we work with you to create the high-quality content your business needs to bring it to life. If you are a local business in Anderson, South Carolina interested in professional photos or creating a strategic approach to your marketing efforts for your business please contact our marketing firm today! 

Smart Marketing Advertising Agency

Anderson, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina… Coming Soon

Why is Blogging Important for your Website?

Your company’s website is the center for all of its information and maintaining a blog is a great way to showcase to customers just how much you know! We here at Smart Marketing believe that a blog is one of the best ways to increase your SEO, keep your customers interested, and establish yourself as an expert in your field.

How Can Blogging Increase Your SEO?

By maintaining a consistent blogging schedule of quality content, you are showing Google that your website is active and a reputable source of information.

Making sure you use plenty of quality keywords in your content is crucial for your online marketing strategy. Since you are establishing that you are knowledgeable by using relevant keywords to your industry, Google will then show your website to more potential customers! Keywords allow people to find you easier when they search for those words and your website contains them repeatedly.

For example, if you ran a business that sold candles you could write blogs about which candles are best, which candles last the longest, or any other topic someone would be likely to search for when on the market for a new candle!

How Does Blogging Keep Your Customers Interested In Your Business?

Not only does blogging show your customers that you are an expert in your field, but it also will keep them interested in your website and your business as a whole. Studies show that companies that have a blog have 55% more website visitors. And have 434% more indexed pages!

Studies also show that 47% of buyers view 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with a salesperson, so having more on your site for visitors to view and read about your business increases the likelihood they will do business with you!

You can also use your blog as a tool to get people to your website from social media or emails! By posting about a topic and linking to an article you’ve written on your website or sending an email about your latest blog post you can encourage potential customers to visit your site and make a purchase.

Blogging is a vital part of having a successful marketing strategy in this time when ranking on Google can make or break a business. SEO is a marathon, not a race.  It takes a combination of strategies to increase your rank on search engines. If you would like to learn more or need some help with your marketing strategy, please contact us here at Smart Marketing Advertising Agency! We have been helping businesses reach new customers and drive sales for 11 years and would love to help your business reach new heights!

Smart Marketing Advertising Agency is located in Anderson, SC. We help clients with social media marketing, website design, branding, and implementing a strategic marketing plan.

Are you a new lawyer unsure of how to grow your client base or an experienced lawyer looking to expand to a new area and unsure of how to market yourself successfully? Here are some basics to Marketing as a Lawyer!

   1. Know your target market

The best tip for any marketing strategy is always to know who exactly you are trying to target for your product or service. That doesn’t stop when it comes to marketing for a law firm! If your main area of specialty is Workman’s Compensation, then you wouldn’t want your marketing to be viewed only by retirees. Identifying who your target market is is the first step to creating a successful marketing plan that provides quantifiable results.

   2.  Show Off Your Knowledge!

As a lawyer your advice is always sought after. So, one of the easiest ways to showcase your expertise is by making short videos answering some simple legal questions! It is important to include disclaimers on your videos so that everyone knows the advice you are giving isn’t absolute and every situation is different, therefore the answer to the question could change. Videos are shown to get the most engagement on social media so taking advantage of this is a great way to boost your social media page following.

Keep the videos simple and answer basic questions about your area of study. That way you can show that you know what you are talking about without giving out too much legal advice for free! The goal is to grab people’s attention and draw them in, so that they will call you for more help.

  3. SEO, SEO, SEO

Another major part of marketing as a lawyer or law firm is SEO. Search Engine Optimization is the practice of making your website as Google friendly as possible. This includes:

• Using good keywords throughout
• Making sure it loads quickly
• Making sure your business information is correct
• Writing blogs frequently

All of these practices will help your website show up at the top of results when someone Googles for a business such as yours in their area.  The goal with SEO is to make it in the top results for each area of services you provide, so including those keywords on your website lets Google know that you should pop up! Writing blogs frequently not only helps you add more keywords to your website but also tells Google that your website is active. Writing blogs with quality content and key phrases helps your website reach that top spot even faster!

  4. Social Media

Social Media is also a great resource for lawyers to gain new clients! Being active on social media and posting updates from your firm will keep you at the front of your current clients minds and make them more likely to recommend you to their friends or family.

You can also use social media to connect to your customers on a more personal level, by uploading pictures of your day-to-day life as a lawyer! Showing your more personal side will encourage others to see you as a full person instead of a scary lawyer and make them more likely to trust you! A great book to read if you are interested, is “The Game Changing Attorney: How to Land the Best Cases, Stand Out from Your Competition, and Become the Obvious Choice in Your Market” by Michael Mogill. It goes more in depth about how to successfully market yourself as a lawyer in the 21st century and why being personable is now so important. 

If you are still unsure where to begin with your marketing as a lawyer, please get in contact with us here at Smart Marketing Advertising Agency. We are a full-service advertising agency, handling everything from photography/videography to social media to print and billboards!

Smart Marketing Advertising Agency

105 Crayton St, Anderson SC

Coming soon…Charleston, SC

With the new year here new trends for marketing have also arrived! Although one of the biggest trends for social media marketing is the continued popularity of short videos as content.

According to research by Wyzowl, 99% of marketers who are currently using videos as their main source of content are planning to continue this strategy in the future. This is likely because of the great engagement and increased likelihood of purchase that video content is shown to gain for businesses! It was also found by Wyzowl that 89% of marketers who use video feel that they get a good return on investment from their video content. An investment that is projected to reach $12.66 billion by 2024!

Research conducted by PR Newswire found that in 2021 the average US consumer will have 9.5 video streaming apps installed on their smartphone. One of the most popular new apps for video streaming being TikTok, the 60 second or less video platform! This app is a major hub of content for younger generations, and they are known to use it as a platform to make recommendations to their peers! Research conducted by Econsultancy in 2020 showed that consumers arriving to a website based off of user-generated video content are 184% more likely to make a purchase.

Since the disruption of COVID-19, 7 out of 10 event organizers have moved their scheduled in-person events to online platforms through the use of video streaming. A trend which nearly half of the event organizers expect to continue for the near future! COVID-19 also lead to the increase in popularity of online education. Electronic Learning, or e-learning, grew by 36.3% in 2020 which is also expected to increase in 2021.

This increase can also be used as a marketing advantage, as more people grow accustom to learning through videos online then likewise marketers can use videos in a similar manner! Meaning marketers can use videos to demonstrate how their product works or how their service is performed to education and persuade customers to choose them.

Since COVID-19 has limited the amount of personal interact between business owners and customers this is also a great way to introduce yourself! Video marketing can be used to not only showcase the product/service but also the people behind the business in order to create a connection and increase trust in your business!

Some broad categories of video content include:

• Product Demonstration- Showcase your product and all of its features
• Company Culture video- Showcase your company’s values and the overall environment you foster
• Behind- the- scenes- Showcase how your product is produced or packaged or showcase how you perform a service for the customer!
• Customer Testimonial – Showcase a satisfied customer and their experience with your company!

We would love to help you strategize your next marketing campaign! We are a full-service advertising agency located in Anderson, South Carolina specializing in social media marketing, print marketing, promotional marketing, website and logo design as well as direct mail marketing.

Smart Marketing Advertising Agency

Anderson, SC

Coming soon- Charleston, South Carolina!