18 Aug

4 Tips on Writing Marketing Emails

Posted in Small Business Advertising on 18.08.16 by John Meloche

Lately we’ve talked about email marketing and how it can benefit your business. But we’ve yet to discuss the actual structure of these emails. What makes them so compelling for customers? How should your business write these emails? Here are a couple tips on how your business can send out persuasive and effective emails:

  1. Compelling Subjects. The subject acts as a hook. It’s the first thing consumers will see from your email; you want to make sure it catches their attention. Now depending on the nature of the email, the subject will vary. But usually something that conveys some sense of urgency tends to help. For example, a subject titled “Huge Sale, you don’t want to miss out!!” would probably work at catching the eyes of your readers. It doesn’t necessarily need to display urgency; comedic and witty subjects tend to work just as well.
  2. Personalize when you can. This might be very hard to achieve but if it’s feasible then go for it. The truth of the matter is everyone is different. We have different wants, needs, and desires. While you might be emailing a similar segment of people, they all could want different things. So it would be greatly beneficial to use whatever information you have on these people to your advantage. Personalization obviously caters more to an individual’s demands and thus increases the chances of them opening and acting on your emails.
  3. Incorporate Trendy Topics. If there are certain popular events going on, then mention them. Structure your email around these events. Use these events as a theme for your email. This enables you to improve you would be incorporating the Rio Olympics into your emails. Something as little as “Huge Olympic Sale!” as a subject would be a good way of using a trendy event to create interest. Essentially these kind of events are a great way of transferring external interest to your emails.
  4. Make Your Call To Action Noticeable. Your call to action is what incites the consumer to go to your website and buy your product. You want this feature to be extremely noticeable so that consumers know where to go when they want to finalize the transaction. A big button like “Buy Now!” would be good. The goal here is just to make sure the call to action is present and hard to miss.

 

When it comes down to it, these kind of emails thrive off creativity. If your company can move its creativity and innovation to the email forums, then you can have success. The best part about these emails is that you can design them; they’re like your blank canvas, you can do anything with it. So let your creativity soar and see those emails turn into sales!

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16 Aug

The Rise of Email Marketing

Posted in Small Business Advertising on 16.08.16 by John Meloche

Yesterday we talked about newsletters and why businesses need them. Newsletters feed directly into an otherwise new and unique marketing medium. Online newsletter have incited the commencement of email marketing. This form of marketing entails businesses sending promotional emails to thousands of recipients.

Businesses generate leads and discover people who would most likely be interested in purchasing their products. This in turn has fueled another industry in lead generation, but we’ll get to that another time. Email marketing has skyrocketed in popularity over the past couple of years. According to a recent survey from Ascend2, 82% of B2B and B2C companies that took part in the study used email marketing technology. Every type of business is now finding use for email marketing and is fully utilizing it to reach new clientele.

There are a lot of reasons why email marketing is becoming so popular in today’s business world. For one thing, it’s inexpensive and it reaches thousands, or even millions, of people. The mass reach is crucial for the success of email marketing. A small percentage of people actually open the email; a 2% response rate is usually good. But since you’re emailing thousands of people, that 2% turns into a decently large number. Email marketing gives you the potential to achieve such a large return from little response numbers; getting more with less. Email marketing provides an inexpensive means to reach an immense number of potential clientele and thus has surged into the modern day business world.

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15 Aug

4 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Newsletter

Posted in Small Business Advertising on 15.08.16 by John Meloche

Businesses are relying more and more on technology for success. For good reason too, as technology has been proven to improve internal efficiencies, reduce cycle times, and enable businesses to grow their profits. Technology can now permit businesses to discover and keep new clientele. This is where newsletters come in. Newsletters are becoming more prominent in today’s business world. Why you ask? Well here are 4 reasons why your business needs a newsletter:

  1. Customer Relationships. We touched upon this in the paragraph above. Newsletters help you create valuable customer relationships. They enable you to create connections with new clients. When you send out newsletters, your company is sending someone something of value. Not only that, but these newsletters often feature special discounts and thus increases the perceived value of your products. When consumers use these discounts they see themselves getting a greater bang for their buck. Thus the customer becomes more satisfied with your company and a relationship is formed.
  2. Information. Newsletters allow you to keep customers up to date with any important new information from your company. This may include a new product, promotion, or event within your company. Newsletters serve as a great informational tool that keeps consumers updated with your all of your company’s actions.
  3. Improvement. Newsletters are also special because they provide a forum for customers to voice their grievances. These complaints can lead to more efficiency and effectiveness within your company. You can build off these customer complaints and discover how to make your company better. Hence a feedback option can improve your business and enable it to become better for future clients.
  4. Sales. Every businesses’ main objective is to sell. Newsletters do exactly that. According to Jay Baer at Convince and Convert, 44% of email newsletter recipients made at least one purchase in 2012 based on promotional email. This continues to be the case as more people are becoming “impulse buyers” and are shopping from their emails.

 

Newsletters just further enable businesses to expand their client base and create more loyal followers. It’s a great tool for brand loyalty and brand connection. E-newsletters enable businesses to reach more people and make them committed customers. These things all come together and further enable businesses to achieve their primary objective: increasing profits.

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04 Aug

5 Poké-Marketing Techniques You Should Be Using

Posted in News, Small Business Advertising on 04.08.16 by John Meloche

Yesterday we talked about the rise of Poké-marketing and how Pokemon Go has made its way into the business scene. As mentioned before, strategies are now being developed around the game. With that being said, what can you do to capitalize on this poké-demand? Here are 5 ways to use Pokémon Go to attract customers:

  1. Offer Free WiFi. Probably the easiest thing you can offer to lure those Pokémon trainers. Data, or a lack thereof, is becoming a huge issue for Pokémon Go players. So why not help those people out with some free WiFi. You’re making it easier to enjoy the game they’re addicted to, and that’s all happening in your store. That should boast good results for your company.
  2. Provide Discounts to Trainers. Pokémon Go trainers have different levels. As players catch ’em all, they level up, with the max level being level 40. What you should do is offer discounts to the different levels of trainers. For example, anyone from levels 1-10 gets 5% off, 11-20 gets 10% off, etc. This shows your support for the game and the players. Hardcore Pokémon Go players will notice this and will surely take advantage of these discounts.
  3. Provide Discounts/Gifts to Teams. Yes, there are teams. Once a player reaches level 5 they can choose to join one of three teams: Team Instinct, Team Mystic, or Team Valor. Providing discounts or gifts to different teams is a great way to attract more customers to your store. Again these promotions are a symbol of support for the players in addition to being a great incentivizing tool for Pokémon Go trainers.
  4. Pokémon Go Themed Advertising. We also talked about this yesterday. Pokémon Go is such a trendy topic right now. If you put it on anything, people will notice it and become interested in it. This is a great way to promote brand recognition and brand remembrance. People will take notice to witty Pokémon Go campaigns and will keep your brand in mind whenever anything related to Pokémon Go pops up.
  5. Lure Modules. This could be the most effective tactic. In the game there are places called PokéStops, where players can collect eggs and other items. They’re likely to be located around your store. What you can do is place an item called a lure module on these PokéStops. These lure modules will then attract wild Pokémon and as a result will bring real people as well. So what you can do is get a Pokémon Go account and buy some of these lure modules. Just to clarify, you have to buy the lure modules with real money. Then place them at the Pokéstop near you and see the Pokémon and people roll in.

 

When something as big as Pokémon Go pops up, you have to find ways to adapt to it. This is just another trend that will eventually pass, but while it’s at its peak right now, might as well take advantage of it. Poké-marketing is an extremely effective and efficient means of bringing in business and capitalizing on current trends. So if you use Poké-marketing, people will surely Pokéstop and shop in your store.

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16 Jun

How To Promote Your Company At Golf Tournaments

Posted in Small Business Advertising, Synergy Suggestions on 16.06.16 by John Meloche

Summer is officially here! The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the weather couldn’t be nicer. What does this mean? Golf, and lots of it. Golf tournaments serve as a great marketing opportunity. People love golf and love showing up to the course and cheering friends on. The green is not only a place to have fun, but a place for promotion. With so many tournaments going on this summer. we thought we’d devise a list containing the best ways for your company to get noticed on the course.

  1. Sponsorship. This is an obvious one. You want your company’s name to be affiliated to the tournament itself. However with the increased demand for tournament attendance, these sponsorships have exponentially increased in price. Another way to deal with this, however, is to be more conservative: sponsor a part of the tournament. Just sponsor a hole or contest going on with the tournament. This is a more cost effective means of getting your company’s name on the course.
  2. Promotional Products. Promo products are a great way to get your name known, especially at golf tournaments. Not only that, but they work extremely well for pretty much any major event. If you can give out special promotional gifts with your company’s name on it to golf tournament entrants or attendees then you can ensure that a large amount of people will always have a reminder of your company right in front of them. It’s a great way to promote your company and put your image out there. Come check out what Synergy Marketing has to offer at www.thebestpromoproducts.com
  3. Banners or Signs. What’s better than having a huge banner with your name on a course packed with hundreds of people? Not too much. However to get this done your likely going to have set up a sponsorship with the tournament. This is likely the amalgamation of sponsorships and additional promotional efforts. That being said it’s a proven tactic to make your company known and appeal to a large audience in a small space.

These are all great ideas but when it comes down to it, golf tournament promotion revolves around mass placement. As a company, you want your name to be everywhere. Events such as these tend to shed a great image of your company and serve as a great opportunity to strengthen your brand. That being said, expanding your advertising around the course will surely provide amplified sales and positive perceptions of the company.

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04 May

2 Big Ways To Build A Buzz For Your Blog

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 04.05.15 by John Meloche

Depositphotos_6501329_xsAt Synergy Marketing, we have been maintaining a daily blog for quite some time now. In fact, it’s been nearly six years since we posted our first blog and we’ve been keeping up with our commitment to add a new blog each and every business day of the week since then. Considering that, we’d argue that our company website contains the most informative content of any promotional products business out there!

And we’re quite proud of that feat. The Synergy Marketing Blog is chock-full of incredibly useful information for business owners of all types. Our blogs have ranged from championing the use of promotional products to finding creative ways to utilize the internet. It’s never short on helpful advice, but we even throw some current event pieces in there now and again. However, there is one thing about our blog that has truly helped us to grow our online reach.

And that would be the way that we promote it. To be honest, we learned this the hard way. For the first couple of years, we didn’t utilize our social media profiles as much as we do now and our blog wasn’t so popular. You see, posting content to your website is a great idea. But it’s important to get the word out about it. After all, who’s going to read your blog if no one knows that it exists? As a result, we make sure to stay on top of promoting each and every blog post.

“Writing your latest blog post and hitting publish is just the beginning when it comes to growing your subscription base,” writes social media strategist, Rebekah Radice, “If you truly want to gain the attention of your target audience (and Google), then you will need to spend time promoting your content in multiple locations.” On her website, she lists a number of tips to help business owners to promote their latest blog posts.

Here are two big ways to build a buzz for your blog:

1. Take to tweeting. Every blog post on the Synergy Marketing Blog receives no less than two tweets on our official Twitter account. Firstly, we have it set up so that there is always an automatic notification on Twitter that our new blog post has been made live. Secondly, our Twitter account administrator will then go about engaging our audience via a question that our blog post answers. Of course, a link to the blog is always in each tweet.

Interestingly, it seems as if we were taking Radice’s advice without even realizing it. “Post your article to Twitter and then schedule several additional tweets to go out over the course of the week,” she recommends, “To make the most of this strategy, put a new spin on these tweets by changing up your original article title. This allows you to A/B test which verbiage performs and which falls flat.”

2. Follow through on Facebook. What we do on Twitter, we also do on Facebook. This popilar social media site generally encourages discussion by allowing friends and fans to post comments of their own underneath your posts. As well, the posts also encourage “likes”, which help you to determine how much people are interested in what you’ve posted. Each day, we post a link to our blog on our Facebook page along with an audience-engaging question that the blog answers.

It looks like we follow yet another tip that Radice provides! “Make it a habit of posting your article to Facebook with a newly created graphic and a quick and simple status update relevant to your blog on your Facebook page,” she advises, “Don’t forget to provide a link to discussed articles. At the same time, place eye-catching advertisements on Facebook to further promote your new articles.”

Be sure to check back for tomorrow’s blog as we unveil a few more great ways to build buzz for your blog. And don’t forget to call us directly at 1-877-748-9884 to order your promotional products!

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09 Mar

5 Advantages Of Using Promo Gifts To Build Your Brand

Posted in Promotional Products on 09.03.15 by John Meloche

img-aluminum-water-bottle-1024x1269One of the greatest aspects about what we do, here at Synergy Marketing, is that we’re able to turn just about anything into a fantastic way to promote your business. Pens, water bottles, mouse pads, key chains, knives, tools and flashlights are just a few of the many awesome products that we have transformed into sensational promotional items. The more useful they are, the more effective they can be in promoting your business.

One of the greatest aspects of using promotional products to grow your business is how relatively cheap they are when compared to traditional modes of advertising. These aren’t television commercials, radio spots or print ads. Those promotional methods are often very expensive – and they don’t always pan out as methods that work. Promo gifts, on the other hand, add that personal touch to your interactions with your clients.

As a small business owner, you have the distinct advantage of getting to know your customers more closely than owners of major corporations. Developing relationships is actually a big part of what makes your company successful. Promo gifts are excellent at both creating and nurturing those relationships. Have you used promotional products to advertise your company before? If not, now is a great time to start.

Here are five advantages of using promo gifts to build your brand:

1. Promo gifts aren’t “pushy”. Your standard modes of advertising outwardly push products and services on the general public. Your promo gift, however, is just that – a gift. So, recipients rarely ever view them as pushy attempts at increasing sales. This is why choosing the right promo gift to benefit your customers is so important. The more use they get out of your gift, the better your company looks. This, in turn, will generate greater respect for your brand.

2. They provide long-term advertising. While promo gifts don’t come off as blatant advertisements, their ability to promote your brand is long-lasting. As explained by VerifiedLabel.com, “promotional products are actually useful, so 97% of recipients keep them. The other 3% usually pass the products on to family or friends. Furthermore, 55% of recipients keep their promotional gifts for over a year.”

3. They promote brand recognition. It should not be understated that promo gifts have the ability to pack stronger punches than traditional modes of advertising. Keep in mind that their usefulness allows them to be part of your recipients’ everyday lives. “Since these items get used regularly, they result in 43% more brand recognition and recall than overt advertising methods like TV, radio, or magazines,” VerifiedLabel.com informs us.

4. They boost employee morale. It should also not be forgotten that your promotional products can do a lot more than simply please your customers. Your employees are hugely important to your business. And they too, should be rewarded with these gifts. Promo gifts work excellently as rewards for jobs well done. Use them to motivate your staff. Be sure to show your appreciation by regularly sending your team members home with these awesome gifts.

5. They are cost-effective. Did we mention how cheap promo gifts are in comparison to other ways to advertise your company? Well, it’s time we underline that point. Promo gifts provide your company with incredible value. For more information on the various promotional products offered by Synergy Marketing, don’t hesitate to call 1-877-748-9884. We make it our job to get you the perfect promo products to build your brand!

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05 Mar

4 Ways To Show Social Responsibility

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 05.03.15 by John Meloche

Going GreenAt Synergy Marketing, we provide Canadian business owners with the finest promotional products money can buy. There’s a reason that our website URL is very aptly known as TheBestPromoProducts.ca. And while we enjoy living up to the very bold statement that we offer the best promo products in the business, we also enjoy offering Canadian business owners a number of other fantastic perks as well.

If we may say so ourselves, the Synergy Marketing Blog is an excellent source of daily business information. Each business day of the week, we post a new blog. And, as we pointed out in yesterday’s entry, we include links to each blog on our Facebook and Twitter pages. To us, being interactive with our clients is a big part of what has helped our brand grow in popularity. With that said, we consider it one of our mission statements to research helpful tips and provide them to our readers.

Call it part of our “social responsibility”. This week has been no different. Readers of our blog will notice from time to time that we like to pay attention to particular articles – dissecting them and offering our insight in our own blog posts. Chad Halvorson of Forbes.com has written the type of article that has intrigued us to offer up our two cents each day so far this week. In “Three Simple Changes You Can Make To Grow Your Business”, he offers up just that.

Except the changes that Halvorson listed aren’t as simple as he lets on. With each suggested change, he offers up some critical steps to achieving success. As a result, we made it part of our “social responsibility” to analyze each of these steps in the Synergy Marketing Blog this week. And today is no different. “Consumers love do-gooders and they are itching to purchase goods and services from enterprises that are socially responsible,” he writes. So here are four ways your business can show social responsibility.

1. Go green. We are definitely living in the era of conserving energy and recycling. The more you show that you are on board with this lifestyle, the more your customers will appreciate you. “Make your business as green as possible and encourage others to do the same,” Halvorson insists, “You can change the light bulbs, set up recycling bins and use email receipts…Let all of your customers know that your business is environmentally friendly by blasting it on their emailed or printed receipts.”

2. Partner with a cause. As we’ve often noted, giving back to your community is a win-win situation. Not only does it help those in need, but it shines a very favourable light on your business. “If there is a cause near and dear to your heart, partner with the organization to collect money for some of their events,” suggests Halvorson, “When the organization puts out their monthly newsletter, make sure they mention your business.”

3. Serve meals at shelters. Naturally, this will take some of your time. But it’s time that will be well-spent when you bear witness to the impact you have on the lives of others. Halvorson mentions that, in fact, it doesn’t even have to take up that much of your time at all. “Twice a year, gather up your employees and head down to the local homeless shelter to serve meals,” he recommends, “This is something you can mention on your social media platforms.”

4. Have a coat drive. “Use all of your advertising mediums to let the community know you are collecting gently used coats for the needy,” Halvorson continues, “People will race to gather coats and bring them to your business to donate.” Naturally, this will create a greater buzz at your place of business. Not only will it serve to bring in more customers, but it will give a great impression of your brand as a socially responsible company.

To get your hands on those amazing promotional products that we offer, give us a call at 1-877-748-9884 today!

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04 Mar

5 Ways To Make The Most Of Social Media Marketing

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 04.03.15 by John Meloche

Social media button conceptOver our past couple of blogs, we have been paying close attention to a Forbes.com article written by Chad Halvorson. It would be fair to say that we quite admire this article for its many words of wisdom, helpful points of insight and numerous tips that provide business owners with ways to improve customer relations. In today’s blog, we’d like to tackle a particular facet of Halvorson’s article that we hold dear to our hearts.

It’s no secret that we, here at Synergy Marketing, champion the use of social media. While we’ve never claimed to be social media experts, our regular use of Facebook and Twitter has noticeably garnered our company more attention in recent months. With each blog posted to our website, there appears a link on both of those popular social media profiles. Halvorson agrees that this is a pretty important practice to maintain.

“Thanks to sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others, marketing is more interactive than ever,” he insists, “Consumers enjoy engaging on social media and getting to know the companies they buy from. If you’re not making use of this inexpensive advertising medium, you’re missing out on potential revenue.” With that, Halvorson goes on to list a number of ways to make the most out of your social media marketing experience. Here are five.

1. Avoid controversial topics. While Halvorson insists that you “keep it strictly business”, we can’t say that we agree. Being social is often pointed out as the best way to utilize social media. However, we do agree that you should “avoid commenting on controversial issues that might push your current or prospective customers away.” The last thing you want to do is offend anyone who is considering working with a brand in your industry.

2. Post often. Now here’s a point that we definitely agree with! Synergy Marketing has long taken to posting daily blogs and therefore, we have links appear on our Facebook and Twitter profiles each business day of the week. “The lifespan of a social media post is short,” Halvorson reminds us, “So to prevent sending your followers on a snooze-fest, update your posts daily.” Point well taken!

3. Vary your material across platforms. We wouldn’t say that we particularly agree or disagree with this point. While we admit to posting the same links to both Facebook and Twitter each day, we do see value in changing things up a bit. “If people see the same information posted on all of your accounts, they will get bored and move on to something more interesting,” Halvorson believes, “Consider what each of your chosen platforms is designed to accomplish and tailor your content to match.”

4. Don’t post offensive comments. To reiterate a point made earlier, it’s really important not to offend anyone on social media. Steering clear of controversial posts is a wise choice. “Posting nasty comments about someone’s gender, culture, sexual orientation or religion can alienate customers and ruin your reputation as a business owner,” warns Halvorson. You’ll want to avoid what has become known as “foot in mouth disease”.

5. Engage your followers. Another point that we totally agree with is using social media to get people involved in conversations with you. At the very least, you want to create posts that will call others to action. “One of the reasons people hang out on social media is to interact with others,” Halvorson affirms, “Encourage interaction by answering questions and responding to others’ comments. You can also put up polls and ask questions of your own.”

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02 Feb

Super Bowl Commercials Continue To Have Big Impacts

Posted in News on 02.02.15 by John Meloche

Hand with TV Remote, Beer, Chips and footballEach year, the Synergy Marketing Blog takes a special look at Super Bowl Sunday. And, no it’s not just because it seems as if the majority of North Americans are taking in the NFL’s championship football game. It’s because the Super Bowl broadcast is very well-known for showcasing some of the most elaborate commercials ever made! Many viewers admit to tuning in for the commercials more so than for the game itself.

It’s no secret that big-named advertisers have spent millions of dollars on 30 second slots, knowing that the viewership of each Super Bowl game is enormous. And yesterday’s affair was no different. All of the major players returned. And we’re not talking about Tom Brady, whose New England Patriots captured their 4th Super Bowl championship in 14 years following their narrow 28-24 defeat of the Seattle Seahawks.

Among the advertisers with Super Bowl commercials were auto companies such as Jeep, Toyota, Lexus and Nissan; fast food chains like McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr.; junk food snacks including Skittles, Snickers and Doritos; beer brands such as Budweiser and Bud Light and web hosting companies including Wix.com and the ever-present GoDaddy.com. So what were among the most intriguing of all the ads?

Wix.com arguably actually had one of the most appropriate and respectful Super Bowl ads we’ve seen in some time. Naturally, it makes sense to appeal to football fans during the Super Bowl. And this company that offers website creation and hosting did just that with their ad starring a number of retired NFLers including Brett Favre, Terrell Owens, Emmett Smith and Larry Allen. Each former pro was shown running a new post-football career business complete with website.

The ad could easily be considered one of the more “tame” commercials to appear during a Super Bowl. However, its use of highly heralded NFL superstars of the past leant itself to best resonate with the viewing audience. So just how successful does Wix.com intend to be following the release of this commercial? SuperBowlCommercials2015.com suggests that the company is about to become a major player in its industry.

“By investing in a Super Bowl spot for the first time, Wix hopes to turn themselves into a household name in America and to become the go-to website builder for small businesses and individuals in America,” says the website, “Founded in 2006, Wix now boasts over 59 million registered users worldwide.” It should go without saying that airing a commercial during the Super Bowl can have a major impact.

Insurance company, Nationwide has apparently planned on having a major impact itself. Its Super Bowl ad has been discussed as one of the most depressing in the broadcast’s history. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t effective, however. It depicts a young boy explaining that all of the experiences that young boys generally enjoy while growing up will be missed due to his own untimely death.

“Nationwide completely killed the mood at Super Bowl parties across the country with a shocking ad to promote the prevention of childhood deaths,” writes Nick Schwartz of USA Today, “After being kissed by a girl for the first time and flying through the air, a young boy reveals that he never had any of those experiences because he drowned in a bathtub.” Talk about a downer!

Which SuperBowl commercials did you like best? Feel free to watch them HERE and tweet us at @synergymkt!

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