Web Design for B2B and B2C Companies: Is There a Difference?

by Edwin Meehan | Mar 21, 2018 | Info Articles

Websites, whether business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C), adhere to the universal rules of web design – a clear information structure, great content, high responsiveness, compelling graphics, and an easy-to-use interface – to secure traffic and leads.

These two websites types, however, have distinct elements. As a leading provider of web design services in Alexandria, MN, EVM Digital has designed websites for both B2B and B2C companies and can attest that each has different goals and, therefore, requires different web design features. We’ll walk you through these differences to help you determine the which would be appropriate for your business.

Details on the Product Page

People usually buy B2C products as a standalone item. The item satisfies a single need, so buyers only need to know if it can solve their problems. A B2C website, therefore, doesn’t need much information. It can stand with minimal content, large images, and compelling videos.

Meanwhile, businesses often buy B2B products as part of a system, so they must be compatible with the companies’ existing systems. As such, B2B buyers need more integration and compatibility information. The B2B product page’s design will contain more text than that of a B2C.

Purchase Decision-Making

B2B and B2C purchases vary widely in the decision-makers and the decision-making period. Generally, B2C purchases are far simpler; a small number of buyers decide on the product and buy them as soon as they need it. Sometimes, buyers even make the purchase impulsively. A B2C website design, therefore, compels the buyer to purchase right away.

In contrast, B2B purchases involve several decision makers from various levels of management. In huge companies, someone pitches the product which goes through different individuals before the final approval. As a result, the purchase decision-making in B2B purchases is more complex and takes longer than B2C transactions. So, a B2B website design holds large amounts of information to support a complex decision-making process.

Displaying Prices

B2C companies can disclose prices easily. After all, costs don’t change from customer to customer. The only factors that change the price tags are discount codes and shipping fees. So, a B2C web design has a space designated for the prices.

In contrast, B2B websites can’t display prices upfront because several factors could change them. For instance, one might need more accessories, while another might come with an implementation or maintenance fee.

Payment Process

Once a B2C buyer decides to buy a purchase, the payment process should be easy. Otherwise, the consumer would be discouraged and discontinue the purchase. The web design for payment, then, involves minimal steps.

With B2B transactions, meanwhile, a purchase seldom happens the first time a buyer visits the site because companies discuss the purchase with the seller first. So, the design contains more call-to-actions like a phone number, an e-mail address, and a link to a contact form.

Comprehensive Web Design Services

These differences affect your businesses considerably, so it’s important to choose a digital marketing company that’s well-versed in web design for both B2C and B2B companies.

Here’s where we come in. EVM Digital offers comprehensive web design services that cater to the nature of your business. From creating information boxes to displaying prices, we will design a website aligned with your goals.

The Voice Search Trend and How It Will Affect Your Company’s SEO

by Edwin Meehan | Mar 14, 2018 | Digital Marketing

As technology continues to push the boundaries of society, the landscape of the digital world is becoming more and more complex. In the past couple of years alone, we’ve seen mobile devices dethrone desktop computers as the preferred gadget of users. We’ve also witnessed the birth of more complicated algorithms that govern the way we search and find what we want and need on the internet.

One of the things disrupting the way we conduct business online is voice search. A seemingly insignificant feature introduced early in the decade, voice search is now becoming the most important way to access products and services online. In Minnesota, SEO service providers are quickly shaking up the way they conduct business, in order to give their clients SEO that is relevant in a voice-search dominated internet setting.

Companies must adapt to and adopt these changes in order to survive the constantly evolving digital landscape. Here are some effects of the voice search trend on SEO.

Pushing for Mobile-friendliness

Voice search is a primary feature on most mobile devices, which is one of the reasons its use has been rapidly on the rise. With over half of internet queries originating from mobile devices, it’s imperative for companies to optimize their digital marketing platforms – websites, blogs, social media etc. for mobile screens.

For companies pushing their digital media to be more mobile friendly, Google’s Website Auditor service gives people a basic overview of just how mobile-friendly a website is. Professional SEO companies, however, can give more comprehensive reports on a website’s mobile-friendliness. These companies analyze such factors as usability, load times, and crawlability.

“Micro-moments”

Because voice search now allows users to inquire about products and services more easily, it’s given birth to a different approach to addressing these concerns. Google calls these “micro-moments”. Micro-moments are marketing touch points by which potential customers rely on devices, and ultimately, on brands, to provide them with the answers they need.

Voice search allows for instantaneous micro-moments, creating an opportunity for websites to meet a buyer’s need for information and influence. Optimizing your website with voice-searchable content requires ditching the old exact-match keywords with more natural sounding, conversational content. This makes it easier for Google’s spiders to find your website through their proprietary algorithms.

A New Way to Market

With voice search becoming more and more ubiquitous in people’s everyday lives – think Siri, Okay Google, Alexa, etc. – companies need to rethink the way they leverage digital media.

One of the first ways to rethink the way we approach digital marketing in a voice-search and mobile-friendly world is to create content that is founded on natural speech patterns. Not only does this play into the trend of long-form keywords, it also gives Google’s latent semantic indexing, or LSI, to accurately find and rank your website.

Navigating the future of SEO can be difficult, which is why you need a digital marketing firm that is experienced, knowledgeable, and committed to the growth of its client’s websites. At EVM Digital, we pride ourselves on having an in-house team of talented professionals, and a comprehensive methodology that accurately assesses your company’s digital marketing needs. Contact us today, and we’ll provide you with an extensive consultation session for free.

Ephemeral Content Leaves Lasting Impressions

by Edwin Meehan | Mar 9, 2018 | Info Articles

The meteoric rise of Snapchat proves that short-lived content hooks the audience just as much as permanent posts. Since the app introduced ephemeral content, or posts that are available for a certain period only, social media giants like Facebook and Instagram have followed suit. To date, it is one of the most used features on the Internet.

Ephemeral content is widely popular among Millennials and Gen Z-ers. With Millennials possessing a $200 billion purchasing power and Gen Z projected to have $143 billion by 2020, marketers can no longer afford to ignore this tool.

As one of the foremost providers of social media marketing services in Minnesota, EVM Digital helps businesses get the most out of ephemeral content on social media. Before we explore how to take advantage of it, though, we’ll discuss what makes it so popular among social media users.

The FOMO Effect

The popularity of ephemeral content relies heavily on users’ fear of missing out (FOMO). Since the content is only up for a limited time, there’s a certain exclusivity in viewing it.

No one wants to be left out of the latest trends, so users are keener to tune in on a regular basis to accounts that they follow. Checking stories has become a routine. In fact, people use Snapchat and Instagram up to 30 and 32 minutes a day, respectively.

Novelty

Ephemeral content offers novelty, a valuable feature for young users. Once a post disappears, something new replaces it, and this attracts people to view stories constantly.

Users, however, don’t just stop at viewing ephemeral content; they also engage with it (for instance, they might visit the webpage that the story features), sometimes even more so than with regular content. This is because its impermanence compels them to act before it’s all gone.

Authenticity

Ephemeral content is also popular because there’s no pressure associated with posting it. Companies, for instance, put a lot of thought into their Facebook and Instagram posts as they are permanent. Heavily polished and curated content, however, might not have the authenticity that users are looking for these days.

In contrast, ephemeral content disappears after a few hours, so companies give off an authentic vibe to their posts. Brands, for example, post candid images and behind-the-scenes videos. This authenticity makes the brand attractive to users and fosters trust in the brand.

Publishing Compelling Ephemeral Content

Although ephemeral content has several advantages, it presents a special challenge: how do you hook audiences effectively with something that disappears quickly? We listed a few things that could help you out.

Don’t recycle content. As mentioned earlier, users value novelty, so fresh and interesting content is always the way to go. You could explore Q&A sessions, behind-the-scenes footage, and how-to videos in your ephemeral content strategies.
Post in the appropriate format for what you’re featuring. For instance, pictures are great for products, while videos work best with services.
Offer exclusive perks like discounts and promo codes as these compel people to tune in and help you build a loyal following.
Make sure that the stories are cohesive. Most followers view stories all at once, so the posts should be connected and have a smooth flow.
Post content regularly, as users lose touch with a brand that doesn’t provide good content often.

Effective Ephemeral Content Marketing

There are many other considerations when developing ephemeral content for your social media marketing. After all, a social media strategy is no small feat — it takes considerable effort and planning to make it succeed.

Allow EVM Digital to help you in this endeavor. We’ll help you use ephemeral content that’s consistent with your brand identity and fits seamlessly into a well-thought-out social media strategy.

Let’s make the most of ephemeral content in social media marketing. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

Videos on Social Media: Too Much of an Investment?

by Edwin Meehan | Mar 8, 2018 | Info Articles

Marketing videos are not simple investments. It takes serious effort and planning from both the company and its marketing agency to launch it in a successful campaign. It’s a bit more expensive than outsourcing a blog article, too, so some companies hesitate to commit to it.

This medium, however, provides a great advantage to those who use it well. As a provider of comprehensive digital marketing services in Minneapolis, EVM Digital can attest to the power of videos, especially when they’re published on social media. We’ve compiled some reasons why investing in videos for social media is a great marketing move.

Social Media Is the Perfect Platform

Social media is a goldmine for potential customers. Statista, a digital statistics portal, says that 2.46 billion people used social media in 2017, and they expect it to rise to 2.77 billion by 2019. Around 208 million of these are Americans who use social media for communication, entertainment, and advertising.

Your target market is most likely on social media, so it’s best that you take advantage of this platform by posting videos. They’re a great way to improve your web presence and build a following quickly.

Not only will social videos raise brand awareness, but they will also allow you to connect with your customers better, too. In fact, social videos spur user engagement. Impact, a digital marketing resource, says that videos on a company’s Facebook Page increase user engagement by 33%.

Videos are Effective Marketing Tools

Videos are highly effective at conveying your brand’s message. Impact says that people retain about 95% of a message when they watch it as a video, compared to 10% when they read it as text. So, people are more likely to remember your brand if they watched your video. Moreover, they’re easier and faster to consume. Users prefer to watch your product in action rather than read long product descriptions.

The reason behind videos’ popularity is that they appeal to multiple senses. Unlike text, songs, or images, they incorporate both audio and visual elements, allowing them to grab and retain a person’s attention.

Videos Are Shareable

Social media content is designed to be shared easily. So, videos posted on social media have a higher chance of getting shared compared to those published on the company website. Similarly, people are more likely to share videos on social media compared to text. In fact, Impact says that social videos generate 1200% more shares than text and images combined.

A single user can share it with dozens, or even hundreds, of other potential customers, increasing your reach greatly. Shares increase with the quality of the video, too, so if your video follows good video production principles, then expect a lot of shares.

Videos Are Good for Traffic and Sales

Videos do wonders for driving sales. In fact, they increase organic traffic by about 157%, and marketers who use videos increase revenues 49% faster than non-video users.

Moreover, social media activities are correlated to search engine results page rankings. Although social media content is not a direct ranking factor for Google, the content you post on your social media accounts helps drive SEO rankings.

Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies

Videos present a lot of advantages for your company. It’s imperative, therefore, that you invest in this tool. Your competitors have already started, in fact — Impact estimates that 76% of marketing professionals plan to use videos to increase brand awareness.

It’s time for you to join, too; we’ll gladly help. EVM Digital is a leading digital marketing agency which will walk you through using videos for social media marketing, from the right time to publish to the responding to feedback.

We’ll help you leverage videos and dominate social media. Contact us today for more information about our social media marketing services.

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