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If you’re a small business, the world of social media marketing may sound like a challenging and intimidating venture, but it’s both well worth the time and practically required in 2019. But where do you start if you’re completely new to this form of marketing? Sure, you can start off by creating a website , and then sharing links but you’re going to need to do more to keep your audience interested. Don’t worry, we’re going to run you through some of the basics to get you where you need to go. What is social media marketing? Social media marketing is the act of using social media platforms to promote your brand or product, build your audience, generate leads, and increase sales and website traffic. Together with content marketing , social media marketing is an essential part of a marketing methodology called inbound marketing. At the heart of this idea is that the creation of valuable, interesting content for your audience draws customers toward your brand. While it’s easy to assume that social media marketing consists of only creating content for the platforms to reach your audience, it’s much more than that. Successful social media marketing campaigns involve actively and consistently engaging with the target audience. Don’t worry, we’ll show you exactly how it’s done. Ready to dive in? Here are the 10 great tips for social media marketing for small businesses marketing efforts. Identify your goals Get inspired by your industry Check out your competition Create “business” social media accounts Find and get to know your audience Create compelling content Create a social calendar to stay organized Post on a regular basis Engage and respond to your followers Monitor your performance 1. Identify your goals Before you can jump into social media marketing, it’s important to do your research to determine what you’re actually looking to achieve with it. If you’re just trying to make your presence on social media known, great. If you’re looking specifically to increase website traffic, fine. Defining your goals and the strategy to achieve them will make things easier for you going forward. Once you’ve established you primary goals for your social media marketing strategy, you’ll always have a guideline to hole your efforts against. There will certainly be steps that you’ll have to take regardless of your goal, having a plan in place will help you stay aligned with your ultimate goals and will help you see what should be the correct next steps in achieving it. 2. Get inspired by your industry To get an idea of the footprint of your industry on social networks, it’s important to cast a wide net when doing market research. For instance, do a popular hashtags search on Instagram and Twitter with industry-specific keywords and to see what you can come up with. This allows you to take a look at the variety of posts that are published and identify the big players and potential influencers, both of which can be very helpful assets. For Facebook, try joining a group discussing in your industry and view the discussions and posts that take place. This will give you an idea of what kind of content is being shared most often by your audience. If you can identify a trend or an industry topic that’s important to your audience, your social posts can cater towards it to get attention. Are you seeing a subject about your industry that isn’t being discussed often enough? Consider it a goldmine and an opportunity to establish yourself as the expert and start that conversation yourself. Grab attention by adding industry-specific hashtags so your audience and influencers will take notice, and hopefully, join in on the conversation. Sometimes getting inspired by your industry is finding relevant discussions about what’s not being talked about. 3. Check out your competition If you’re new to social media for your business, one of your most valuable resources is going to be your competition, who may be more established in the space than yourself. Use them as a way to brainstorm strategies you’d like to take on for your own brand, see what types of posts they use on different networks and also take note on the number of posts published per day. This type of research is not an excuse to rip off your competition and clone their entire social media marketing strategy — it’s to get an idea of how others within your industry are making social networking platforms work for them. 4. Create “business” social media accounts If you haven’t done so, you should create or convert your existing social media accounts into business accounts. Whether you open a Facebook business account or start a YouTube channel for your business, you’ll be able to get more features for, you guessed it, businesses! Some nice additions to having business social media accounts is that many offer built-in analytics for your social posts (more on that later), as well as the ability to use paid promotion for your posts. This is a great option to help build brand awareness. Specific business/brand social media accounts are available for most popular platforms, including: Facebook for business Instagram for business - how to promote your business on LinkedIn Twitter for business LinkedIn for business - how to create a LinkedIn company page TikTok for business 5. Find and get to know your audience Through your own research, you’ll more than likely have found your audience and how they interact with social networks. You may have found that your specific target audience seems to be more active on Instagram, but are also present on Twitter and Facebook. Whatever your findings show, be sure that your social media strategy backs it up. If your audience is most active on Instagram, you stand to benefit most from putting more effort into it versus a social network they’re not as active on. All that said, it’s important to have some sort of presence on all major social networks. According to data from Wix and Vistprint's Small Business Marketing Report , 21% of Gen Z shoppers always activelyseek out new small businesses in their community. And another helpful small business marketing statistic shows that 66% of Gen Z likes finding new local businesses through social media marketing. With this in mind, a part of getting to know your audience is getting to know who they aren’t as well. For instance, if you’re targeting Generation Z, a social media post that features a fax machine (even as a joke) likely won’t resonate with them, as they’ve likely never ever had to work with one or even seen one. Need more data to find your audience? You’re in luck. There are several studies that can help you get a better idea of where your audience spends their time from their demographics. 6. Create compelling content Now it’s time to put your industry knowledge together with the research you’ve conducted to create your content. Whether it’s an engaging meme that only your audience can enjoy or simply a link to your latest blog article sharing new developments in your business sector, your posts need to be both interesting and relevant to them. You also don’t have to do all the work! If there’s industry-related news, don’t hesitate to share it through your social channels, even if you’re not the direct source. This will tell your audience that you’re a reliable source of information for this topic. Creating fantastic social media content is a sure-fire way to get the attention of your audience, but it’s not easy! Take your time crafting your posts and don’t forget that you can share your posts across social networks! Need some inspiration? Check out oddball holidays or other “special days” as inspiration for your social posts. Something like “take your dog to work day” is easy enough to craft a post around and can be enjoyable for your audience. There’s a lot you need to know when it comes to creating content. From the exact social media image sizes for each social media network to the free online social media tools available to you, there’s a lot to learn. And because this process can be a bit overwhelming, Wix has a dedicated section for social posts within your site’s dashboard to make it easier for you. Learn more: How to design social media graphics . Need more inspiration for your social posts? You could have some fun with one of the many Meme Generators out there, like Imgur . These are easy to use and can be fun to make, even if they’re not the best out there. Some of the best memes are terrible! Another way to ensure that you’re keeping your content fresh and relevant is keeping up with social media best practices. Luckily for you, we have the ultimate social media marketing guide along with these social media marketing tips to show you what’s what. 7. Create a social calendar to stay organized One doesn’t become a social media marketing genius overnight, or even in a few months. It’s going to take time for you to see what works and what doesn’t, and since you’ll be posting a lot of content, you want to be organized about it. This is where a social media calendar will come in handy. A social media calendar will allow you to see what posts are published on what network at what time. It’s best to try to schedule your content out at least a month at a time, but this isn’t going to be reasonable in every instance. Just keep in mind, it’s better to have more content than you need than not enough. For some, a simple Excel sheet will do the trick to keep track of your social media posts going out. If you’re looking for a little more, there are some great tools available to help you with scheduling and more: Hootsuite : Hootsuite is a popular social media management tool that covers schedule your posts and so much more. It’s also a great platform for social media monitoring and provides insightful analytics to see how your posts are performing. That’s hardly where Hootsuite stops in the feature department, and you can even get started with a 30-day free trial. Buffer : Another popular social media management tool that allows you to schedule, monitor, and get helpful analytics from your social posts. You can try out one of its 7-day free trials to see if it’s right for you. 8. Post regularly Just because you’re getting the hang of things doesn’t mean you should publish 11 Facebook posts a day. In fact, overposting will cause people to unfollow you, as you’ll come off as spammy. Instead, go for quality over quantity with your posts. Here’s how much you should be posting on social networks: 9. Engage and respond to your followers You think that once you’ve created, scheduled, and published your content that you’re done? Think again! You also want to make sure that you’re engaging with your audience in any way you can. Engaging with your audience is helpful for a number of ways. It can help establish trust between you and your audience It invites additional engagement from others It shows that you’re active and respond on social media It can be a fantastic source of data, feature requests, and additional feedback — all for free! Social media is also a fantastic place to provide customer support. Whether they’re reaching out to you directly or not or not, they’re talking about you, and it might not always be for the best. You can use social listening to reach your customers, rectify issues, surprise them with a social media-only coupon, and more! 10. Monitor your performance Social media marketing isn’t something you become an expert at overnight. It can be a trial and error process, but by monitoring the success of your posts across social media, you’ll begin to see what type of content works best for your brand and what doesn’t. Luckily, it’s not hard to see look at the performance of your posts with the built-in analytics that many social networks provide for business accounts. By viewing the analytics of your social media posts, you’ll begin to see what type of content resonates with your audience. Using the stats from your previous posts, you can begin to reshape your social media strategy with more content that has, by the numbers, proved to be more successful for you. It’s adaptability like this that will help you continually evolve with your social media marketing efforts. Also consider tapping into the fields of online reputation management and social listening , to understand how your brand is perceived online as a result of your campaigns.

Get started by: Creating a website →  | Getting a domain → Marketing is a crucial element for any business, including laundromats. As a laundromat owner or operator, you understand the importance of different types of marketing  in standing out amidst tough competition to attract and retain customers. Whether you're starting a business  or aiming to enhance your current marketing strategies , having a solid marketing plan is essential. In this article, we'll delve into understanding your target market , crafting a strong marketing strategy that includes both digital marketing  and traditional tactics, building an online presence and leveraging community involvement. With a comprehensive laundromat marketing plan, you'll be well on your way to making your laundromat a local favorite. 8 marketing techniques for laundromats Google Business and Google Ads Utilize social media Use discounts and promotions Build a website for your laundromat Leveraging online maps Participate in local events Collaborate with other businesses Engage with the local community 01. Google Business and Google Ads Google Business Profile: Set up a Google Business Profile and ensure your laundromat is listed on Google My Business to highlight your laundromat's key details, such as photos, customer reviews, operating hours and location. Google Ads : Use Google Ads to target potential customers in your area. With location-based advertising , you can appear in search results when people are looking for laundromats nearby. 02. Utilize social media Social media profiles : Create social media profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where your customers are most active. Leverage these channels for effective customer engagement   by sharing laundry care tips, exclusive promotions and updates about your laundromat. Paid advertising : Consider paid social media marketing  to reach a broader audience. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer targeted ad options based on demographics, interests and behaviors. 03. Use discounts and promotions Offering discounts and promotions can be a powerful way to encourage new and repeat business. Here's how you can implement these strategies effectively: Loyalty programs : Introduce a loyalty program that rewards customers for their repeated business. This could be a digital punch card or points system that offers a free wash after a certain number of visits. Time-based discounts : Consider offering discounts during off-peak hours to increase website traffic  during slow times. Referral bonuses : Encourage word-of-mouth marketing by providing incentives for customers who refer friends or family to your laundromat. 04. Build a website for your laundromat You'll want to kick off your laundromat marketing by  learning how to build a website  that highlights your projects, services and expertise. You can start with a  website builder  like Wix to create a business website  that's visually striking, easy to navigate and user-friendly. Your laundromat website should be: User-friendly : Ensure your website is easy to navigate with clear menus and calls-to-action. Mobile-friendly : With most users accessing the internet via mobile devices, your site must look good and function well on smartphones and tablets. Informative : Provide all the necessary information about your services, location, operating hours and pricing. Branded : Use consistent branding elements like colors, fonts, logo and a laundromat slogan to create a strong brand identity. To make your website truly effective, consider these tips: SEO optimization : Use relevant keywords like "laundromat marketing strategy" and "how to attract customers to laundromat" throughout your content to improve search engine rankings. Engaging content : Include engaging content such as blogs on laundry tips or the history of your laundromat to keep visitors on your site longer. Online scheduling : If possible, offer an online booking system so customers can reserve machines or schedule laundry services in advance. Learn more:  Wix SEO 05. Leveraging online maps Make sure your laundromat is listed on online map services such as Google Maps. This helps locals find you easily when they search for laundry services in their area. Keep your listing updated with accurate information and encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. 06. Participate in local events Sponsorship : Look for local events, sports teams or charities that you can sponsor. This not only supports the community but also puts your brand in front of potential customers. Hosting events : Consider hosting your own events at your laundromat, such as laundry education workshops or family fun days. 07. Collaborate with other businesses Partnerships : Partner with nearby businesses to offer joint promotions or discounts. For example, team up with a local coffee shop to provide a discount to customers who show a receipt from your laundromat. Referral networks : Create a referral network with other local service providers where you can recommend each other's businesses. 08. Engage with the local community By actively engaging with your local community, you demonstrate that your laundromat is more than just a business—it's a valuable member of the neighborhood. This approach not only helps in building customer loyalty but also sets you apart as a socially responsible establishment that people want to support. Social responsibility : Show that your laundromat business  cares about the community by participating in or organizing charity drives and environmental clean-ups. Local forums and groups : Join local online forums and groups to stay informed about community needs and interests and to share information about your services. Discover more marketing strategies: Small business marketing Understanding your laundromat's target market To effectively market your laundromat, you first need to know who you're marketing to. Defining your target audience  is a foundational step in any successful marketing strategy. It involves understanding who needs your services and what specific characteristics they possess. This knowledge will shape every decision you make, from the services you offer to the way you communicate with your customers. Market research is an indispensable tool in this process. It helps you gather data about the local population, their habits and preferences. Here's how you can start pinpointing your ideal customer base: Demographic analysis : Look at the age, gender, income level and employment status of the people in your area. Are there many college students or families? Do residents mostly work blue-collar jobs or commute to office jobs? These factors can influence when and how they use laundromat services. Psychographic profiling : Go beyond basic demographics to understand the lifestyles and values of potential customers. Are they environmentally conscious? Do they value convenience over cost? This information can help tailor your marketing messages and service offerings. Crafting a strong laundromat marketing strategy A robust marketing strategy is the backbone of any successful business and for laundromats, it's no different. To craft a strategy that resonates with your target audience and sets you apart from the competition, you need to consider several essential components. Creating an effective marketing plan  for your laundromat involves a mix of both digital and traditional marketing tactics. Here are the steps to guide you through this process: Set clear objectives : Determine what you want to achieve with your marketing efforts. This could be increasing foot traffic, enhancing brand awareness  or boosting customer loyalty. Budget allocation : Decide how much you're willing to spend on your marketing campaigns. A well-defined budget ensures that you use your resources efficiently according to your laundromat business plan . Channel selection : Choose the right marketing channels  to reach your audience. This might include social media platforms  or traditional methods such as flyers and local newspaper ads. Content creation : Develop engaging content that speaks to your customers' needs and interests. Whether it's informative blog posts or eye-catching posters, make sure it reflects the quality of your service. Promotion strategy : Plan out how you will promote special offers or events. This could involve email marketing campaigns , social media contests or partnerships with local businesses. Performance tracking : Implement tools to measure the success of your marketing activities. Use data analytics to understand customer behavior and refine your strategy accordingly. Laundromat marketing FAQs What kind of content works best for promoting a laundromat? Content that provides value to your customers tends to perform the best. This can include laundry tips, stain removal guides or information about any eco-friendly practices you use. Highlighting special promotions and behind-the-scenes looks at your operations can also engage your audience. Can email marketing be effective for a local laundromat business? Email marketing allows you to directly communicate with your customers and keep them informed about special offers, events or any changes in operation hours. It's a personal way to stay connected and encourage repeat business. What metrics should I track to measure the success of my marketing efforts Key metrics include website traffic, social media engagement (likes, shares, comments), email open rates and promotional redemption rates. Tracking these metrics over time will give you insights into what strategies are most effective and where adjustments may be needed. Is it worth investing in professional photography for my marketing materials? High-quality visuals make a significant difference in how potential customers perceive your business. Investing in professional photography for your marketing materials can enhance their appeal and effectiveness, making it a worthwhile investment. What are some effective laundromat advertising examples? Consider utilizing direct marketing  by sending out flyers or postcards that feature coupons or details about your services to local residences. Additionally, take advantage of community boards by posting notices and special offers on bulletin boards found in supermarkets, libraries and community centers. Don't forget the power of online advertising ; run targeted ads on platforms such as Google and Facebook, which allow you to reach your local demographic more effectively. Who is the target audience for laundromats? Laundromats serve a variety of customers with different needs, including:  Apartment dwellers : People without in-unit laundry often rely on laundromats for convenience.  Students : College and university students especially those in dorms or off-campus housing frequently visit laundromats.  Travelers and temporary residents : Visitors staying in hotels, rentals or temporary housing often need access to laundry services.  Large households : Families or individuals with big laundry loads like bedding or bulk items benefit from larger machines.  Busy professionals : Those short on time often prefer wash-and-fold services for ease.  Eco-conscious shoppers : Customers looking for energy-efficient machines or sustainable laundry options.  By understanding and catering to these groups, laundromat owners can build a loyal diverse customer base.

Learning how to create a website  that works beautifully on desktop and mobile or planning to build your own app? Giving users a smooth mobile browsing experience opens up new opportunities for your brand. Mobile navigation is how users move through and interact with a site or app  on any mobile device. It’s key for delivering a seamless UX design  and can greatly impact the success of your site or app. Whether you’re designing from scratch or using a mobile website builder , the navigation style you choose plays a big role in your site's usability. In this article, we’ll explain what mobile navigation is and share popular navigation patterns with tips to make them user-friendly. Want to turn your website into an app? Check out Wix’s Branded App to build your own. What is mobile navigation? When browsing on mobile, website navigation is at the heart of the user experience. Mobile navigation is what informs and guides visitors through the app or mobile site and includes features such as breadcrumbs and anchor links. Compared to desktop navigation, mobile navigation tends to have more challenges because of the space constraints. Since the increase in mobile usage, UX and UI designers have turned mobile navigation into something of an art form by performing UX research and testing different mobile patterns over the years. Both mobile website navigation and mobile app navigation are part of this conversation, investigating how users behave with mobile devices to better understand the most efficient ways to deliver content on a smaller scale. Good mobile navigation is not only about finding the quickest way for users to get from point A to point B. It facilitates a logical user journey, prevents user frustration and allows them to discover more about your brand and product via your mobile site or app. 5 basic mobile navigation patterns Understanding the most commonly used mobile navigation patterns and website menus is a great first step to making an app or mobile website that will satisfy users. Below, we’ve included insights from Or Gertman, the mobile apps editor for Wix’s Branded App, who sheds light on how these six mobile navigation patterns below benefit users when they interact with your app or website’s user interface. Best for mobile websites and mega-apps: Hamburger menu By now, the three horizontal lines that make up the classic hamburger menu are ubiquitous in the world of mobile website design. The small icon hides the menu until the user clicks on it. “It’s a very popular navigation pattern for mobile user interfaces,” said Gertman. “But the hamburger menu is more common on mobile web design than mobile apps.” Because the hamburger icon hides the menu from the homepage , the designer can offer more menu items or make the titles longer without crowding the page. “Most of the time, you would use a hamburger menu because it has more information,” said Gertman. “For example, if you choose bottom navigation you’ll be limited to five items since it’s really small and needs to be more focused.” Best for simplifying the user journey: Tab bar “The tab bar is the most common navigation pattern seen in mobile apps today, and it can really fit all types,” said Gertman. Located at the bottom of the screen, it’s a more design-oriented navigation pattern that’s easily discoverable. Typically, a tab bar includes icons that provide direct access navigation items. Its interactive nature and position in the thumb zone make it an especially comfortable navigation pattern. In contrast to hamburger menus, the tab bar presents more limitations in terms of the number of items you can display. “Since the guidelines for operation systems allow you to include a maximum of five items at once time, as the owner, you’ll need to choose the most important things to display on the primary navigation,” said Gertman. “Anything else can be used in secondary navigation.” But having a smaller menu is not necessarily a bad thing from the UX perspective. “With a smaller menu and fewer options, it’s much easier for the user to navigate around an app with a tab bar because it provides more focus,” said Gertman. Best for text-heavy apps and mobile sites: Grid-based navigation Grid-based navigation is a full-screen mobile pattern that includes most menu items directly on the homescreen of a mobile app. Gertman explains, “Similar to the hamburger menu, you can fit as many items as you want using grid-based navigation, so it’s versatile and there are a lot of options when it comes to design.” Resembling the mobile navigation patterns of iPhones and Androids, it’s a user interface many of us are familiar with. But as Gertman points out, it’s becoming more out of fashion. “Over time, we realize that the user experience is better when there’s more focus,” he explained. “The types of users that want this layout are browsing educational or community apps and sites with lots of reading content.” Best for secondary navigation features: Drawer navigation Like the name implies, drawer navigation is a mobile navigation pattern where the majority of navigational content is included behind a tab or sidebar menu . Using a similar concept as the hamburger menu, a navigation drawer can hide many menu items. Although the menu items are hidden, the navigation system won’t function well without clear organization. “If you have a lot of content you want to include in a drawer, you need to make sure it’s organized and separated into categories so the user can find what they’re looking for in the plethora of options.” Best for optimized space utilization: dropdown menus Dropdown menus offer another versatile approach to mobile navigation. With a simple tap, users can expand a list of options, making it easy to discover more without cluttering the interface. Dropdowns are particularly useful for forms or when you need to offer a range of choices without overwhelming the user. Just remember to make your dropdown options large enough to be easily tapped on a mobile screen, ensuring a user-friendly experience. Best web design practices to enhance mobile navigation Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when designing mobile navigation: Make sure your content is legible With the limitations of a small mobile screen, it’s important to ensure users will have an easy time reading your content. Pay attention to font sizes and styles that may overwhelm the eyes when packed onto a small screen and reduce the amount of written content wherever possible. Include essential items in your navigation menu If you’re using a mobile navigation pattern that limits the number of menu items you can include, think strategically about including only the most essential pages for users. Although grid-based and hamburger menu mobile navigation allows for more options, you should still be cognizant about overloading them. Use gesture-based navigation to engage viewers Gesture-based navigation refers to the use of gestures to control and navigate the user interface of a mobile site or app. You can use it to enhance your navigation pattern, allowing users to perform actions on their device such as swiping left or right, moving between screens or pinching and expanding their fingers to zoom in and out. Oftentimes, gesture interaction provides a more natural and intuitive way of interacting with electronic devices. Use floating action buttons A floating action button (FAB) is a circular button displayed on top of a user interface, which triggers the primary action when pressed. Designers typically place it in the corner of a screen and make it prominent to attract the user's attention. FABs provide quick and easy access to essential features such as a navigation drawer. Apply one-hand navigation principles One-hand navigation enables users to perform common tasks on a mobile device using only one hand. Here are a few key principles of one-hand navigation: Keep the most frequently used elements within the thumb zone Use gestures like swiping instead of buttons Provide visual cues to guide the user's hand Enable users to customize the layout to their preferences Best UI tools for facilitating mobile navigation Mobile navigation tools offer a wide range of features to make it easy to design and prototype mobile app user interfaces. Here are a few of the best mobile navigation tools for beginners: Material Design Material Design is a design system that Google developed. It provides a set of guidelines for the design and development of user interfaces. One of the key goals of Material Design is to provide a consistent user experience across different platforms and devices. It can be extremely helpful in the context of mobile navigation UI. Justinmind Justinmind is a prototyping tool that you can use to create interactive wireframes and prototypes for websites and mobile applications. It’s helpful for designing mobile navigation because it allows you to create and test different flows and layouts for their mobile apps. Adobe XD Adobe XD is a powerful, user-friendly tool for designing the navigation of mobile apps. You can use it to create wireframes and mockups of app ideas quickly and test them out with real-time prototyping. This allows you to see how your designs will look and feel on a mobile device and make any necessary adjustments before the app is built. Ready to get started? Make your own website and bring your ideas to life. Mobile navigation design FAQ What are the best practices for mobile navigation menu? Keep menus simple and limit the number of items to avoid clutter. Use clear labels, recognizable icons and a sticky or bottom navigation bar for easy access. Make sure tap targets are big enough for touchscreens and test responsiveness on all devices. What are the common navigation buttons? Home, back and menu buttons are key for smooth navigation. Other popular buttons include search, cart, user profile and social media links. Many mobile sites also use a hamburger menu to save space while keeping options easy to access. What is the navigation bar in mobile? The navigation bar is a set of buttons or links usually found at the top or bottom of a mobile site or app that helps users move between key sections. It often features icons like home, search and account settings, making navigation quick and easy. What is the difference between navigation and browsing? Navigation helps users move through a website in a structured way using menus and links, while browsing is more about exploring and following curiosity. Good navigation takes users straight to what they need, while browsing opens up opportunities for discovery. How to make a mobile website easy to navigate? Use a clean layout with a clear hierarchy and intuitive menus. Optimize for touch by spacing out buttons and keeping important links within easy reach. Try a mobile website builder to create a responsive design that works seamlessly on any screen size.

If we asked you to name a sport that has survived multiple generations and cultures, you’d probably think of baseball or soccer. Trading cards probably never came to mind. But, as it turns out, trading card games (“TCGs”) have bred a new type of athlete over the years. From the rise of Pokémon cards to the materialization of One Piece cards, TCGs have rapidly grown in popularity.  TCG tournaments now attract players from all around the globe. And in a small, unassuming card shop nestled in the heart of Mönchengladbach, Germany, players congregate weekly to compete in Magic: The Gathering matches.  The owner of that shop? Arkady Kovalev. A long-time collector and player himself, Arkady is the local hero of trading cards and comic books. Heroes INN now exists to bring card enthusiasts together, providing a space for players young and old to share their love for comics, manga and trading cards.  Looking to start your own online journey? Get started with Wix's eCommerce website builder . For the love of trading cards Before venturing into entrepreneurship , Arkady never had big dreams of starting a business . The idea came up rather organically.  “I have played a lot of trading cards as a child and visited some stores like the Heroes INN,” he recalls. “But then all the stores closed here.” “There were no opportunities anymore for people to engage in playing cards, and there were no real stores selling comic books and mangas anymore…I wanted to give people the same experience I had as a child playing card games.” “And yeah, that's why I created the store,” he says matter-of-factly.  Heroes INN opened its doors in 2014. At the time, Arkady was a freelancing software developer and a once-aspiring writer. His new business was a slow burn. For 10 years, it was a “slow but steady process,” with the first year being devoted entirely to research (“I thought, ‘Hey, maybe there's a reason why there's no store anymore in our city’”).  But things came together: First came the realization that Mönchengladbach, a city of more than 260,000 residents, was home to comic fans yet lacked a store that truly understood their preferences. Then came the credit line (“I needed to buy so much stuff”). Then came his online store—and eventually, the people.  Today, Heroes INN serves around 200 regulars, plus hundreds more on-foot visitors at its tournaments. Magic: The Gathering matches happen twice a week alongside other games, though the inn is open for players to meet whenever they’d like.   Image source: Heroes INN “[We deliberately called the store an inn] because it's like a tavern or someplace where people stay,” says Arkady. “Heroes is also referring to comic books because you have some heroes in comic books…and I wanted people to be their own heroes in some way…[I thought] maybe if you become a very, very skilled player, you could be a hero for others.” Looking to learn how to build a website ? Start creating your site today with Wix's website builder . Conquering a global quarantine period  But no hero’s journey is without hiccups. One of Arkady’s greatest conquests involved COVID-19.  “We were at the store but we weren’t allowed to let people in,” recalls Arkady. “[So,] we sold them stuff at the door. People could come to the store and say, ‘Hey, I need the new issue from One Piece,’ and we gave them it at the door.” “We were, more or less, the only social interactions for many people…[they weren’t] allowed to see other people but they could get their books and chat a little bit.” At this time, the Heroes INN site served as a portal for seeing what was in stock. Customers could reserve certain items for pickup before venturing outdoors. It became, as Arkady describes, a “dedicated database of products,” allowing both his staff and customers to keep an eye on the latest inventory.  “[By having a dedicated online shop for presales, people could] preorder stuff from their home, from their couch [while] watching TV or watching Netflix or something else,” Arkady adds.  The enduring magic of presales  Even now, presales play a pivotal role in the business. In one sense, the strategy doesn’t work as you’d imagine in the comic world: retailers like Arkady must preorder new comics and manga months in advance. By the time customers inquire about them (usually a few weeks before their release), it’s too late for retailers to change their orders. “But we can at least see, ‘Hey, this product sells well and maybe we should make it a bit more expensive or cheaper depending on presales,’” says Arkady. “Or we can try to order more of the same product.”  This is particularly useful for hits like One Piece. One Piece, a Japanese manga series that has taken the world by storm, exists in book form, card form and collectible statue form within the store. Of these, the trading cards are in hot demand.  “People are buying like there's no tomorrow for One Piece…we are already selling products for One Piece that are coming out in September,” Arkady told us in an interview in April.  The legacy of Heroes INN The magic of Heroes INN is that it has always been more than a shop. Arkady himself is an emblem of community, embodying the kindness, passion and hospitality that make visitors feel at home.  He enthusiastically shares about the couple who drove from the Netherlands to play Magic at his store. He talks about the couple from the Eurozone who met at the inn and had their first child 22 weeks ago.  “It was never my dream but I built something I can be proud of,” he says. “You have so many people who were lonely before—who spent their time sitting in front of the PC or TV or monitors at home just playing video games or watching shows. They didn't have social interactions, but then they came here and found friends.” When asked about his own experience becoming an entrepreneur , he shares that building Heroes INN was like “seeing a child grow.” And as the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child,” Arkady found himself in a fortunate spot. “ We  have also made friends along the way.” “It’s beautiful because [Heroes INN] is like a shop that you open but now it's become a center of some people's lives.”   Lessons from Arkady Much can be said about becoming an entrepreneur in this day and age. Arkady shares some wisdom he has gathered over the years that can be applied to any type of business .  Seek help when you need it: “[When] I had to create a website…Wix was very helpful because I'm not a programmer, I'm not a web developer. I don't know how to do stuff like that…[Wix had] a lot of features that I wanted to use. Especially, for example, the calendar function where I can put my events and people can book events…[my Wix site] was easy to create. Just a few clicks and we had an online shop.” The Heroes Inn Wix website (translated to English) Don’t just rely on gut instinct: “Do your research. [Many people] just have an idea and are trying to achieve it somehow…[and] a lot of advice will say, ‘Hey, just do it. You can do it.’ But [in reality,] you have to do the calculations and research first and find out how to do it.” Don’t get discouraged early on: “Things won't work from the beginning. It's just the nature of starting a business…I worked [on Heroes INN for] nearly 10 years. And even before I opened it, I did about a year of research…but it was a fun journey and I hope that it will keep on going.” Follow your dreams: “I think other people should also follow their dreams. If they have something they want to accomplish, just try it…the worst thing that could happen is that it doesn't work and then you return to your everyday life again.”  Read about our other Upgrade with Wix winners: How this founder created ‘the first hanger worthy of Vogue’ How this serial entrepreneur made a big career pivot in her 50s

YouTube marketing is useful for almost any aspect of your small business’s marketing strategy. In addition to deciding how to create a website , being active on YouTube is a great way to build your online presence and generate awareness of your brand. Opening a channel for your business will help you bolster your marketing efforts, engage with your users while building up your own YouTube community and reach new audiences. If you’re like most businesses, your social media strategy probably prioritizes Facebook and Instagram. There’s a good chance you’re also active on Twitter and LinkedIn. However, many companies tend to overlook YouTube - and that’s a big mistake. That said, an effective YouTube marketing strategy requires planning and research. A lot of your marketing budget and precious time can get wasted if you don’t know what you’re doing on this platform, so knowing how to optimize your YouTube channels and videos is the key to success. To help you make the most of the platform, we’ve broken down some of the top tips you need to know when marketing your business on YouTube. Why should you be marketing on YouTube? YouTube is the second most visited website in the world after Google. If that alone doesn’t have you convinced, then maybe these stats will: YouTube has over 2 billion logged-in users every month 90% of people say they’ve used YouTube to discover new brands or products A majority of viewers say they log on to YouTube because it teaches them something new 68% of YouTube users have used it to make a decision about a purchase Video marketing and mobile marketing have exploded in popularity over the last few years. If you’re not taking advantage of this type of content, you risk falling behind your competition. YouTube is not only a good way to market your brand or your products, but it comes with a number of other advantages as well. You can use your YouTube channel to showcase new products, add product reviews, highlight case studies and more. Not only that, but considering how far-reaching YouTube is in terms of its users around the world, optimizing your YouTube channel can also help you reach a more diverse audience. YouTube should be an integral part of your social media marketing strategy, just like Facebook and Instagram. Keep in mind that content can be repurposed across multiple platforms. For example, you can upload the same videos to Facebook and YouTube, or upload snippets of your YouTube video ideas as Instagram stories and direct your followers to your YouTube channel for the full clip. Discover the latest trends in video marketing with these video marketings statistics . YouTube marketing versus social media marketing If you’re confused, we get it. We already mentioned that YouTube is a part of a successful social media marketing strategy, and while that’s still true, the nature of how you should go about implementing your campaigns and releasing content is quite different. That’s not to say that YouTube should be separate from your social media campaigns - it just means that the rules that apply to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook don’t necessarily apply here. By nature, YouTube marketing is similar to content marketing. Most social media platforms are just that: social. However, YouTube doesn’t have as much of a social aspect to it on the platform itself. People don’t upload instant posts or photos, they don’t tag their friends, and they don’t digest content in the same way. Consider how you use a platform like Instagram. You probably open the app and scroll mindlessly, maybe like a few posts and upload Stories. But when you’re on YouTube, you most likely go there with a goal already in mind - whether that’s finding a specific video, answering a particular question, or keeping yourself entertained. Users on YouTube aren’t as passive; they typically have a clear intent when using the platform, and they search for what they want to see. YouTube videos operate more like search results on Google in terms of the content that gets found, and the actual videos are more like blog posts where users go to get information on a topic, comment on the content and send it to their friends. When you create content for YouTube, it’s critical that you keep these factors in mind. While the ultimate goal of YouTube and any social platform is to create content that engages, engagement on YouTube looks different. 9 tips for creating a successful YouTube marketing strategy There’s a lot that goes into making a video great, but we won’t get into the details of that here. Instead, we’ll cover all the basics of operating a successful YouTube channel and what you need to know about making a winning YouTube marketing strategy. Research your competition Optimize your channel Create a featured video Perfect your video editing Don’t forget YouTube SEO Make videos that convert Host YouTube contest Advertise your business on YouTube Track your success 01. Research your competition Before you go straight into making and uploading videos, it’s helpful to have a grasp of what your competitors are doing. If you haven’t done so yet, identify any direct or indirect competitors who are also active on YouTube. You can do this by searching for keywords you’d like to rank for on the platform and seeing whose videos come up first. Do this a few times for multiple search terms and see which channels come up most often. After that, do some snooping on their channels to see what types of videos they make, how many subscribers they have, how frequently they upload new content, the keywords they use and any other details you find relevant. While doing this research, pay special attention to the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. What do they do really well? What type of video content is missing from their channels? Answering these questions will help you gain a better idea of how to fill in the gaps with your own channel so that your videos perform well. 02. Optimize your channel When you start a YouTube channel , you should make an effort to optimize it from the get-go. YouTube is a search engine, just like Google, so understanding the algorithm and optimizing your channel to match it will allow you to rank higher. Here are a few elements you don’t want to ignore when putting your channel together: Channel description: Use your YouTube channel name and description to give viewers a concise but well-rounded overview of what they can expect to find on your channel. Be sure to include some keywords, and any links you want your audience to navigate to. Visuals: Make the landing page of your channel visually appealing by uploading an icon that reflects your brand, such as your logo, as well as banners that match your brand’s aesthetic or promote things like new product launches or events. Social links: Add links to your website, as well as your other social media pages, in your channel description. This will help draw awareness to your other pages so you can build your popularity on multiple platforms and drive traffic to your site. Playlists: Organize your videos by category by sorting them into playlists. The videos in each playlist should be thematically related, as it will help your viewers decide what to watch next. For example, you might have a playlist dedicated entirely to product reviews. 03. Create a featured video A featured video is the one that’s highlighted on your channel’s page. It’s the first video someone sees when they land on your YouTube channel, so you want to be intentional about which video to promote here. For that reason, pick a video that introduces your audience to your brand. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need a generic video explaining your company, but rather, any video that you think accurately represents who you are and what you stand for. This can be a video of a positive customer testimonial, an ad for a new product, or any other video that speaks to your essence as a brand. YouTube also lets you customize your featured video based on who is viewing your page. While it’s ideal to have a video that introduces your page to new viewers, you’ll want to be able to put your freshest content in that spot once they’ve already subscribed. On the section where you edit your profile, you have the option to select which video or playlist you want to highlight for new visitors, and which ones you want to display to your subscribers. This ensures that each type of viewer will see tailored content. 04. Perfect your video editing Of course, the content of your video matters. But if you want to optimize each video to its maximum potential, you also need to edit it to satisfy YouTube’s algorithm. That means having certain parameters in mind when uploading your video in order to increase your chances of getting found in an endless sea of YouTube clips. Here are a few things you’ll want to add to your videos: Catchy titles: Without any previews for your video, viewers judge each video by its title. You should, as much as possible, include keywords in the title so that it’s as relevant as possible to what your target audience is searching for. Strong thumbnail: Aside from the title, users will also judge your video by the thumbnail. Always create a custom thumbnail for your video, and be creative with it. If you’re uploading a how-to video, show the end result in your thumbnail to entice users to watch your video through to the end. Optimized descriptions: The description section of your videos is another place you’ll want to include keywords. You should also entice viewers and provide them with valuable information by summarizing your video and adding links to any relevant products or pages you discuss. In-video features: Add additional YouTube features such as in-video buttons and tools, cards that act as CTAs, clickable frames that link to your other videos, and subscribe buttons. Add as many as possible to your video (without seeming too intrusive) in order to encourage viewers to take action. Add captions: Adding captions helps you reach a wider audience. Since YouTube is global, non-English speakers will be able to watch and translate the captions once you add them. Not only that, but it’s also helpful for the hearing-impaired and for those who prefer to watch videos with the sound off. Reminder to subscribe: In the video itself, you always want to engage with your viewers at the beginning and end of your video by reminding them to subscribe to your channel and to comment on, like and share your video. 05. Don’t forget YouTube SEO SEO, short for search engine optimization, is the practice of implementing strategies for ranking on search engines. Since YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet, you shouldn’t ignore adding SEO elements to your videos and channel. Make sure you’re paying close attention to the following elements to help your videos rank higher: Tags: Tag your videos and your channel appropriately so YouTube understands the nature of your channel and can recommend it to users with similar interests. Keywords: Do your research on competing videos and look at what terms rank highly on topics related to your business. Begin your research by typing a few words into the YouTube search bar and seeing what kind of content comes up. Once you have a list of keywords, make sure you’re using them in tags, titles and descriptions. Transcript: Include a transcript when you upload a video to YouTube in order to help Google’s bots scrape the content and understand what your video is about. Total subscribers: Your YouTube subscribers are as good for engagement as they are for SEO. The more you have, the more YouTube thinks your channel is of good quality and the more it will recommend your videos to other users. Additionally, when users subscribe to your channel after viewing a video, it shows that your content was relevant to their search. This signals to YouTube’s algorithm to display your content in response to future search queries. There are other elements that can go into your YouTube SEO strategy, but if you’re a new business with a small team, it can be tricky to get it done all on your own. Try out some different YouTube SEO tools to help you out along the way. Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that’s great for researching keywords. Check out TubeBuddy for a more complete YouTube SEO tool that helps you with all aspects of publishing and optimizing your videos. 06. Make videos that convert It may seem like hard work to optimize your content for YouTube’s algorithm, while simultaneously trying to make videos that convert viewers. However, the good news is that these two goals go hand-in-hand. Often, what’s good for mastering the algorithm is also good for conversion, and vice versa. For example, some of the strategies we’ve already looked at also help with conversions, such as: Adding a CTA button to your videos with action items like asking viewers to subscribe Putting reminders in your video script to like, share, comment and subscribe to your channel Creating playlists of related videos that drive users further down the product funnel That said, these aren’t the only strategies you’ll need to implement. Relevant, creative and well-thought-out content is still the number one way to convert your viewers into lifelong customers. Creating videos that resonate deeply with your target audience is the key to success. If you’re not sure how to do this, start by brainstorming what problems your target audience may be facing. Think about how your product or brand offers them a solution, and then create videos that reflect that. If your videos show users that your brand meets their needs, they’ll be more likely to convert through your business. 07. Host YouTube contests YouTube contests and giveaways are a great way to increase engagement and gain new subscribers, particularly when you’re just starting out on the platform. Run a contest that requires people to like your videos, subscribe to your channel, and leave a comment in order to gain an entry. Encourage users to get creative by uploading their own content as a way to participate. This is a fantastic way to get more user-generated content while also generating leads. Make sure you’re following YouTube’s policies so that your account doesn’t get penalized, and don’t run contests too often. You want to make sure the cost of each contest pays off and that you’re not blowing your budget on prizes and contest promotion when those valuable dollars can also go towards creating stronger video content. 08. Advertise your business on YouTube Sure, your videos act as an advertisement for your business, but YouTube gives you the possibility to also run more traditional ads, so why not do both? Running YouTube ads helps attract even more people to your channel and is also a way to promote specific products and events. The number of SMBs advertising on YouTube over the last two years has doubled , making marketing on YouTube a business essential. There are a few different types of ads you can run: Skippable video ads: Ads that play before or during a video and can be skipped by the viewer after five seconds Non-skippable video ads: Ads that need to be watched before a video can be viewed Bumper ads: 6-second non-skippable video ads that appear before a video Overlay ads: Banners, image or text ads that appear on the bottom of a video To begin running a campaign, you’ll need a Google Ads account. From there, you can create a new video campaign, set parameters like goals, tracking and budget, and then add the URL of your video for the ad you want to run. 09. Track your success Find out if your YouTube marketing strategy has been paying off by regularly checking in with YouTube analytics. In the YouTube Analytics tab, you’ll be able to track different metrics to see if you’re meeting your goals. You’ll regularly need to test and assess in order to optimize your campaigns and see what resonates with your audience and what needs to be tweaked. Some of the YouTube KPIs you should pay close attention to include: Fluctuations in the number of subscribers Audience demographics Sources of traffic and views Watch time Retention rate Devices your videos are being watched on Any discrepancies in these metrics might mean you need to go back to the drawing board to either review the type of videos you’re creating, the audience you’re targeting or even the keywords you’re using. These metrics will allow you to update your YouTube marketing strategy so that you can succeed in the future. YouTube marketing tools From embedding your YouTube videos on your website, to verifying your site with Google Search Console in order to associate your YouTube video with your Wix site, there are a number of tools to help you manage your YouTube marketing. Some of the most popular current YouTube marketing tools include: vidIQ - this online platform offers YouTube tutorials on how to use YouTube effectively for your business Social Blade - allows you to track social media metrics across YouTube as well as other platforms, so you can make decisions about specific videos and promotions running on the channel. Ahrefs - with this popular tool you can conduct keyword research for YouTube and understand potential traffic and intent. Youtube marketing FAQ Is YouTube good for marketing? In terms of the large numbers of users it has, and how much time they spend on the platform, yes. YouTube is one of the largest video-sharing platforms in the world, with over 2 billion monthly active users, which makes it a powerful platform to reach a large audience. YouTube also has a highly engaged audience, with viewers watching over a billion hours of video each day. However, to make the most of this potential, you'll need a well-planned marketing strategy and stellar content. How to make money from YouTube marketing? There are several main ways to do this, depending on your product, service and company size, as well as. the goals of your Youtube marketing. If your goal is to increase brand awareness, so monetization from your marketing is not so important. If monetization is a direct KPI, so the following can pay on Youtube - ad revenue sharing, sponsored content, affiliate marketing. and direct product sales.

Starting a business, launching a brand online, personal blog or figuring out how to make a website requires constant planning and assessment. With consistent hard work, eventually your efforts will pay off. However, as your venture grows, you might consider bringing in reinforcement for the most crucial and busiest areas of running a website. For example, adding an app to your website that can help with getting more site visitors and in turn, convert those visitors into paying customers or subscribers. More importantly, you need apps which can easily integrate with your business and your Wix website. While you can find hundreds of marketing, sales and traffic solutions for your website on the Wix app market , we’ve narrowed down the top categories of apps created to resolve our users’ common pain points. That way, you can build your website from scratch and then customize it accordingly with Wix apps and realize your full potential online. Apps to increase traffic to your website Apps to convert more visitors into paying customers Apps to strengthen your site content and blog Apps to customize your site’s design and visual effects Apps to help scale product offering Apps to analyze visitor data Apps that simplify shipping, delivery and returns Apps to boost social media marketing 01. Apps to increase traffic to your website When you increase website traffic, you can generate more sales and paying customers. Even the smallest uptick in traffic may positively impact your website. There are plenty of ways to drive traffic to your website , requiring research, analysis, strategy and implementation. From AdScale and Deepcrawl to LeadDyno, these marketing tools from the Wix app market are designed to help you reach more people and expand your online presence. AdScale AdScale’s focus is paid search ads which works on a pay-per-click-advertising model and gets your ad campaigns spread across multiple channels. Designed with ecommerce websites in mind, AdScale lets you create and optimize ads on Google Search, Google Shopping, Google Display as well as Facebook and Instagram. Once your ad is built on the AdScale app, with BI Analysis insights, you can evaluate the success of these ads vis-à-vis key performance indicators, such as store orders and revenue. Also check out AdRoll: Marketing & Ads for similar features. Deepcrawl Apart from online advertising, people also find new websites through organic search, a subset of search engine marketing (SEM) which refers to unpaid results. To get your website or business ranking on the first page of search results, you need to know how to create a search engine optimization plan, or SEO, which requires a lot of factors and effort in the face of strong competition. Deepcrawl is a website app that offers SEO analytics and insights, helping you increase search engine performance, revenue and run a technical health check of your site. The app scans and flags important issues that could determine your site’s SEO, including broken pages, links and detrimental content not meeting Google’s best practices—all of which can be hard to identify with an untrained eye. LeadDyno Affiliate Marketing Affiliate marketing is another type of marketing that can drive quality traffic to your website since the focus is on targeted traffic rather than numbers alone. Hence, by directing this type of traffic to your online platform, you could see higher conversion rates and boost overall sales down the line. Yet, for most site owners, starting an affiliate program isn’t nearly as intuitive as one would hope. LeadDyno Affiliate Marketing from the Wix app market provides the tools you need to start, manage and grow an affiliate program from scratch. As for your affiliates, they’ll receive easy link sharing options and a downloadable app to track their own sales, content and overall performance. 02. Apps to convert more visitors into paying customers With so many businesses and brands available, getting a new customer to commit to your product or service can be a feat. A sales funnel allows you to bring people closer to your offer by guiding them through a series of marketing efforts. Defined by four stages from top to bottom—awareness, interest, decision and action—the best way to optimize a sales funnel is by understanding your audience and engaging meaningfully with them. With this in mind, adding website features that strengthen your funnel can also improve your customer experience. Popify The app helps create a sense of urgency, or ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO), around your business through social proof sales pop up notifications. Social proof improves brand awareness by validating customer’s buying decisions and building trust. Integrating Popify into your service website or online store can increase engagement through a series of effective notifications triggers. Customers feel they are a part of something when they see customer feedback, how many other visitors are on the site and real-time recent purchases. Kudobuzz Reviews Continuing the line of social proof as a sales method, the Kudobuzz Reviews app automates the entire process. With this app, you can generate customer reviews with ease and request feedback from customers. Furthermore, the app lets you centralize all existing social reviews from Facebook, Yelp, Amazon, Etsy and more, showcasing them on your website. Like Twitter, you can label reviews with a ‘trust badge’ so people see that they can rely on what they’re reading, helping you build up credibility and authenticity around your brand. MarketPush Cart Recovery When you decrease cart abandonment, you inadvertently improve your conversion rate and revenue. With the MarketPush Cart Recovery app, you can recover lost sales using text messaging and Facebook messages, containing direct payment links to previously lost orders, straight from your website. Since FB messages and text messages have a higher opening rate than emails, this app lets you reach customers more effectively. You can also customize the time of day that customers receive the messages, leading to more impactful communication. Coupon X Discount Code Pop Ups Similarly to the aforementioned app, Coupon X offers a solution of its own to reducing cart abandonment. As the name suggests, this app creates highly targeted coupon pop ups and promo codes meant to keep visitors’ on your site, thereby moving them an inch forward to convert. With the addition of Coupon X to your business, you’ll also be able to create effective pop ups to capture more leads based on the unique behavior of your target audience. Thereafter, you have an option in the app to build a simple A/B test to compare the most effective versions of your coupon pop ups. Tolstoy Interactive Video Building brand loyalty is about keeping customers close to your business. The Tolstoy Interactive Video app lets you produce interactive branching videos. The style of video attempts to help brands create face-to-face conversations with their customers on their own website. Thus, viewers are encouraged to participate in each “Tolstoy” video, accompanied by surveys and messaging options. In turn, brands can take that feedback to improve the ways in which they interact with consumers. Essentially, branching videos are a great alternative to not only talk to your clients on a regular basis, but also focus on the customer experience through the interactive component. 03. Apps to strengthen your site content and blog Starting a blog or website is the first step toward establishing an online presence. Once you have a functional and well-designed platform, the second step is to strengthen your site content. Doing so can help increase your readership, customer base and even lead to monetization opportunities for your blog. Wordtune Good content on your website, online store or blog helps you convey the right message to your audience. However, writing effective copy, whether its product descriptions, blog posts, ad banners or anything else, takes time and effort. If you lean on a bit of technology to improve and elevate your site content, Wordtune is a helpful word app to have by your side. AI-powered, this website app works like a word generator. Simply type your content in Wordtune so that the algorithm can enhance the tone of your text, fix spelling mistakes and check for grammatical errors. 04. Apps to customize your site’s design and visual effects A well-designed website leaves an impactful first impression on potential customers or site visitors. While good web design helps you nurture leads and get more conversions, it also provides a positive user experience tailored to people’s wants, needs and values. There are a couple of website apps that will upgrade your website design when you're planning how to create a professional website : 3D Seasonal Effects The all-seasons app allows you to add special effects and customized design to your website for special events and holidays. For example, you can decorate your site with colorful light strings, fireworks, hanging logos and holiday symbols. The benefits of seasonal design on your site are multifold. If you own a business, you can make your holiday-inspired sales more effective against the backdrop of a festive web page. Essentially, adding seasonal elements to your site makes it easier for your target audience to resonate with what you’re offering on the most crucial days of the year. Impressive Effects You can create over 60 engaging image animations for a website slideshow, welcome bar, site menu, and more. This app also allows you to custom design your own interactive buttons unique to your target audience. This Is another great way to enhance the user experience and meet their every web need. 05. Apps to help scale product offering Managing a growing business involves expanding your product offering. In other words, you need to create a scalable strategy without impacting the customer experience, production quality or setting you back financially. You can do this through dropshipping and print-on-demand, which is also one of the 15 ways to monetize your blog . Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method that lets business owners sell products to customers without having to stock the items themselves. That means if a product doesn’t sell, you’re not stuck with the inventory , thereby giving you the freedom to test new and different products on your target market in a flexible way. Print-on-demand is an order fulfillment method where white-label products, such as mugs, tote bags and t-shirts, are printed with your design once an order is made. It’s another low-risk option to sell products online and help businesses expand their creative offering. Modalyst Modalyst is an app that has helped over 350,000 online businesses manage, sell and automate product inventory, according to the company’s statistics. Modalyst also works with a range of U.S. and European distributors and multiple AliExpress suppliers, making it one of the most diverse dropshipping options available. Printful For the more creative businesses, Printful is a print-on-demand app that lets you “turn your ideas into premium products.” The website app requires no subscription fee and has over 300 types of products on offer—from t-shirts and tank tops to mugs and hats. Printful also offers same-day fulfillment for certain warehouse items, as well as a free designer maker to stamp your brand wherever and however you see fit. 06. Apps to analyze visitor data By knowing your site visitors’ demographics and interests, you can create targeted content, which can also rank higher on search engine results for relevant keywords. These insights also help you better understand how people interact with your site and take action. WEB-STAT With this app, you can watch visitors interact with your website in real-time. This type of behavioral data helps you improve your overall online presence. You'll learn how long a visitor stayed on the page, where they came from geographically, what kind of device they used to reach your website, and more through reports made on the app. Blocky: IP & Country Blocker Sometimes there are unwanted visitors to your website. More specifically, these are bots and spammers who can wreak havoc on your online presence. To prevent visitors, of certain IP addresses or even countries, from accessing your website, you can use the Blocky app as an added layer of protection against fraud. 07. Apps that simplify shipping, delivery and returns In the ecommerce world, one of the best time-saving tools for retailers is one that can automate the entire fulfillment journey, from shipping and delivery to returns. While there’s a range of website apps available on the Wix app market created to expedite this arduous process, you still need to know how to pick the right one. That depends on your business needs. For example, if you have international customers, you want an app that helps you ship products across the globe. Shippo In the age of online shopping and Amazon Prime, consumers really care about the efficiency of shipping. Shippo is a fulfillment platform that gives businesses fast shipping support to grow. With the app, users will gain access to the best rates from top carriers, like USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL, and provide customers with track shipment notifications. Also check out ShipBob for similar features. Barcode Man Some ecommerce stores need to improve their own in-house printing solutions for making barcodes and labels. With this in mind, Barcode man from the Wix app market has a feature that lets you print labels for all types of products. Furthermore, the app tries to solve online retailers’ many pain points by offering a customizable label editor, letting you rotate and resize any of your labels. Then, you can print labels and barcodes using any type of printer, which is especially useful for home-based businesses . 08. Apps to boost social media marketing Social media gives businesses and brands alike the chance to meet and connect with potential customers exactly where they are: on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram—just to name a few. With a strong social media marketing plan, you can engage with your audience by creating content that’s relatable and memorable. Here are two apps from the Wix app market that will not only help boost marketing on social media, but also automate some of the process for you. Minta This website app provides you with access to a library of auto-generated videos and images based on your product catalog. That way, you can get started with a marketing plan based on some tried and tested social media methods. Once you’re ready with your post, the app will share it. Simple Social Auto Post Simple Social Auto Post helps you schedule social posting for new blog posts, store products and event reminders. It also lets you create sales campaigns and send push notifications to existing customers. With mobile notifications, you can gently remind users to return to their abandoned shopping carts, let subscribers know when a new blog post is available and bring back users who haven’t visited your site in more than 2 weeks. At the end of the day, finding the right app on the Wix app market depends on what you and your business need to succeed. While those needs might change over time, the app marketplace anticipates nearly every possible pain point and counters it with a working solution to improve the functionality and design of your website. Looking to turn your website into an app ? Start with these app names for inspiration.

When Kiran Mazumdbar-Shaw began her career as a certified brewmaster in 1975, she had no idea she would eventually go on to start her own biopharmaceutical company, Biocon Limited, and become one of the most influential and richest women in the world. This self-made entrepreneur and thought leader has contributed exponentially to the medical and pharmaceutical industries. As a lifelong advocate for affordable medications, along with her impressive list of accomplishments, she earned a place on Medicine Maker’s 2020 Power List, as well as on Forbes 2020 list of the World’s 100 Most Influential Women . But what exactly qualifies Mazumdbar-Shaw as a thought leader, and why are entrepreneurs so cut out for this coveted title? Defining thought leadership In the age of social media and digital marketing, the term thought leadership has morphed into an overused buzzword attributed to almost anyone who wants to claim it. But what exactly does this term mean and is it even useful to strive to be a thought leader today? To answer this question, let’s differentiate between a thought leader and a subject matter expert. While a thought leader will no doubt be a subject matter expert, the opposite is not always true. The latter is an experienced professional who is well-versed in a specific field. They may be known for their wealth of knowledge and be regarded as an industry leader. Subject matter experts work hard for their accomplishments and possess the foundational attributes to become a thought leader. Thought leaders, on the other hand, possess two primary traits that push them beyond the label of subject matter experts. First, they consistently develop new concepts, ideas and strategies to improve and refine their industries. Second, thought leaders share these ideas with others in simplified terms that they can understand. Entrepreneurs not only contribute to industry conversations, but lead, educate and motivate others to be innovative and think outside the box. They’re game changers, the ones who set sail and shift direction entirely when they find a better route. You need not only passion and expertise, but critical thinking, patience and courage to put your thoughts and ideas out there and, ultimately, take action. This is exactly why thought leadership and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. Why entrepreneurs make exceptional thought leaders While there are many types of entrepreneurs , they all have one thing in common: Entrepreneurs are natural-born problem solvers who create something out of nothing. They possess entrepreneurship skills like vision and perseverance to turn an idea into reality that no doubt comes with many bumps in the road. Entrepreneurs also have the ability to see the bigger picture and imagine a new and different world, one that utilizes and benefits from their ingenious innovation. So how was Kiran Mazumbdar-Shaw able to not only accomplish so many professional goals, but claim the title of thought leader? The truth is, entrepreneurs and thought leaders share similar qualities and personality traits that can help us understand why, oftentimes, the two are one and the same. Muzumbdar-Shaw’s journey began in 1978 from the garage of her home in Bengaluru, India at age 25. Her initial intention when creating Biocon was to focus on extracting and manufacturing specialty enzymes for medical purposes, such as papain from papaya. After doing so successfully, Biocon became the first Indian company to export these materials to the US and Europe. It was at this point that the company transitioned from solely enzyme production to manufacturing biopharmaceuticals. A central component of Mazumbdar-Shaw’s motivation behind her work was her belief that everyone should be able to afford the medications they need to maintain their health. She was adamant about incorporating this into her business model so that drugs would be easily available to developing countries and vulnerable populations, and encouraged other pharmaceutical companies to do the same. However, she faced grueling discrimination because she was a woman and had a difficult time finding employees and investors because of her gender. But she persevered and remained adamantly outspoken against rising drug costs and spikes in pricing, boosting India’s reputation as a global leader in pharmaceutical development. Ultimately, her philanthropic efforts have made her a trailblazer at the forefront of affordable pharmaceuticals. As she states: “All entrepreneurs have a responsibility to the world around them and the communities in which they operate.” This is her legacy. How can entrepreneurs develop their own thought leadership? Just as Mazumbdar-Shaw’s passion and drive goes beyond the scope of her business, developing your own thought leadership requires diligence and continued effort. It can earn you respect, esteem and admiration, as well as the chance to create new business models and industry standards. Here's how you can start developing your own. Consider your impact As an entrepreneur, you’ve already started a business and ventured into the business world. But consider the core message you strive to share and the larger impact you want to have. What do you see as your overall purpose and do you have a bigger mission you have yet to accomplish? There is no right or wrong answer, but becoming a thought leader requires exactly that: leadership. Perhaps you want to help bridge the digital divide or reduce the burden of carbon emissions on the environment. Spend some time thinking about the mark you want to leave on your industry — and on the world. Create content — and plenty of it The key to establishing yourself as a thought leader is creating written and visual content that conveys your message. Having knowledge is not enough; you need to share it with others and prove why your ideas are worth putting into action. One way you can do this is by having your own platform, for example, creating a blog . Dedicate yourself to writing a new article every week in which you share changes you want to see within your field, effective strategies you’ve implemented within your own business and the direction you see the industry going. You can also reach out to other relevant online publications and ask to be a guest contributor. Then, use social media, newsletters and your personal website to share your written work. Video is also extremely valuable. In fact, people retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text. Because of this, this type of engagement can significantly help strengthen brand identity, build community and incite conversations. Using a platform like YouTube allows you to network , grow your following, boost your online reputation and reach new audiences. Just make sure each video is professional in quality, whether you create them yourself or hire someone to film you. And lastly, live speaking engagements are one of the most strategic ways to get your voice heard. Think conferences, university lectures and even TED Talks. The opportunity to stand and speak in front of your peers allows you to reach people on a more personal level. You have the chance to more fully engross your audience, demystify your ideas and solidify your message. While establishing thought leadership is an ongoing process, entrepreneurs already possess the dedication and tenacity required to do so. It’s their passion, commitment to their work and their natural-born drive that motivates them to persevere. By sharing their expertise and personal credence with the world, entrepreneurs have the power to be the future of the modern day workforce.

In this day and age, a world without the internet is unimaginable. With 5.56 billion active users across the globe as of 2025 , the web has become the main hub for sharing and disseminating information - whether it’s updates about family, news in science and politics, or entertainment passed between friends. This transition to the online world has also changed the way businesses promote their products and services. Like most things, the field of marketing has come to revolve around the web—with website creation , social media and online ads largely taking the place of billboards, cold calls and print ads. In this guide, we’ll dive into what digital marketing is and how you can use it to promote your brand via small business marketing plans. We’ll also break down the different types of digital marketing so you can learn about the specific practices that will benefit your business. What is digital marketing? Digital marketing is defined as the use of digital channels to promote a product or service. It's the opposite of offline marketing , for example. The goal of this approach is to connect with customers online—the place where they spend the most time seeking information or entertainment. With digital advertising revenue projected to surpass $700 billion by 2025 , its impact and reach are impossible to ignore. Digital marketing is a broad practice, simply because there are so many online channels available. Posting on social media is a form of digital marketing, as are email marketing and blogging. Together, the promotional content on these various platforms forms a cohesive online marketing strategy. Whether you are focusing on event marketing or creating an email subscriber list, digital marketing is an incredible important facet. Benefits of digital marketing Every company—from large international organizations to independent brick-and-mortar stores—can gain from advertising themselves online. Here are some of the ways digital marketing can benefit your business: Building brand awareness  by making your presence known and putting your unique stamp on the web. Digital ads can increase brand awareness by up to 80% . Targeting specific audiences  based on demographics, interests and behaviors to connect with the right people. Engaging prospective customers  and generating valuable leads that drive growth. Measuring performance  to understand what’s working, refine your strategy and maximize your results. Saving money  with cost-effective strategies compared to traditional marketing methods. Reaching customers worldwide  and growing your audience beyond geographical boundaries. Deepening customer relationships  to build loyalty and encourage repeat business. 66% of marketers report that digital marketing tactics have increased their company’s credibility and trust. Guiding customers through the marketing funnel  from their first interaction to completing a sale. Types of digital marketing Digital marketing isn’t a single practice but, instead, is the sum of several elements. Some of the most common examples of this marketing strategy include: Search engine optimization (SEO) Content marketing Social media marketing Pay per click (PPC) Native advertising Affiliate marketing Influencer marketing Email marketing Marketing automation Online PR Mobile marketing Conversion rate optimization (CRO) While this may seem like a lot of different types of marketing , keep in mind that you don’t need to implement each and every one of these practices. However, it’s important that you familiarize yourself with them so that you gain a better understanding of which methods should go into your own internet marketing strategy. Related reading: Lessons from 16 years of marketing mastering (feat. Wix CMO Omer Shai) 01. Search engine optimization (SEO) A foundational element of digital marketing, SEO is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results. When your website appears as a top result on Google and other search engines, people are more likely to click on your link, learn about your brand, and perhaps even become customers. There are three broad ways to improve your website’s SEO: On-page SEO involves optimizing the pages on your website by conducting keyword research. When you incorporate strategic keywords throughout your site, you can rank high on search engine results pages and guide customers through the sales funnel with relevant, authoritative content. Off-page SEO is about improving your SEO by looking at pages external to your website. Inbound links to your website—known as backlinks—are a critical component of off page SEO. Networking with publishers, writing guest posts, and providing information-rich content on your blog can help improve your off-page SEO. Technical SEO deals with the backend elements of your website such as coding, structured data, image compression and more. Optimizing these elements can make it easier for search engines to “read” your site and improve your page speed. 02. Content marketing Closely tied to SEO, content marketing is also a core component of digital marketing. This involves creating and promoting content with the goals of building brand awareness, increasing traffic to your website, generating leads and converting customers. The content you create can take many forms: Blog posts: Creating a blog - and using strategic, long tail keywords in your articles - is a great way to bring traffic to your site and engage your customers. Ebooks and white papers: Adding in-depth, long-form content to your website establishes your expertise in the industry and builds trust among your audience. You can also offer this content for download in exchange for your readers’ contact information, helping you generate leads. Videos: Website content doesn’t need to be in written form. Adding videos to your website is an engaging way to provide valuable information to your audience. Infographics: Another form of visual content, infographics are a fun, helpful way to make information easier for readers to conceptualize. Complex explanations and statistics are particularly well-suited to this content format. Learn more about how to make an infographic with Wixel. Podcasts: This audible content format is a useful way to strengthen your connection with your audience and build a loyal community around your brand. Content can be interview-based or niche-focused like Wix's SERP's Up SEO Podcast . To start a podcast , try repurposing existing website content, such as blog posts, and adapting it for audio. Webinars: A merging of “web” and “seminar,” webinars further engage your audience, establish your authority, and delight customers with the extra value they provide. Whichever content formats you choose, be sure to focus on subject matter that’s relevant and valuable for your audience and that will help boost your website’s SEO. 03. Social media marketing Another cornerstone of a strong digital marketing strategy is social media marketing . This involves promoting your brand on social channels in order to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, and capture leads. You can do this by creating posts on popular social media channels such as: Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube Pinterest LinkedIn Your posts can include anything from insightful blog articles to videos of your product in action. Choose channels on which your audience is most active; often, this is a factor of their demographics, such as age and location, as well as their interests. You can even invest in sustainable marketing in these channels, which has become popular as consumer demand for environmentally-friendly products has grown. 04. Pay per click (PPC) Some digital marketing methods, such as blogging, SEO, and social media posting are organic—meaning that they draw traffic “naturally” to your business rather than requiring that you spend money directly. Other practices, however, come with a price tag. PPC, an acronym for pay per click, is a particularly powerful form of paid online advertising. Like SEO, PPC is a type of search engine marketing, or SEM. If you’re familiar with posts labeled “Ad” at the top and bottom of Google search results pages, you’ve already seen PPC in action. By this model, advertisers pay a fee every time their link is clicked. As with other forms of digital marketing, the goal of PPC is to drive traffic to a website in order to generate leads and make sales. Generally, PPC is used on either search engines or social media platforms: Google: Search engine marketing PPC is most commonly associated with Google Ads . Take a look at this article to learn how to advertise on Google. Facebook: You can further use the pay per click model to a dvertise on Facebook. Creating paid Facebook posts helps you expand your reach, exposing your content to people who don’t follow you. LinkedIn: You can also do PPC on LinkedIn , helping you get in front of professional audiences. Twitter: Likewise, you can use Twitter Ads to target your relevant audience and expand your reach. 05. Native advertising Native advertising, too, is a popular online marketing model. In contrast to large pop-ups and other intrusive ads, native ads match the format and tone of the platform on which they appear. Native ads often appear on websites, and they display content that “blends in” with surrounding articles or blog posts. For example, they might appear as a video embedded within a blog post, or as recommended reading at the bottom of the page. The goal of native advertising is to guide users to click on content that will take them to your company’s page. If the advertised content is unobtrusive and highly relevant to the material at hand, users may be more enticed to click. Discover the latest trends in video marketing with these video marketings statistics . 06. Affiliate marketing Affiliate marketing is a digital marketing practice in which one party, such as an influencer or a brand, receives a commission for promoting someone else’s products or services. For businesses, this practice is beneficial because it allows them to reach that party’s followers. By the affiliate marketing model, a company provides that party (called the affiliate) with a special link, usually leading to a page to purchase their product. The affiliate, in turn, will post about that product (usually on their blog or social media pages), promoting the given link in their content. When users click on that link and buy, it’s a win-win for both the brand and the affiliate: the company makes a sale, and the affiliate earns a commission on that sale. Brands can connect with affiliates using platforms such as ShareASale or CJ Affiliate , or by reaching out to influencers directly. 07. Influencer marketing This practice is similar to affiliate marketing in that it involves another person promoting your brand, typically on social media or within their blog. Unlike affiliates, however, influencers get paid by the company simply for the promotion - regardless of whether people actually purchase the product. Influencer marketing is effective because it helps brands reach a particular influencer’s fanbase. When that influencer is trusted among their followers, they have the power to sway their fans’ purchasing decisions by recommending a product. On the business side, the key to a successful partnership is to choose influencers whose audience matches your target market. For example, a company selling athletic wear would benefit most from collaborating with a well-known athlete. Likewise, a business selling cosmetics would be wise to seek out a collaboration with a beauty influencer. 08. Email marketing You’ve almost certainly experienced email marketing in some form - in fact, you probably have branded emails sitting in your inbox right now. This popular digital marketing strategy involves communicating with your target audience via email with the goals of improving engagement, promoting products and driving conversions and sales. Broadly speaking, there are four different types of marketing emails you can send to prospects and customers: Email campaigns promote products, provide special offers or coupons, or encourage people to sign up for a product or service. Email newsletters are sent on a consistent basis to provide subscribers with regular updates, such as new blog posts, industry news or upcoming events. Automated marketing emails are sent automatically based on predefined triggers, and they include welcome emails, birthday emails and reminder emails. Automated transactional emails include automatic order confirmations, shipping updates and appointment reminders. You can use Wix Email Marketing to set up email campaigns, newsletters and automations for your business. This platform is particularly effective because it tracks statistics on email opens, views and clicks, giving you insight into your business’s performance. It also allows you to customize the design of your emails so that they match the look and feel of your brand. 09. Marketing automation Speaking of automated emails - they’re examples of a broader digital marketing practice called marketing automation. As the name suggests, this involves the automation of basic marketing tasks. The idea behind this practice is to streamline repetitive tasks that would otherwise be done manually, such as transactional emails, data analysis and more. Some tasks that benefit from automation include: Thank you, confirmation and welcome emails Social media post scheduling Live chat Data analytics Marketing automation is a critical way to build relationships with your customers while sustaining an organized and productive workflow. 10. Online public relations (PR) Online PR is the practice of obtaining coverage from online publications and blogs. This tends to require outreach to reporters and editors at relevant publications, which you can do through LinkedIn or Twitter. PR also involves monitoring your brand’s reputation on the web overall. For example, you’ll need to engage with comments on your blog and social media posts, as well as respond to online reviews of your company. 11. Mobile marketing Often, converting customers through the screens of their laptops seems like the ultimate goal. It’s important, however, that we also take full advantage of a smaller - but equally important - device: the smartphone. This is especially important considering that mobile internet usage comprises more than 50% of online traffic worldwide. Mobile marketing involves adapting standard digital marketing practices to fit the mobile experience. This includes: Optimizing your mobile page speed: Google uses page speed as a ranking factor for mobile as well as desktop search. In addition, users are quick to navigate away from a site with a slow load time. To improve the speed of your mobile site, try to keep your site lightweight—for instance, avoid heavy images, and minimize redirects. Designing your website for mobile: Your site is a fundamental marketing tool that represents your brand, showcases your product or service, and persuades people to buy. As such, the way it appears on mobile plays a crucial role in whether or not your audience will convert. Take a look at this article for mobile website design examples and tips. Creating mobile-friendly emails: Research shows that mobile accounts for nearly half of all email opens. With this in mind, it’s critical that your email campaigns are designed for the mobile screen. That means short subject lines, concise text and a clear and prominent CTA. Experimenting with in-app ads: Don’t limit your ads to websites and search engines. Advertising within relevant mobile apps (as well as ASO marketing ) is also a valuable practice that can expand your reach even further. 12. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) If we need to sum up the goals of digital marketing, we’d say it’s about bringing traffic to your site and increasing conversions. This latter component—called conversion rate optimization—requires designing your website with an understanding of the way users interact with it. To do this, you’ll need to take into account how users navigate your site, which actions they take, and what guides them toward—or prevents them from—achieving your goals. Tracking tools and analytics can provide you with quantitative data about the ways users engage with your site, helping you guide them smoothly through the sales funnel. How to create a digital marketing strategy Creating a digital marketing strategy might sound like a big task, but with the right steps, you can build a plan that works for your business and helps you reach your goals: Define your goals: Decide what you want to achieve. Are you looking to increase traffic, drive leads or grow sales? Your goals will give your plan direction. Identify your target audience: Get to know your customers. Think about their interests, demographics and how your product or service fits into their lives. Choose the right channels: Pick platforms where your audience spends time, like social media, email or search engines, to connect with them effectively. Create compelling content: Make content that resonates with your audience. Whether it’s videos, blogs or ads, focus on content that is engaging and relevant. Measure and refine: Keep track of how things are going. Check clicks, views or conversions and use what you learn to improve your strategy. Why you need digital marketing Overall, digital marketing is a broad concept that covers a variety of practices and uses a wide range of online channels. Underlying these different elements, however, is a common theme - the ability to take advantage of the huge marketplace of prospective customers online. Whether you decide to grow your blog, create an email newsletter or advertise on Google, you’ll be able to bring more traffic to your site, build stronger connections with your customers, and track and measure your results. Not only will this help you gain customers in the short term, but it will also help you build a sustainable, long-term strategy for future improvement and growth. What is digital marketing FAQ What does a digital marketer do? A digital marketer helps businesses connect with their audience online. They use channels like social media, email, websites and search engines to promote products, services or ideas. Their work often involves creating content, running campaigns, analyzing data and improving strategies to meet specific goals like boosting sales or building brand awareness. Do digital marketers make money? Yes, digital marketers can make good money depending on their expertise and the type of work they do. Many professionals work full-time jobs or offer freelance services, and salaries can range from entry-level to highly lucrative for skilled specialists. Advanced skills like SEO, paid ads or analytics can open up higher-income opportunities. Can I start digital marketing with no experience? Yes, you can start digital marketing with no experience. Begin by learning through free resources like online courses or tutorials and practice by creating content or mock campaigns. Many free tools are available to help you get hands-on experience, making it easier to build your skills and portfolio as you go.

Depending on who you ask, you’re likely to get a different definition of business development. Some see it as a leadership position; others view it as part of sales or even marketing. The truth is, business development contains important elements defining each of these profound roles. As a result, business developers often feel like they wear many hats and constantly have their hands in different projects. For example, they may be simultaneously working with other departments on creating a business website (and running it from the Wix mobile app) , trying to secure new partnerships, increasing brand awareness and making and assessing business goals. Despite their multifaceted job, business developers are guided by a single objective: to create value for their company. While it may sound conceptual, there are tangible ways developers work to achieve that goal. For this reason, I’ll be providing you with a breakdown of what business development exactly means, go over how it differs from other similar roles in a company, and show you the skills you’ll need to succeed in biz dev. What is business development? Business development is the process of making a business better and bigger through initiatives and new ideas, creation of value for your organization or business. This includes increasing profitability and focusing on growth opportunities by building connections with strategic partners and making calculated business decisions. While there’s no such thing as a Herculean job candidate, one might be led to think so just looking at job descriptions for business developers. They need to be “creative, analytical, organized, possess strong communication skills, and much more.” That’s because a business developer has to be dynamic and use any one of their abilities—whether that’s brainstorming new ideas, keeping up with small business trends , creating business plans or making fruitful partnerships—to help their company grow stronger and better over a period of time. In order to understand how business developers can achieve this feat, here’s first a breakdown of what is a brand development manager, then we'll address the main responsibilities associated with the role. Read also: how to spring clean your small business What is a business development manager? A business development manager is a professional who develops business strategies and plans to increase business efficiency, drive business growth and maximize profits. Business development managers typically collaborate with various stakeholders within a company in order to identify business opportunities, develop an effective competitive strategy, as well as implement business management practices that enhance company efficiency. Additionally, business development managers often research customer needs and preferences to develop targeted marketing campaigns. A business development manager should possess a strong set of business and interpersonal skills in order to be successful. They must have strong networking abilities, excellent communication skills, a deep understanding of the products or services being offered, as well as business knowledge and advanced problem solving skills. They must also be able to effectively collaborate with multiple departments and teams to build relationships, identify opportunities and develop strategies for growth. They should also be creative and have strong negotiation skills in order to close deals. In order to be successful, business development managers must possess a high level of self-motivation and the ability to work independently. A strong customer-centric focus is also valuable for the role. Most importantly, a business development manager must have the ability to think strategically in order to create long-term business plans that will lead their company towards success. Developing a business development strategy and then ensuring its implementation is a huge part of the role. Business development responsibilities Find business growth opportunities A business needs to be able to grow steadily to be able to compete successfully against others. Business development will focus on pinpointing specific growth opportunities. For instance, a biz dev team might look at how a company can expand into different markets and conduct research into developing new products or services. These changes, in turn, can help them access more clients down the line. Business developers may also be involved in finding smart ways to market a small business, or working with marketing experts on campaigns that’ll drive the desired hypergrowth. This may also include hiring more employees, whether you work together in person or manage remote employees. Increase company profitability When talking about a company increasing its value, we’re usually talking about profits. While there are many things in a customer’s eye that might make a company valuable, for a business the value is intrinsically tied to the profits it’s bringing in. That’s why biz dev teams will often focus on concentrating sales efforts. This can include expanding to new audiences and looking for ways to find more clients while keeping costs low, which are all good ways to hedge against how inflation can affect small businesses . While this isn’t the same as sales itself, which we’ll get into soon, it's similar to the formation of strategies that help increase sales. Build long-lasting relationships with customers and partners In the field of business development, the focus should also shift to creating bonds with both customers and strategic business partners. When talking about relationships with customers, business developers look for ways to bridge the gap between what customers want or need and what the business is actually offering them. They will look for ways to make a product or service more appealing to clients based on feedback or market research, and then liaise with other departments, like marketing, product development or sales, to make it happen. Likewise, relationships can also be external. For example, during the growth stage, a small business might need to foster strong partnerships with other companies in order to get started. Alternatively a larger company can help a newer one with guidance, capital, or even infrastructure if that’s not yet in place. Sales vs. business development: What’s the difference? As we saw earlier, biz dev usually has a hand in sales. But while the goals and responsibilities of both departments are aligned, they aren’t quite identical. In the simplest terms, sales is tactical, whereas business development is primarily about developing a strategy. A biz dev also takes a more holistic approach to the sales funnel by analyzing what’s working and what can be improved in the long term. By contrast, a sales team will likely concentrate on short-term success and swiftly closing deals. Business development vs marketing Biz dev and marketing work closely together. While marketing is focused more on attracting new customers and leads, business development is also about building new relationships with clients and maintaining these new bonds to leverage them when needed. You can think of marketing, sales, and business development as a cycle of lead generation and treatment. Each one handles a different aspect of the buyer’s journey: Awareness: This is when a buyer recognizes they have a problem and knows they need a solution, but they’re not sure what it is yet. In order to get a better understanding of what that could be, they research the consumer market. Consideration: At this stage, a buyer has a better understanding of their problem and is committed to finding a solution. They might be considering a few different approaches or answers, but haven’t settled on one. Decision: The buyer knows the solution they need, based on their research, and might be looking at multiple options from various companies or vendors, before ultimately settling on one option. Once you understand how the buyer’s journey works, you’ll also have a better grasp of the roles of each department during different stages. In our case, business development is responsible for reaching customers in the awareness stage as well as in the consideration stage. They will look closely at the buyer’s problem and try to figure out how their own products can act as a solution. Marketing also works in the awareness and consideration stages, with some changes. Marketers will try to present their brand directly to the buyer during the buyer’s research phase. Finally, the sales team is responsible for guiding the buyer through the decision stage and getting them to choose their product or service, thus closing the deal. 7 skills you need in business development Since business development is made up of so many different tasks, it’s important that those who want to work in biz dev come prepared with the necessary skills to succeed. Here are some that you’ll need to develop in order to excel as a business developer: Strong leadership and management skills Goal setting Curiosity Acute attention to detail Boot-strapping Being a team player Self motivation 01. Strong leadership and management skills Since your goal is to help the company grow and be more profitable, you’ll need to create new ways to accomplish that. The position requires you to find and think outside of the box to improve business processes, increase sales, and make the company more valuable. Other departments will look to you for guidance and to set expectations, so you’ll need to possess entrepreneurial and leadership skills to design your own projects and manage them accordingly. 02. Goal setting The ultimate goal is growth, but in order to get there, you’ll need to set a whole collection of smaller goals along the way. When you work in biz dev, it’s rare that others will set goals for you. Upper management might tell you what they want or need, but ultimately, it’s up to you to organize your work. It’s also key to have a good grasp on how to create SMART goals, which will set expectations for other departments, namely sales and marketing. 03. Curiosity You might not have expected this one, but being curious can open the door to so much more when you work in business development. A good business developer is inquisitive about everything, from how to improve the sales funnel to why some partnerships are stronger than others. With curiosity comes a drive for research, which can help you understand your brand’s shortcomings and fix them so that it may grow. Curiosity also breeds creativity since you’ll be constantly looking for new solutions to ongoing challenges. 04. Acute attention to detail Whether it’s a metric or a piece of business writing from a client or a potential partner, business developers require a lot of focus to pay attention to all the details, and there are a lot of them. When you’re working on a few different projects with various teams, it’s easy to let things fall through the cracks, but a good business developer will pay attention to small details to try and understand how they affect the big picture. This mean being involved in anything from decisions about the text on advertising campaigns, to a decision on the best business website design . 05. Boot-strapping As a business developer, you’ll have to roll up your sleeves when it comes to breaking new ground. You’ll quickly find out that in order to grow a business, you’ll need to identify and bootstrap new paths to travel on. Being a self-starter will get you far in business development and help you achieve bigger goals by nurturing your entrepreneurial drive. This sense of ownership can inspire you to take on more initiative, as well as study new concepts and do anything you can to bring more value to the business. 06. Team player By now it seems like a cliche to see “team player” as a requirement on a job posting, but working in a team is an essential skill in business development. We’ve already seen how biz dev works hand-in-hand with other departments, so interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively are necessary. More than that, though, is having the understanding that in biz dev, there’s nearly nothing that comes across your desk that you can pass off or ignore. “That’s not my job” just doesn’t work when you’re working towards such large company goals and you need to have your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the entire business. 07. Self-motivation If it wasn’t clear by now, business developers need to have a ton of motivation. Truckloads of motivation, in fact. It may seem like there’s too much work in business development to handle, but a successful business developer will know how to prioritize tasks while also self-motivating themselves to complete work and even seek out work. It’s true, the workload can be a lot, but when you’re able to get your own projects off the ground and see the success of your team and your business as a result of your own hard work, then all the work is worth it and can motivate you to aim even higher. Business development tools you’ll absolutely need Aside from your colleagues and assistance from other departments, there are a few tools that are especially helpful for the day-to-day tasks of business development. These tools will help you manage your workload, stay on top of tasks, or organize projects with ease: Marketing automation tools: Marketing automation lets you run specific tasks automatically without your intervention. For example, you can automate emails, pop-ups, invoices, and a number of other things to save time. This is especially helpful if you’re in the phase of collecting information about your audience and you want to engage with them but you don’t have the resources to do it on the spot. CRM tools: Since relationships are so important in business development, you’ll want to invest in a good CRM (customer relationship management) tool. This will allow you to keep track of both clients and potential partners. You can collect all their contact details in one place, track communications across multiple channels, run reports and gain analytical insights, view their spot in a sales funnel, and more. Task management tools: Aside from tracking your customers, you also need help keeping on top of all your tasks. Use a workflow planner or task management tool to stay on top of all your tasks, organize them, and communicate with your team to see where everyone’s at. You might want to consider tools like Trello, Asana, or Slack. Networking tools: Before you add new partners or clients to your CRM, you need to first make an initial connection. Don’t underestimate the power of social media in order to network. Twitter and LinkedIn are great places to make professional connections with others in your industry. Business development strategy examples Looking for inspiration for your own business development strategies? We've put together some famous examples of companies who did business development in way that powered their success. Each company went a different way and it's a good lesson in the importance of developing a strategy that works for your company, while learning from what other's have done well. Amazon are a good example of a company who took their business development into different areas. Not only did they go after global markets, to expand their reach they also expanded their product categories - remember when they just sold books? No, neither can we. Recently they have also expanded into the streaming service space and are a prime example of how business development plans can and should change and evolve all the time to make the most of new markets and sale opportunities. Facebook took a slight different approach to developing their business, and have gone the route of acquiring other businesses to expand their product offerings - Whataspp and Instagram are just two of their purchases that saw them expand their product portfolio and customer reach. Netflix started off as a company that streamed other's content and have since evolved into a creator of their own original content, a business decision that has allowed them to grow exponentially in terms of users and revenue. The key takeaway? Business development is a strategy that can and should evolve with your business and customers. It should also help your business scale and expand. Business development and ethics Business development and ethics can go hand-in-hand. Business owners should ensure that their business practices and business software are ethical in order to create a positive business environment and build customer trust. Additionally, business development managers should consider developing an ethical code of conduct for their business which sets out the standards and expectations for how the business is run. This should then apply to all employees, regardless of their role. It should also govern how a product is manufactured and a service delivered. Patagonia is just one example of a company that has put ethics and sustainable practices at the core of its business development strategy. They offer a return and repair policy for all of their clothes sold, and insist on legal and humane working conditions wherever their clothes are made. Read Also: How to start a business

The digital era has revolutionized the way we can earn a living, with social media platforms standing at the forefront of this transformation. Making money as an influencer means the ability to convert likes, shares and comments into a steady income stream. Understanding how to effectively monetize social media influence is crucial in the competitive landscape of social media marketing and influencer marketing . Learn more: How to start a business 15 ways to make money as an influencer The influencer landscape is teeming with opportunities for monetization. Here are 15 strategies influencers can employ to turn their social media prowess into profit. Sponsored social media posts Affiliate marketing Merchandise Paid subscriptions and exclusive content Speaking engagements Hosting events or workshops Brand ambassadorships Social media account takeovers Content syndication Courses and workshops Consulting Writing a book Podcasting Mobile app and game development Licensing 01. Sponsored posts Partnering with brands to create content that features their products or services is a primary way to make money for many influencers. The key to success with sponsored posts is to maintain authenticity and choose collaborations that align with your personal or business brand. Where possible you should have at least tried the product or service you’re promoting. Pros Potentially high earnings depending on which brands you work with and how. Increases credibility when you partner with reputable brands which then helps you build monetization relationships with other brands. Cons There’s a risk of alienating followers if sponsored posts are overdone or not aligned with your values. Clearly disclose partnerships and work with brands that resonate with your audience. Most social media platforms have strict guidelines on labeling sponsored posts as such. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : High Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Low-Mid 02. Affiliate marketing Affiliate marketing involves promoting products and earning a commission for every sale made through a unique referral link. You can make money as an influencer by including affiliate links to services and products in your content, either in the text, the images, or the video. Pros Passive income potential, once the link and content is live it can earn you money indefinitely. There is a wide range of products to choose from when it comes to affiliate marketing making it easy to find something that you want to recommend. Cons The amount of Income you make as an influencer here depends on the audience's willingness to purchase what you’re linking to. You may require significant traffic to generate substantial earnings, so this is why it’s also important to promote products you genuinely use and believe in to maintain trust with your audience. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : High Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Low-Mid 03. Influencer merchandise Creating and selling branded merchandise can be a lucrative way to make money for influencers with a devoted fan base. This can range from apparel to digital products like e-books or courses. An easy way to create and sell influencer merchandise is with print on demand companies , design your prints or have someone do it for you, set up a print-on-demand business and get selling. Some well-known influencers who have also pivoted to selling merchandise include Zach King, PewDiePie and Dude Perfect. Pros Branded merchandise strengthens your influencer brand identity. High profit margins are possible. Cons: Requires upfront investment, even with print-on-demand. Success depends on the strength of your brand and how in demand your merchandise is. This is definitely a way to make money for a more established influencer. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : High Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid-High Get started with Wix print on demand or with one of this range of best ecommerce platforms . 04. Paid subscriptions and exclusive content After learning how to make a website you can offer content as part of a subscription service . The content can include behind-the-scenes clips, tutorials or early access to videos. Subscribers get early access or VIP access to this content for a monthly fee. It guarantees that you make money as an influencer and this can be consistent income depending on how well you maintain your subscriber base. Pros: Recurring revenue. Strengthens the relationship with the most engaged followers and this engagement is everything when it comes to making money as an influencer. Cons: Can be challenging to maintain and grow subscribers and it requires consistent delivery of value. Offer various pricing tiers and ensure exclusive content is truly valuable and unique so that you’re delivering value for money. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid-High 05. Speaking engagements Influencers with expertise in a specific area can monetize their knowledge by speaking engagements at conferences, workshops or corporate events. You can speak on what it means to be an influencer and how to be a successful one, or you can speak on the topics your social media content and influencing focuses on. For example, an influencer who focuses on parenting content might also give speeches on being a parenting influencer but they may also speak on a wide range of topics relevant to other parents - such as child development, or how to find the best kindergarten. Pros: High earning potential for a single event. Speaking engagements enhance credibility and expertise, beyond a social media platform. Cons: Speaking opportunities may be infrequent depending on your area and competition may be fierce. Making money this way requires public speaking skills which may not come naturally to someone use to sharing content on social media only. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid-High Other ways to make money as a influencer: How to make money modeling 06. Hosting events or workshops Organizing and hosting events or workshops is another way to engage with your audience while generating income as an influencer. These events or workshops can also be about how to become an influencer or how to be successful as one. Or they can revolve around your social media content. For example, a beauty influencer could run makeup workshops or tutorials online, or in person. Pros: You can earn direct income from ticket sales and attendance, even if there’s no sponsorship or product placement involved. Cons: In-person events come with logistical challenges, meaning significant planning and marketing are required. If you’re just getting started it's worth collaborating with other influences to run events, to share the workload. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid-High 07. Brand ambassadorships By building long-term partnerships with brands as a brand ambassador you can make a steady income as an influencer. They may pay you per a certain number of posts or over a period of months or years. Usually, the hardest part of this idea is finding the brands to partner with, however, if you have an engaged following in a niche, the brands may come looking for you too. Pros: Long-term security for income. The contract often includes free products or experiences. Cons: May limit opportunities with competing brands so be sure to choose brands that you are passionate about and that fit naturally with your content. Requires ongoing commitment in terms of content creation and brands may set strict criteria for the styles, types and quality of the content as well as posting frequency. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : High Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid 08. Social media takeovers A fun and creative way to make money as an influencer is to take over a brand's social media account for a set period for an agreed-upon fee. You then create and upload content to the brand's social media accounts. They capitalize on your following and influence and you get paid a set amount. This makes it a win-win. Pros: High visibility as if you work with a large brand, it also exposes you to more potential followers for your own social media accounts. Cons: Some in your audience may think of it as being less personal. You might not have that much control over the content you control and post as it will be directed by the brand you’re working with. The key to being really successful with this is to create content that goes viral for the brand and amongst your followers. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : High Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid 09. Content syndication You can consider licensing your content to be republished on other platforms or media outlets as another way to make money as an influencer. You could also agree for it to be used in ads or other promotional campaigns by brands and businesses, for an agreed-upon amount. Pros: Leverages existing content so you can make money without having to invest in new content - make money from home . Expand your audience reach on social media and off it. Cons: You may have less control over how your content is used once you license it to someone else. So if you can, it's worth negotiating to make sure you know how your content will be used in the future. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : High Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid 10. Online courses and webinars Sharing your expertise through online courses or webinars can attract individuals willing to pay to learn your knowledge and skills. This is a good way to take everything you’ve learned as an influencer and business owner and repackage it as a way to make money. Pros: There is potential for scalable income as there’s no limit to the number of courses you can create and the number of people you can attract to buy them. It positions you as an expert in your field which makes influencing easier. Cons: Requires time and investment to create high-quality content for courses and workshops. These types of content need to be updated regularly. Remember to focus on topics that you know there is demand for. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : High 11. Consulting services Offering consulting services in your area of influence can be a profitable way to leverage your expertise. You can run group or 1:1 sessions either in-person or online. You can make money as an influencer by helping new or potential influencers get started with their careers. You can also offer consulting services to businesses looking to build their own brand influencers or to grow their social media presence. Pros: Depending on the brands you work with there is high earning potential here, especially if you work with brands. Cons: Consulting can be time-consuming and may distract from your content creation. You’ll need to set clear boundaries and scope for consulting services to maintain balance. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : High 12. Writing books Publishing a book or e-book can be an excellent way to share your story or expertise while earning royalties. There are plenty of options for self-publishing and with a website , you can sell your book directly to your followers. This can be a time-intensive way to make money as an influencer but if it’s successful it can generate passive income for many years. Pros: Passive income after the initial effort of writing, publishing, promoting and selling your book. Great for personal brand building. Cons: It’s time-consuming to write and edit a book, much less sell it. Market saturation and high competition can make it hard to stand out. Promote your book through your social media channels and consider self-publishing options for greater control. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : Low Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : High 13. Podcasting Starting a podcast can open up avenues for sponsorships, advertising and even premium content offerings. It’s a great way to broaden the ways to make money as an influencer. It’s essentially another online channel to build an audience and monetization options. Pros: Podcasts are popular and can attract a large following, as well as help you build a deeper connection with listeners. Cons: It can be highly competitive, like social media. Requires consistent content production which you’d need to manage alongside creating your social media content. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : Mid Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : High 14. Mobile app and game development Developing an app or game related to your brand as an influencer can be a unique way to monetize your influence. Gaming influencers make up a huge number of some of the most popular influencers currently active today, including Mr. Beast. So taking the leap from influencing to game development isn’t always such a large one. However if you don’t have the necessary technical skills to build an app or game, you’d need to work with someone who can. You also need to be confident, before investing in its development, that you have the market to sell it to. Pros: Potential for viral success and long-term financial game. Great diverse revenue options through ads, in-app purchases and more, beyond just the game or app itself. Cons: Requires technical expertise or investment which can be significant, making this a high-risk way to make money as an influencer, even a very successful one. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : High Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : High 15. Licensing deals Licensing your name or brand to products can result in royalties without the need for direct management. What this means is you grant permission to brands, companies and other influencers to use your name to endorse their products or services but they create the content around it. Pros: Passive income; expands brand presence. Cons: Making money this way as an influencer means less control over content quality and the potential for brand dilution. Make sure to work with reputable companies and ensure contracts are clear on quality expectations for where and how your name and brand will be used. Profitability potential as a way to make money as an influencer : High Effort as a way to make money as an influencer : Low How to make money as an influencer Making money as an online influencer requires a robust monetization strategy that aligns with both your personal and business values. The following are a number of things to consider when turning social media influence into profit. Audience and market demand: Influencers must consider their niche, audience demographics, engagement rates and content style. The following size plays a role in making money as an influencer but engagement metrics often prove more valuable to potential partners and brands. It's also vital to assess market demand and to stay abreast of trends on social media platforms. Build a personal brand first and foremost : An influencer's monetization strategy should resonate with their personal brand to maintain authenticity is a key factor in audience retention and trust. It's essential to choose methods that feel organic and provide value to the audience, whether through entertainment, education, or inspiration. Understanding audience preferences can guide influencers in selecting the most appropriate and lucrative opportunities, such as sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, or selling branded merchandise. Make a website: A professional website acts as a central hub for all influencer activities and offers a space to showcase a portfolio, services and contact information for potential collaborations. You can also consider making an eCommerce website to sell merchandise. Create a business plan : Drafting a business plan helps influencers define their goals, target audience, revenue streams and strategies for growth. Keep it flexible and revisit your business plan regularly to adapt to market changes. Build a media kit: A media kit is an influencer's resume, showcasing metrics, demographics, past collaborations and rates. It's essential for pitching to brands and securing deals. Include high-quality visuals and clear, concise information about your influence and reach. Develop a content strategy: A consistent and engaging content strategy is crucial to maintain and grow your audience, which, in turn, supports monetization. Plan content in advance, but remain flexible to incorporate trends and timely topics. Networking : Building relationships with other influencers, brands and industry professionals can lead to new opportunities and increased exposure. How to make money as an influencer FAQ How much money can I make as an influencer? The earning potential of an influencer varies widely based on factors such as niche, audience size, engagement rates and the monetization strategies employed. While some influencers make a modest income, others can earn substantial amounts, even reaching six or seven figures annually. Can I make money as an influencer without a massive following? Yes, even influencers with smaller, niche audiences, often referred to as micro-influencers, can be highly valuable to brands due to their targeted reach and higher engagement rates. Quality of content and audience interaction can be more important than sheer numbers. How do I attract brands for sponsored posts? To attract brands focus on creating high-quality content, engaging with your audience to maintain high engagement rates and building a professional online presence. A well-crafted media kit and active outreach to potential brand partners can also help secure sponsorships. Is it necessary to have a website to make money as an influencer? While not strictly necessary, having a website can enhance your professionalism and provide a dedicated space for showcasing your work, which can be very appealing to brands. You can also use it as a platform for selling products or services directly to your audience. How long does it takes to start making money as an influencer? The time it takes to start earning money can vary greatly. Some influencers may begin to monetize their audience relatively quickly, while others may take months or even years to build a following and establish partnerships that lead to income. Should I focus on one monetization strategy as an influencer or several? Diversifying your income streams is generally advisable as it can lead to more stability. Relying on a single monetization method can be risky if the market changes or if that revenue stream dries up.

There are many aspects of your website design that can foster a good user experience—and many details that when overlooked, can ruin it. From the visual appeal of your site, to its layout, use of text and more, a good website requires a balance of good aesthetics and functionality. Of all the elements to consider, one can make or break your site’s UX design : website navigation. An easily-navigable website will help users find the content they’re looking for, and offer them a positive experience that will encourage them to return. Let’s look at why website navigation is important, and how you can provide users with a flawless user experience. Here, we dive into the basics, plus tips on how to design your site. What is website navigation and why is it important? Imagine the scene: You’ve been wanting a new bag for a while. Finally, you sit down, browse different designer’s eCommerce sites and pick your favorite. After deliberating, you’ve found the perfect bag and want to make your purchase. But once you're ready to pay—you can’t locate the “checkout” button. After all that browsing, completing your purchase seems far too complicated. So eventually, you give up in favor of another brand. Website navigation refers to what facilitates this user journey, and is impacted by the architecture of your site: the organization of links, menus and the connection between different pages on your website all play a role in navigating. Good website navigation practices would avoid a scenario like the one above for your own brand. It impacts traffic, conversion, bounce rates—and is a determining factor in the user experience of your design. What is a website navigation menu? The heart of navigation lies in your website’s menu. A website menu  is a series of linked items that help users navigate between the different pages or sections of the site. This helps visitors find what they're looking for easily and quickly . It's typically a horizontal or vertical bar (although other creative layouts exist) containing a list of links to the most important pages and sections  of your website. Types of website navigation menus There are several standard types of website navigation menus that are recognized throughout the online world. We've outlined these below, including visual examples from website templates . Depending on your design or whether or not you're following a flat architecture approach, any of these, when implemented with our best practices in mind, will help users find their way around your website with ease. Horizontal navigation This is a classic menu that usually appears at the header of your website. Running horizontally across the screen, a horizontal navigation menu will list the pages available on your site. Because it’s a standard in web design, this type of menu is intuitive to use, and easy for visitors to find. Dropdown navigation While we do recommend limiting your menu items, if a website contains a lot of content, that’s not always possible. In such cases, you can create a dropdown menu . Dropdown menus are large lists or panels that open up to an array of options. To avoid information overload, you can use design tools to create hierarchy within this element. Pay attention to typography and make sure each category and sub category stands out. You can also use extra space around each item so that visitors understand the distinction. Hamburger menu While this is primarily seen on mobile navigation , this simple three line icon is now being seen on many desktop versions of websites, too. The hamburger menu offers a minimal icon that doesn’t interfere with the website’s design and is especially useful when real estate is limited (like on mobile devices). Pro tip: If you're looking for something different, explore hamburger menu alternatives too. Sidebar Sidebar menus are vertical menus placed on the left or right of a website. This is a list that is located on the side of your page. Your sidebar lists can be minimal, or can take center stage and become an integral part of the design. Footer navigation Your website footer is a great place to add your social media links, and any other important links that site visitors may find useful. It can also repeat the navigation menu at the top of your page. Website navigation tips Plan navigation with a sitemap Prioritize your pages Stick to conventions Use a sticky menu Limit the number of items Add a search bar Label your menu clearly Link your logo back to the homepage Indicate what page the user is on Ensure visitors can reach any page, from any page 01. Plan navigation with a sitemap When deciding to create a website , a little forward-thinking goes a long way. Clarify which features and pages your website requires, and what their hierarchy should be. Do you need an About Us page, a blog or an FAQ section? Which of these pages is most important or valuable for your site visitors? To develop this hierarchy, it is a common practice to create a sitemap. A sitemap should include a list of all the main items of your user interface and all the sub-categories within them. Since it will form the base of your navigation menu, this practice should help you clearly indicate which pages are most important for visitors to access. To create one, you can use any method you find most comfortable: write it by hand, present it as a flowchart or diagram, or type it out on a spreadsheet. 02. Prioritize your pages When deciding on your hierarchy, consider where you want to lead visitors first. Your goals will depend on what kind of website you’re creating, but here are few guidelines to consider: How will you direct visitors through your funnel? What information is most valuable for you and your visitors? What is the goal of visiting your website, and can visitors easily achieve it in your navigation menu? These pages are part of your primary navigation, and should appear in your site’s main menu to make them as accessible as possible. 03. Stick to conventions While it’s tempting to break the mold, there are times when it’s best to stick to best practices. After all, there’s a reason why hyperlinks generally appear blue, or why a logo will usually be placed in one of the top corners of a website. These familiar nuances, or design conventions, exist because they work. You want visitors to seamlessly glide through your website. So, while we encourage letting your brand’s identity shine (please do implement web design trends and engaging design elements!), when it comes to navigation, emphasize clarity over aesthetic boldness. 04. Use a sticky menu A sticky menu (also referred to as a “fixed” or “floating” menu) is a menu that stays put even as visitors scroll down your site. This is especially important for long-scrolling pages, since you don’t want visitors to journey all the way to the top of your site, just to reach another page. There is also the option of adding a “Back to Top” button that will help users save time. Whichever solution you go for depends on your website’s design and layout, so take into account the different options when considering the most convenient form of navigation for your visitors. To create a floating menu on Wix, you can simply go to "Add" on the left-hand side of the Editor, then “Menu” to choose which menu style you want to go for. Next, right-click on your menu and select “Pin to Screen.” 05. Limit the number of items in your menu Keep your menu minimal, with a maximum of six or seven categories, so users can process the information and reach their desired pages faster. This way, users will be able to process the information easily and reach their desired pages faster. If your site contains lots of information, you can break it down into sections using a dropdown menu. This means that when visitors hover over one item on your menu, a list of sub-categories will come up that they can choose from. 06. Add a search bar A great navigation practice for content-heavy sites is adding a customized search bar . This tool can help users find what they want seamlessly—and fast. A search bar is especially useful for visitors who have less experience surfing the web, since it’s a familiar concept that they can understand intuitively. In terms of the placement of your search bar, it is a good practice to keep it close to your menu. Just like your navigation menu, it can stay fixed in place when visitors scroll down your site to provide easy access to your site’s pages. On Wix, you can add a search bar by using drag and drop features embedded in the editor. 07. Label your menu clearly Once you know which items will appear in your menu, you should think strategically about how to label them. In this case, the biggest priority is clarity—so refrain from using creative micro-copy and industry jargon. Make sure your menu text is clear, descriptive, to the point and not too generic. If you’re not completely sure which wording will work better, you can try out two different versions and test them out by performing A/B tests on your site. In addition to making sure items are findable, a descriptive navigation menu will also hint to Google and other search engines what topic your website is about. 08. Link your logo back to the homepage Not doing this is a common web design mistake that can be easily avoided. Your menu does not need to include the word “Homepage” (in fact, if it does it may appear outdated). Instead, add your own logo at the top of each of your website’s pages and link it to the homepage . This will be a highly intuitive action for most of your users (hello again, web design conventions.) Often, logos appear on the left-hand side of a website’s header, but the exact placement varies. The most important thing is that your logo will appear at the top of your site, in fairly close proximity to your menu. 09. Indicate what page the user is on Nobody likes to feel disoriented—and there’s no exception when navigating a website. You can avoid this for visitors by making it clear where they are on your website. One of the best, and most sophisticated, ways to do this is adding breadcrumbs to your site. Breadcrumb navigation is a method that displays the user’s location on a page in relation to the rest of the site, making it easy to maneuver. Breadcrumbs are usually presented across the top of a page as a series of horizontal links separated by the “greater than” (>) symbol—but of course, you can use arrows or other imagery that stays in line with your site’s visual language. A minimalistic option for sites with lengthy content is a status bar , which indicates to the user where they are when making their way through a specific page. 10. Ensure visitors can reach any page, from any page A final tip and rule of thumb is that visitors should be able to navigate to any page they desire, from any page. Remember, not everyone will reach your site from its homepage. This means that any other page they land on should connect to the rest of your site. An easy solution is to ensure that all pages are accessible from the menu, and that each page includes a menu. To make things even more intuitive, keep the website menu design consistent on every page, placing it in exactly the same spot to avoid confusion. Pro tip: When considering the user experience of digesting lengthy pages of texts—such as long blog posts or landing pages—anchor links are another handy navigation tool to have in your arsenal. These links live outside your navigation menu, generally placed at the top of a page to help visitors to skip irrelevant content, the the parts they're most interested in.

Web analytics is the measurement and analysis of data that enables the understanding of how users interact with websites. While web analytics refers to the entire process of finding and assessing data, it is often achieved using web analytics tools . These platforms measure various metrics and help you gather insights about how users are arriving at your website , what they are doing when they reach your site and how they are interacting with your brand via behavioral analytics . When you are looking to start a business or build up a personal brand, there are a couple of key factors to consider. First and foremost, you’ll need to bolster your web presence with a website. Start by learning how to create a website with a website builder and then customize it to make it truly represent you. The next step is to consider how you’ll monitor your progress and optimize as you grow. Web analytics helps you do just that. It enables you to track what is happening behind the scenes of your website both on desktop and through mobile analytics , so you can understand what aspects of your site are truly benefiting your business or brand. There are many web analytics tools to choose from and many more metrics to consider. In this article, you’ll learn exactly what web analytics is, which metrics matter and how to start tracking your site so you can accomplish your goals. What is web analytics? Web analytics is the process of collecting, analyzing and reporting website data to understand and optimize web usage. It's a data-driven approach to understanding how people use your website and what you can do to improve their experience. What are web analytics used for? Web analytics can be used to track a wide range of metrics, including: Traffic: How many people visit your website and how many page views do they generate? Sources: Where do your visitors come from? Are they from search engines, social media or other websites? Behavior: How do visitors interact with your website? What pages do they visit? How long do they stay on your site? Conversions: How many visitors take a desired action on your website, such as making a purchase or subscribing to your newsletter? Web analytics can be used to answer a variety of questions, such as: Which pages are most popular with my visitors? Which marketing campaigns are driving the most traffic to my website? What are the most common paths that visitors take through my website? Where are visitors dropping off my website? What can I do to improve my website's conversion rate? Web analytics is an essential tool for any business that has a website. It can help you to understand your audience, improve your website's performance and achieve your business goals. Here are some examples of how web analytics can be used: An eCommerce company can use web analytics to track which products are most popular, which pages have the highest conversion rates and where visitors are dropping off in the checkout process. This information can then be used to improve the product selection, optimize the website design and reduce cart abandonment. A blog can use web analytics to track which articles are most popular, which topics are resonating with their audience and how long visitors are spending on each page. This information can then be used to create more engaging content and improve the overall user experience. A SaaS company can use web analytics to track which features are most used, where users are getting stuck and how long it takes users to complete key tasks. This information can then be used to improve the product design, documentation and onboarding process. Why are web analytics important? You might think that creating a great site and offering an amazing service or product is enough to keep customers coming your way. However, there are often unexpected obstacles and sometimes users will interact with your site in a way that you might not have anticipated. This means that it is vital to be assessing the behind the scenes of your site in order to truly make data driven decisions. You’ll have to understand the user experience and journey from an outsider's perspective in order to assess what is worthwhile for your website. This can only be achieved using web analytics. Web analytics tools can highlight how visitors are reaching your site and where along their user journey they might be getting stuck before purchasing your offering. With this information, site owners can optimize their website experience accordingly and ultimately improve user satisfaction. Such assessment is well worth it for business owners as it can increase traffic and conversions from their site. How does web analytics work? While it's nice to have in depth information about user interaction with your site, you may be wondering how it is collected and if it's invasive. Rest assured you will not be stealing private information from your users and they have every reason to feel safe when browsing your site. That said, there are various tracking mechanisms in place on sites that enable site owners to have a general understanding of user experience. Often web analytics tools utilize tags which essentially count every time a user visits a certain webpage or clicks on a specific button. In this way you can gather information about total visits and clicks on certain places of your site without invading the privacy of individual users. Another option is to use cookies which enables you to understand repeat visits from a single browser. This can be useful in assessing returning customers, saving customer shopping carts and utilizing remarketing tactics. While cookies provide slightly more information about individual site visitors, they still do not enable a site owner to know anything about a user other than the user's visits to their website. Additionally, many site owners employ the use of the cookies banner which states explicitly that they will track visitors in order to provide a more personalized experience in the future. Users can choose whether to accept these terms or not, in which case a site cannot track that specific user. Web analytics API's enable developers to access website data and statistics quickly and easily. They help to monitor website traffic , understand how users interact with a website, and analyze key performance indicators like clicks, conversions, and user behavior. This makes it easier to create custom reports and insights based on web analytics data. Web analytics in SEO Web analytics in SEO refers to the analysis of website data to help increase visibility and search engine rankings. It involves the tracking of website visitors, clicks, and conversions to measure the performance of a website and its pages. The main goal of web analytics in SEO is to understand how users interact with a website, optimizing content and navigation for a better user experience. What web analytics metrics should you track? An essential aspect of successful web analytics is understanding what metrics are most useful for your business. While each website is different, the foundational question remains the same for every single site. What are your site goals? Often these include gaining traffic and making sales so your business or brand can thrive. Or it can mean improving the monetization of your website . Common metrics include page views, unique visitors, average session duration, bounce rate, click-through rate (CTR), conversion. In order to achieve these objectives, consider the following metrics: 01. Traffic Traffic generally means the amount of visits your website is getting. Of course, the more visits your site receives, the better chance you have of people learning about your brand and the greater the likelihood that you will make money. In many ways, traffic is the simplest metric to measure and is available on almost all analytics tools. That said, be aware that not all visitors can be considered equal. Some visitors may be you or your close friends, others may be counted twice simply by refreshing their webpage, while the remainder could be new visitors. Each of these categories will ultimately have a different value for your brand. Other specific web analytics metrics that are important to track under the broader umbrella of traffic include, page views, number of sessions and unique page views. This is important for understanding how many of your visitors that make up the traffic to your site are new, or returning visitors. Returning visitors are a good indication of how well you are creating brand awareness around your site and company. New visitors and their growth show how well you are targeting new audiences and users. 02. Traffic sources Another important aspect of assessing traffic is understanding where it is coming from. Just as there’s not one type of visitor, traffic sources, too, can vary in value. Someone who is searching for your brand actively on Google may act differently on your site than someone who happens to find your site through an ad. While all traffic is good, someone who has a commitment to your brand is more likely to purchase your product or service than someone who is just browsing and assessing options. Customer analytics can help inform you of your audience and how they found you. Additionally, traffic from different geographic locations may vary in value for your brand. It’s possible that visitors from one location are more likely to spend larger amounts than those from somewhere else. If you have an international brand, it’s also likely that your offerings vary in price depending on the local competition. Take this into account when considering where your traffic is coming from. In order to understand traffic sources, be sure you are tracking numbers from all platforms on which your site can be found. In addition to traffic from search engines, you need to understand how much traffic each advertisement is bringing you and how those visitors tend to act. Consider utilizing an analytics tool that can identify the various sources of your traffic so you can easily compare each source. When it comes to tracking organic traffic (branded and non-branded), Google Search Console is your go to platform. 03. Conversions Traffic is only as good as the money it brings to your business. Ultimately, for your brand to thrive, you need that traffic to take action and actually purchase your product or service. That next step is considered a conversion. While any next step can be defined as a conversion, it is often used to mean when a site visitor converts to become a user. This metric can be considered a business metric as it can be used as the basis for future decisions regarding what it is worth spending in order to bring in more profit. By being able to predict how many site visitors will ultimately convert, you can easily justify spending money on ads and branding. That said, not all advertisements will bring in the same number of conversions. So be sure to track which ads and products are most fruitful. Another important aspect of conversion tracking is understanding which products or services on your site sell more. For example, consider a t-shirt business. While they may sell 50 different designs, in all likelihood the same three t-shirts are bringing them the most sales, while the remaining 47 designs only get a few purchases. Web analytics tools can help you understand which items are selling the most. You can then be sure to advertise those products to make the most of your ad spend. You can also use this insight to help you decide which products should be featured at the top of your site and even determine the design of any future product based on those successful items. 04. Revenue Revenue refers to the total money earned in a given time period. In addition to conversion data which you can use to track the number of sales, you can assess the money earned from these sales through your revenue. So to go back to our t-shirt example, suppose one of the three best-selling shirts costs $8, while one of the less popular designs costs $25. In this case you can sell a third of the more expensive shirts and still make more money than if you only sold the $8 design. This revenue differential points to the importance of looking at both conversions and revenue together. While raw numbers of conversions are important for success and growth, revenue is important for business management. Businesses can understand what products are worthwhile to continue producing and what they need to do in order to stay profitable. 05. Bounce rate How visitors behave, or engagement on your site is an important web analytics metric to track. Within this one of the most tracked is bounce rate, which is calculated as the percentage of users who leave your site without moving onto another page within it. Let's say a user lands on your homepage, from a Google search. If they leave your site from that same page, without exploring any more on your site - they've bounced and will count towards your bounce rate. Obviously the aim is always to lower your bounce rate, so that you're encouraging users to move around your site - meaning they get to know you, your brand, your company and your product better. Other engagement metrics to track include, time on page, average session duration, and number of pages per session. All of these help you understand how people are behaving on your site, if your content engages them, and if it encourages them to move around your website - which should be a marketing goal. 06. Social media metrics Social media metrics are a unique form of web analytics, as many of the metrics tracked are done so off your website. What you can track is traffic from specific social media sources - how many users get to your site from Facebook, or Instagram say. Social media engagement analytics refer to how people engage and interact with your content on a specific social media platform, rather than your website. However, they can help you understand what content resonates with your audience better, and this can influence the type of content you plan on your website to achieve the same engagement hits. Web analytics tools and getting started Now that you have an understanding of what metrics you should be tracking, you may be wondering how to actually get started with tracking these items. There are many platform options, and we suggest perusing this list of the best web analytics tools available to choose the most ideal option for you. Many of these tools will then require some setup in order for them to calibrate with your site and be able to provide you with real data. A highly efficient way to begin monitoring your website's data is through Wix Analytics . This free, integrated tool offers comprehensive insights to Wix website owners, including information on website traffic, visitor behavior, conversions and more. What's more, it includes an AI analytics report that benchmarks your site against others in your industry and region, helping you pinpoint both strengths and areas for improvement in your website's performance. To access your site analytics, navigate to your site dashboard and then find the “Analytics & Reports" tag on the left hand side of your screen. There, you will be given a breakdown of the types of metrics available to you, such as traffic or sales. Once within these metrics, you can customize your reports so that you can see trends based on region or traffic source. These types of customization capabilities enable you to see what truly matters to you. Google Analytics is another popular web analytics tool. It's a pretty comprehensive tool that allows you to track all of the metrics mentioned above both on a website and page level. It is undergoing changes— GA4 is the new interface for web analytics that will replace Universal Google Analytics as it is now known by the end of 2023. Other alternatives for website tracking include, Hubspot, Piwik Pro Analytics Suite, Clicky and Mixpanel. It's worth noting that often metrics are named differently, depending on the web analytics tool used. So it's important to understand what you want to track and why; then translate that into the relevant metrics of the tool you use. Not sure where to get started with your website tracking? We recommend looking out for web analytics courses. If you'd like to know more about how Google products track website analytics, check out their Analytics Academy . What is website analytics FAQ What is web analytics API? A web analytics API (Application Programming Interface) allows developers to programmatically access and retrieve data from web analytics platforms. This enables integration with other systems, custom reporting and automation of data analysis processes. What are the main types of web analytics? In general there are two types of website analytics - off-site and on-site. On-site measures what happens on your site, from how users found it to how they behave on it. Off-site refers to how users behave off your website, on social media platforms or in search engines, for example. What is the difference between data analytics and web analytics? Data analytics  refers to the broader practice of analyzing various types of data to extract insights and make data-driven decisions. It encompasses a wide range of data sources, including but not limited to web data. Web analytics , on the other hand, specifically focuses on analyzing data related to website traffic, user behavior and performance metrics. While web analytics is a subset of data analytics, it specifically deals with data generated by website interactions. What is an example of website analytics? An example of website analytics is tracking the number of unique visitors to a website over a specific period, analyzing page views, bounce rates and average session duration. These metrics provide insights into user engagement, content effectiveness and overall website performance. What are web analytics best practices? Some best practices for web analytics include: a. Defining clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with business objectives b. Implementing a reliable web analytics tool to track relevant metrics c. Regularly analyzing and interpreting data to identify trends and areas for improvement d. Segmenting website visitors based on demographics, behavior or other relevant factors e. Conducting A/B testing to optimize website elements and improve user experience f. Ensuring data accuracy and consistency by regularly auditing tracking codes and configurations What are some common issues with web analytics? Common issues with web analytics include: a. Data inaccuracies due to tracking errors, misconfigured tags or incomplete data collection. b. Lack of data privacy compliance, risking user trust and legal implications. c. Overreliance on vanity metrics that don't provide meaningful insights into business performance. d. Difficulty in attributing conversions accurately across multiple channels (e.g., attribution modeling). e. Challenges in interpreting and deriving actionable insights from complex data sets. f. Inadequate integration with other business systems or data sources, limiting holistic analysis.