Audience Engagement Archives - Post and Courier Advertising

The Good Cheer Fund Donates to Lowcountry Neighbors in Need

Posted on January 9, 2023 | by Robie Scott

Spreading Joy Since 1927

The Lowcountry rallied again this year to help those in greatest need by donating $417,908.31 to the Good Cheer Fund. Those funds will be distributed to The Lowcountry Food Bank, Salvation Army, Star Gospel Mission, Association for the Blind, Catholic Charities, Carolina Youth Development Center, and Charleston Leadership Foundation.

Established in 1927, the Good Cheer Fund has raised a total of $11,018,981.14 since its inception. Every year, the campaign launches the Sunday after Thanksgiving and ends Christmas Day, with the final listing published on December 31. Principal funding comes from individuals and local businesses that respond to newspaper articles written during the holiday season. The Good Cheer fund represents all that is good, charitable, and generous in the Lowcountry.

This year, donations ranged from a few dollars to $35,000 from the employees at Blackbaud. Notably, not only did businesses lend their generous support, but many of their clients made donations in their honor, or in honor of their employees. Here are just a few examples:

In honor of Charleston Financial Advisors, LLC From Grateful Clients
In honor of Elvita at Elvita’s Day Spa on Coleman Blvd.
In honor of Rita at Bernice’s Salon on King St.

Of course, individuals and community organizations were represented as well, such as:

Bill and Cheryl Clair donated over Thanksgiving for their nine beautiful grandchildren
The Society for the preservation of Spirituals
The Village Birthday Group in McClellanville
The Mash Supper Club

Contributions can be made in a variety of ways from honoring a loved one, in memory of someone special, in lieu of Christmas Cards, or anonymously. For more information, visit goodcheerfund.com.

The Post and Courier Celebrates its 220th Anniversary

Posted on January 9, 2023 | by Post and Courier Staff

220 Years of Commitment to the Community

Thanks to the support of countless subscribers and the partnership of local and national businesses over the years, The Post and Courier celebrated its 220th anniversary on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

As the South’s oldest daily newspaper, first as The (Charleston) Courier and later The News and Courier, the publication has been a staple of the community here in the Charleston area since 1803. Over the years, the paper’s coverage has included stories about business, politics, food, entertainment and local interests. It also shed light on critical public service and investigative topics, with projects including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning “Till Death Do Us Part”, the Education Lab, and The Greenland Connection. Beginning in 2021, it brought to print the Uncovered series which works in partnership with 18 community newspapers in SC to reveal corruption and misdeeds among public officials.

However, this longstanding commitment to impactful journalism is not the only thing to be celebrated this year. As The Post and Courier enters this 220th year, the paper’s history and success are shared with many of the companies who also call South Carolina home.

“Readers have relied on The Post and Courier for editorial and advertising content for years,” says President and Publisher PJ Browning. “Because of our commitment to quality journalism and our deep roots in the community, advertising in the newspaper and on our website has become a trusted and reliable investment. Advertising is a valuable piece of the content we provide and helps keep people informed of new businesses in the area, sales, and events.”

The Post and Courier has established itself as a lasting part of people’s daily lives both in the tri-county area and throughout the state. This makes the paper a valuable resource for businesses to reach potential and returning customers.

Chief Opportunity & Marketing Officer, Chris Zoeller, shares that “maintaining a balance of great, meaningful journalism alongside long-term partnerships with advertisers makes The Post and Courier an important source of value for readers and businesses alike.”

It’s a special thing to see advertisers in previous editions of The News and Courier still within the pages of The Post and Courier. Zoeller continues, “We want to take this time to not only celebrate our anniversary but also what it means for our partners.”

What does it mean for a newspaper to last well over 200 years? This longevity represents the intertwined success of the paper and its advertisers because of the dedication to and loyalty from the public.

While the achievement of the 220-year milestone is one to be proud of, it would not have been possible without the continuing relationships between subscribers and advertising partners. For that, there is a lot of gratitude to go around – but, more importantly, an even stronger conviction of the commitment and public service to South Carolina.

This mission will take The Post and Courier well into the next 200+ years.

Croghan’s Valentine’s Day ad in The News and Courier, Thursday, February 13, 1958

Croghan’s Mother’s Day ad in The News and Courier, Friday, May 11, 1951

Southeastern Galleries ad in The News and Courier, Friday, August 6, 1976

Post and Courier redesigned print edition

The Post and Courier Launches Redesigned Print Edition

Posted on December 20, 2022 | by Robie Scott

After listening and responding to the ever-changing media needs of our readers, we’ve redesigned the Post and Courier to put our audience first.

In 2020, the Post and Courier announced a significant investment in equipment and the future of media in South Carolina with the purchase of a 2008 Goss Magnum Single Width Press. That investment is now coming to fruition, as the presses became fully operational on Sunday, December 18, 2022.

“This is truly a historical moment for media in South Carolina,” said Pamela J Browning, President and Publisher, Newspaper Division. “We remain committed to continuously developing our capabilities and investing in quality journalism. The new presses position us to continue printing a quality newspaper well into the future with all the content our readers enjoy in a more vibrant and engaging design.”

Section A Content and Enhancements

Starting with the front page of the redesigned print edition, you’ll find more clarity and an enhanced table of contents that provides a quick reference to what’s inside, including a preview of the Opinion page. All section fronts have been updated to reflect the intriguing content within, and the headers guide the reader to additional information.

Introducing the TOP SC News section, which features highlights from around the state as well as lottery information.

The new Nation/World section will provide a quick look around the globe.

Charleston Scene, the Lowcountry’s No. 1 choice for places to go and things to do, continues to be on the back of Section A on Thursdays.

There are some additional Section A content changes of note:

The Weather page will take a more prominent place on page 2, with more detailed information about statewide cities in South Carolina.
The Opinion page finds its home in the A Section every day.
Obituaries will move to a more prominent position in Section A.

Section B Content and Enhancements

The Business section will run Tuesday through Sunday, with expanded coverage and a new feature, “Local Stocks to Watch.”

Health will be anchored on the front of Section B on Mondays.

The Sports section will offer extensive coverage from around the state and beyond.

Other Section B content additions include:

TV Listings
Dear Abby
Puzzles
Comics*
Classifieds*

*On Sundays, Comics and Classifieds are featured in Section C

Section C Content and Enhancements

The popular Food section will remain in the Wednesday edition with vibrant updates.

Life, Home & Real Estate, and Classifieds will now be featured together in Section C.

Note that there are also some additional Section C content changes within the redesigned print edition:

The Real Estate section will continue to appear on Saturday.
The Comic section remains in your Sunday edition.

Putting Our Audience First

These enhancements are one way we are putting our audience first, listening and responding to the ever-changing media needs of our readers. Please feel free to share your feedback at subserve@postandcourier.com.

Small plant blossoms to indicate audience retention and growth

How The Post and Courier is Investing in Marketing to Grow and Retain Audiences

Posted on October 21, 2022 | by Post and Courier Staff

The Post and Courier is always looking for innovative ways to reach new audiences to deliver the news that matters most to South Carolinians. With an ever-evolving digital transformation and rapid expansion across the state, we’re leading the charge in several ways.

First, The Post and Courier is investing in reporters to expand coverage across current markets in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg, North Augusta, Myrtle Beach, and Hilton Head, as well as new markets in Florence and Rock Hill. In addition, The Post and Courier is building a new state-of-the-art printing facility that offers modern and efficient printing to serve our readers and commercial print customers. But behind the scenes, as a versatile multi-media company, we’ve also been investing in our marketing to ensure quality journalism and to meet the needs of local businesses that want to reach our valued audiences.

“Most people might consider The Post and Courier as a legacy media company that has covered Charleston for 200+ years, but really as we transform toward a future in digital and grow our audiences across the state, we really consider ourselves as a 200+-year-old start-up,” said Chris Zoeller, Chief Opportunity and Marketing Officer.

“And to achieve these efforts, we know we need to invest in building a team that can focus on a variety of marketing initiatives to grow and retain our audience. Our readers trust our journalism and advertisers want to be aligned with our readers.”

Paid Digital and Print Audience Growth

As part of the strategy, Claire Linney, a long-time The Post and Courier employee, was named Audience Director, where her main responsibility is to grow paid digital and print audiences.

“I love being a part of our creative and fun team! We are a fast-paced, idea-generating group and it’s a great culture to be a part of,” said Linney. “I find it rewarding to be a part of a team that is collectively working together to support our community with impactful news.”

Previously, as Associate Director of Audience Growth and Acquisition, Linney focused on a growth plan for print subscriptions and adequately used the resources available to her. For example, Linney and her team were able to sell over 100 print subscriptions at Summerville’s annual Flowertown Festival, which shows there are several new opportunities for subscriber growth.

“I am looking forward to being a part of our overall subscription growth, we are on a positive trajectory, and looking forward to being a part of the growth to come,” said Linney.

Also a part of the acquisition team is Digital Marketing Manager, Kelly Krammes. Krammes comes to The Post and Courier from the TV news side of the industry and has over a decade of experience marketing to local audiences and sharing the important work journalists are doing in these areas.

“The Post and Courier is a storied brand with an excellent reputation in South Carolina and beyond,” said Krammes. “I’m a passionate consumer of news and am proud to work for a brand that is well-known in the industry for providing impactful journalism.”

“It’s our responsibility to make data-driven decisions to best serve the readers and subscribers who invite The Post and Courier into their homes via our digital and print products, while also reaching new audiences. I’m thrilled to join this team of collaborative marketers as we continue to make strategic decisions by honing in on the information we have about our consumers, and news consumers in general, to keep our digital marketing approach agile and relevant.”

Subscriber Acquisition and Retention

But what happens after a new subscriber is acquired? Retention Marketing Manager, Mary Fox, comes in to help onboard and retain new subscribers to make sure they are getting all of the content and benefits of being a Post and Courier subscriber.

In her former role as Subscriber and Donor Engagement Specialist, Fox worked closely with the rest of the digital marketing team to acquire subscribers but saw a gap where new subscribers did not receive the same attention as potential subscribers.

“My strengths are experimenting with different tools and resources to build engagement—and therefore, retention—through messaging our subscribers as well as fundraising campaigns,” Fox said. “I’m happiest trying new things or trying things in a new way to build our retention efforts. I like researching what other companies are doing outside of media/newspapers to see how we can implement that at The Post and Courier. I also am super driven to achieve the goals of keeping subscribers engaged and building our fundraising to benefit future special reporting projects.”

This growth in acquisition and retention extends to the rest of the team as well, with a complete team of seven marketing professionals in the Digital Marketing Department, including Linney, Krammes, Fox, two Newsletter Editors, a Subscriber and Donor Engagement Specialist, and Marketing Coordinator.

Each of these professionals has several ideas for data-driven, creative campaigns to continue branding and marketing The Post and Courier across the state, and to continue to reach new audiences with the quality journalism that is known to come from the reporters at The Post and Courier.

About Our Team

Claire Linney, Audience Director

Audience Director, Claire Linney, has been with The Post and Courier for nearly a decade and through this experience has a strong grasp on the holistic approach of the paper in acquisition and retention. Linney enjoys looking at the big picture and the overall goal of the business, and in this position works closely with the digital marketing team to reach their goals.

Kelly Krammes, Digital Marketing Manager

Digital Marketing Manager, Kelly Krammes, comes to The Post and Courier with a decade of experience in news marketing, working at 11Alive News, the NBC affiliate in Atlanta. Her main goals in this position are to create avenues to reach new audiences to be able to share The Post and Courier with these audiences.

Mary Fox, Retention Marketing Manager

Retention Marketing Manager, Mary Fox, has been with The Post and Courier for almost two years and in that time has created and refined several acquisition and retention campaigns for subscribers and donors to the organization. In this role, Fox has created several retention strategies, including an onboarding series for new subscribers, subscriber-only contests and events, and reaching out to these audiences whenever there is breaking news.

Why You Are Not Reaching The Right Audience

Posted on July 9, 2021 | by Post and Courier Staff

As any good business owner knows, your audience drives your success. Why? Because without an audience, you are not selling anything. Therefore, you do not have a business.

It is a simple equation that even the best entrepreneurs and business savvy individuals miss the mark on.

So, why are you not reaching the right audience?

Your Content Falls Flat

Content is key. So, why is your content not everything?

Perhaps you pour a significant amount of money into content creation, but you still are not seeing the results you desire. It may be you

r messaging.

Does your content reflect your business? Does it tell a stranger everything they need to know to entice them to engage with your advertising or business?

Your content should tell a story without overwhelming a potential lead.

Check out this way to be seen by 1.8 million people

Your Audience Is Not Defined

Identifying who you want to sell to is going to benefit your business and save you money overall.

If you do not have a defined audience, you could be overspending on advertising. Your advertising may be getting seen, perhaps skyrocketing with interactions. But the leads are minimal.

Why? The money you invested in digital advertising is being fed to the wrong viewers.

People are seeing your ad, maybe interacting with it, but a target audience was not defined. This causes Google, Facebook, Instagram – whatever the platform – to focus on one goal: spend the money it was given.

For example, Facebook and Instagram ads are great ways to reach people and grow your business in a digital space. But, if you do not identify who your audience is, target the right interests, income, area – you may be reaching the wrong people and wasting money.

Without a deep understanding of your audience and digital advertising, you are nurturing an expensive brand awareness campaign. Brand awareness is great, but leads are better.

You Do Not Know Who You Are Selling To

As a business owner, you engage with customers, know who they are, and can determine any customer’s needs. But do you know your community, the place where you are offering your services/business?

A common mistake business owners make is that, while you are passionate about your business, does your potential audience feel the same?

Take the time to research your local community. Find out the median income, are there more families or single individuals, what is the most common pastime? Questions that resemble a dating profile should be the questions you ask yourself when determining your target audience.

If you have a better understanding of who the audience is that surrounds your business, the better you can tailor content, spend your ad dollars, and grow your business.

The Post and Courier knows the community and has built up more than 250 years of trust within that community. Better yet, the community knows The Post and Courier. We have developed a trustworthy, affluent, and statewide audience over the years. With that, The Post and Courier has developed a team of knowledgeable experts that efficiently tailor your message into captivating content for digital advertising and print advertising campaigns that help you tap into THE audience.

Better 4 Business: Print Advertising vs Digital Advertising

Posted on December 15, 2020 | by Post and Courier Staff

Newspaper/print advertising or social media advertising? While social media is climbing the ranks, the newspaper seems to remain steady and calm. Social media advertising is pushed more with every ad, but print remains relevant.

So, what’s the deal with newspaper advertising? Is it a valid competitor to social media?

The answer? No. But not for the reasons you may think.

A History Lesson

The year is 1997. The year social media was invented.

While this was just under 30 years since computers came to fruition, it is also a decade before a mogul in social media advertising would be launched (yes, Facebook).

Social media also falls approximately 2,054 years after the world’s first newspaper was published. (The first daily newspaper was only 392 years prior.)

In 1704, the first newspaper advertisement was posted. Just 300 years later, the first web banner ad was posted. And, again, Facebook would raise its stakes (and stocks) with Facebook Advertising in 2007. Ultimately, this changes the advertising game.

Print Advertising, Social Media, and $$$

The brief history of newspapers, social media, and the internet were to give you just a slight idea of why newspaper advertising is still around today. It started it all.

Newspaper advertising gave way to print advertising and vice versa.

Print advertising refers to any hard copy type of medium with an ad. We’re talking magazines, brochures, and, the favorite, direct mail.

Digital advertising has taken the main stage of advertising with nearly $40 billion poured into the advertising medium in 2020. Print advertising rolls in at $13.4 million this year so far.

A few factors come into play here.

Social media advertising can cost 25 cents to reach 1,000 people, while print advertising, more specifically newspaper, would, on average, costs $32 to reach 1,000 people.

But saving money does not mean it is better for business.

Throwing Money Away?

While, yes, the numbers don’t lie, you can spend less to reach more people with digital advertising.

However, is that the audience you want to reach? It may reach those people, but are they the right people? Are they actually engaging in those ads? Are those 25 cents really gaining that ROI?

Yes, ad targeting is a glorious tool, if used correctly. Our team here at The Post and Courier can curate the perfect social media plan for your business to target, reach, and rake in that ideal audience.

But if you’re just putting money behind a social ad or Google ad for the sake of putting money behind that ad, you’re not utilizing the tool to its full potential. And, that’s the case for a lot of that $40 billion that’s getting thrown around. There’s so much that goes into placing a social media ad than just credit card information.

Digital advertising actually does not have as high of a payoff as print advertising. Printed publications stay around longer than social media and/or digital advertising. Social media or search engine ads disappear when the money stops flowing.

Print ads, on the other hand, stays around. Once printed, that publication, newspaper or magazine, stay on the coffee table, a shelf, in the waiting room of the doctor’s office.

“When people see ads online, they may forget them in an instant. If they see them repeatedly while flipping through a magazine, that message is more likely to stick.”

Additionally, print advertising sees ROI in word of mouth, uses of coupon codes, and an overall increase in sales.

Print Advertising & Trust

Beyond the dollar signs, trust is a major factor that breathes life into print advertising.

According to MarketProfs, “Consumers trust print advertisements 34% more than they trust search engine ads.”

What this tells us is that if you pour money into digital advertising and not properly strategize, you could come off as untrustworthy.

Print advertising also comes with antiquity and being a consistent part of history. With that longevity comes loyalty.

Just like a favorite restaurant, your favorite shampoo, maybe even your favorite supermarket. If you consistently shop from a place, you have a connection to it. Maybe your mom shopped there or your grandparents.

Print advertising holds the loyalty of being a household name, always being there. This is something that can’t be replaced.

People trust what they are connected to.

Print Compliments Digital Ads

While both digital ads and print ads are very important especially in the digital age, having one and not the other could potentially hurt your business.

Not having social media or even a website leaves a whole group of people unreached.

Not advertising in print also leaves a whole group untouched.

Again, having a well thought out digital/social media advertising is the key to succeeding in the paid digital space.

The same could be said for print advertising.

Print advertising does reach a niche audience, but the same shows for digital advertising. As mentioned above, who you want to target can help you rake in ideal returns.

By figuring out a strategy that references or involves your website or social media, can help drive traffic to those platforms leading you to see an ROI in both mediums.

So, what’s Better 4 Business is both print advertising and digital advertising. The pair are like a fine wine and a good cheese. The antiquated and the modern complement each other.

What’s even Better 4 Business is combining your advertising efforts with marketing. Talk about a match made in heaven.

The Value of Repurposing Content

Posted on December 1, 2020 | by Peyton Riddle

Reusing old content has become more valuable than ever in 2020. On top of that, there’s no better time to revitalize old posts than during the holidays. Between the stresses of dealing with COVID-19 as a business and planning time away from work, pulling content out of the vault can lift many burdens.

Depending on what your business produces to market itself, there will be different ways to repurpose it. But the core idea remains the same; take valuable content that has been buried under newer things, add a new spin on it, and push it back to the top of your feed.

Why reuse old content?

Before diving into your past catalog and simply re-posting everything you have, let’s dissect why this is important to do. Understanding the value of repurposed content will help you to decide which pieces to revitalize and how to do it.

Save time/money

The most obvious reason to go about this, is that you’ll save time and possibly money. Repurposing old content can often take a fraction of the time and effort it would take to create something new.

If you’re working with a third party such as an agency, you probably are conscious of both time and money. Your agency can help identify good content to reuse, based on how well it performed. The agency can then transform that at a faster pace and a cheaper cost than producing something original.

The process can even be automated. If you have timeless content, meaning it wouldn’t need any rewriting or additions, you can set up a system to automatically republish content. This is great for the holiday season once you start to take time off. This can be done through something as simple as using social media to post links to your content. Or on a deeper level, set up your website to push old, but relevant blogs to the top of the page.

Boost SEO

Your content can only truly boost the overall SEO of your website if people are visiting and spending time viewing your content. So don’t let your old content go to waste by hiding it in the past.

Giving people a fresh reason to visit your page will add to the existing SEO power that it built up originally. Whether you decide to update your existing content’s page, or copy the contents to create a new, fresh page, the SEO benefits will be great. You can attribute your new content back to the old post. More pages on your site means stronger search engine value.

Reach new audiences

This boost in SEO is also one way that your repurposed content will attract new audiences. Perhaps your content didn’t’ achieve its full potential the first time. Giving it a second chance will do nothing but positive things for your brand’s reach.

Times have changed dramatically in 2020. People are living their lives in ways we never saw coming, due to quarantines and social distancing. Chances are high that your business can play on these life changes in some way. Take a look back at your history of content marketing. You might just find something that is now relevant to a wider audience.

Just be sure not to overdo it by rehashing the same topics week after week. You don’t want people to see you as a brand with nothing new to say.

How should you reuse content?

Content marketing comes in many forms, and they cannot all be treated equally when it comes to repurposing. Once you’ve identified what’s worth reusing, you have to find the right approach to doing so.

Blogs

Blogs often rely on data to back up points, which builds up your brand’s expertise on a subject. One straight-forward approach to reusing old blogs is to update them with newer data. Add new links to externals sources, or even new backlinks to pages on your site that didn’t exist before. This all adds to SEO and brand image.

You don’t even have to keep the blog in written form to reuse it. Consider ways to turn your writing into podcasts or videos. Come up with new ways for audiences to digest your content. Not everyone engages with content in the same way.

Once you have a solid backlog of blog content, you can compile related blogs into a single collection. This can even take the form of a physically published book.

The purpose of blogs in content marketing is mainly to build up the brand image by showing your expertise. Reminding people that they can engage with your content in different ways gives them more chances to see that you’re an expert.

Videos

Video content does not need to be reshot in order to be repurposed. Graphics, text, and animations can be added to transform your video.

Are you proud of a recent award or achievement your business achieved? Commercials or other video marketing pieces are a great place to insert graphics announcing your success.

If you have the time, recording new voice-over narration and adding new music is a great way to reuse videos. You won’t have to bother reshooting footage, and the content will still feel fresh. This is a great way to make new announcements for your business or share anything that has changed since the original video.

This is an important thing to remember even when shooting footage for entirely new videos. Always incorporate some level of timelessness. You can always cut things out, but try to get enough evergreen footage in your content that it can be trimmed and reused.

Social Media

Social media is made for throwbacks. We’ve even dedicated a whole day of each week to it. Engage in the Throwback Thursday trend to reshare old posts with your followers.

Hopefully, your follower count is always growing, so there should always be new eyes to share your content with. This can be done through stories, so you don’t have to clutter up your feed with duplicate content.

The cycle of reusing content can involve every channel. So if you’re refreshed an old blog for 2021, share that out on social media. You can do something as easy as taking the original image you used to post about the blog the first time, and add an “updated for 2021” text stamp on it.

One important thing to remember when updating content that has been shared on social, is to make sure links still work. If you’ve gone back to edit an old blog, or have published a new version of a blog, make sure your posts link out to the new content. And always make sure no posts are linking to a page that no longer exists. Set up redirects to solve this issue.

Better 4 Business: Facebook or Instagram

Posted on December 1, 2020 | by Post and Courier Staff

Social media has become a dominating platform with 3.2 billion users worldwide. Facebook and Instagram making up a large portion of that use, especially when it comes to business and social media marketing.

While the excitement of using social media to gain more business is intriguing more than ever, you may not need to utilize both social media platforms to see immense success.

The decision and comparison can be overwhelming. We have taken the top attributes of each and broken them down for you to decide which is Better 4 Your Business.

Facebook 4 Business

Facebook, being the matriarch of social media, has many attributes that it brings to the business table.

Industries like alcohol, Food & Beverage, sports teams, hotels, and non-profits being the breadwinner of engagement. So, businesses do well.

For starters, a wider audience. Facebook has 1.6 Billion users, while Instagram has about 112.5 million. This audience is heavily diverse but has an older audience. What those numbers tell us is that Facebook has more opportunity for more people to see your content, paid or organic.

What those numbers also tell us is that while there is a high potential for more people to see your content, they most likely will not see or engage with it. Facebook has a significantly low engagement rate of only 0.09%.

This is why targeting ads is so important. And Facebook does this factor in a great way.

The implementation of an interactive carousel ad. This ad format has shown great success for a B2B audience. This leads to retargeting.

Retargeting tracks when prospects visit your site and then display a relevant ad to that user when they are on the platform.

Using a look-a-like audience to target the ideal audience is also a feature that Facebook does well. You can specifically target individuals with a specific demographic, interest, etc. This helps to strategically pinpoint an audience rather than hoping your ad reaches who you want it to reach.

In addition, retargeting via Facebook not only gains a more specified audience but plays well in SEO tactics.

“Facebook retargeting, in cohesion with SEO tactics, places an undisputed level of efficiency. Rather than targeting a new demographic of customers, using the pixel you are targeting users who have shown the initial interest based on SEO.” Seo Marketer

Another point worth mentioning is that Facebook’s online shopping presence is top-notch. Facebook Marketplace is a mogul in social media shopping.

Outside of shopping, Facebook’s business pages are highly reputable. In fact, having a Facebook Business Page unlocks several benefits for your business in the long run.

Insert Instagram.

Instagram 4 Business

Instagram has captured social media like its iconic logo. So much so, that other social media platforms actually use its design as a model, Facebook included.

Instagram is the trendier of the comparative duo. The demographics reflect this. Instagram tends to attract the younger audience, millennials more specifically.

What is most intriguing about the fact that a young audience drives Instagram stats, is that users report that they follow at least one business religiously.

Another thing to note? One-third of Instagram users have made an online purchase within the Instagram app. Sixty-percent of users uses Instagram to seek out new products, or have discovered new products using the app. This is why the influencer industry is booming!

Perhaps the best part of advertising with Instagram is that about 72% of marketers are currently making use of it.
Instagram also shines in social media for the median 1.22 percent engagement rate it carries. The lowest engagement industry is retail which is .67 percent.

That’s nearly 7 times higher than Facebook’s median engagement rate. In fact, this is 5 times higher than the highest engaged industry on Facebook.

Now, to be fair, again – Instagram does have a significantly lower amount of users than Facebook.

One thing Instagram undoubtedly does well at is the Instagram shop capability. Similar to Facebook’s carousel feature of showcasing products or a list of services in a way that does not feel like you are being sold to, this does exactly that.

Instagram also uses the same targeting, retargeting, and look-a-like audience models as Facebook. Actually, Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012. So, while they are two different companies, the puls side is that they both use Facebook Business Manager to post ads.

Then, the most obvious difference between Facebook and Instagram is that Instagram is more visibly pleasing. For most ads that you are served within the app, you do not even realize that you are viewing an ad. The flawless advertising makes Instagram a successful platform in this sense.

Best 4 Business

So, who reigns champ? Let’s review.

Facebook has 1.6 billion users compared to Instagram’s 11.2 million users. However, Instagram’s median engagement rate is nearly 7 times higher than Facebook’s. While this may attribute to more users causing the engagement rate to water down, breaking down the engagement rate per industry returns the same results.

Instagram is also geared towards a younger audience, but an audience that yearns to shop. Facebook also has a great Facebook shopping capability, the site shows great plays in carousel advertisements.

Additionally, having a Facebook Business page may hold a greater weight than not having one. Facebook Business is a noteworthy complement to your website and business.

Also mentioned above the fact that Facebook owns Instagram. So, regardless of which you prefer, both have the same advertising tools out of Facebook Business Manager. You won’t be jipped of that aspect if you choose exclusively Instagram.

Honestly, the two things the decision boils down to are what you want your content to be and who your audience is. Are you looking for more pictures or videos? Younger or older audience? Broad or specific audience? Breaking those down will help you to decide which is better 4 your business.

Another truth?

Having one over another will not hurt your business. Having both definitely will not hurt your business. What will hurt your business is not accurately strategizing your content and advertising on these platforms.

What could be Better 4 Business is partnering with The Post and Courier.

What is Digital Marketing?

Posted on November 3, 2020 | by Post and Courier Staff

What is ‘Digital Marketing’?

If you’re a business owner, you hear this a lot. In short, digital marketing is the term for your company’s online marketing efforts.

Tools To Use

Google search, social media, email, online advertising, and your website are all examples of tools you can use to enhance your company’s digital presence.

Do I Have to Pay For All of Those?

While social media, email marketing, and your website are not technically paid advertising. Each avenue contributes to the overall online presence of your business.

When people naturally come across your social media posts, for example, the sharing of that content helps reach an even larger audience without any cost to you!

Is Social Media and a Website Digital Marketing?

It is important to have a website and social media profiles to be an information location for potential and continuing customers.

A great example of digital marketing is having a review section on both your website and social media for customers to tell others how great your business is.

A website is also key to having your company on the digital map.

By having a well-put-together website, your business will be found easily by potential customers via Google search. It is also a place for online ads to be linked to when seen by potential customers in other areas of the internet.

How Does My Investment Help Me With Future Marketing?

Another reason to invest in digital marketing is that it is the easiest way to reach your target audience: online.

This will allow you to see real-time, measurable results from your marketing efforts. You can adjust as you need to, and using that data to create future advertising.

Using your website and social media, you can funnel money into your marketing to best reach your target audience.

Paid digital marketing efforts include displays and banners, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and boosted social media posts and Facebook Ads.

Find out how you can apply digital marketing to your business with the Post and Courier here!

How to Promote your Award-Winning Success

Posted on November 3, 2020 | by Peyton Riddle

Charleston’s Choice is the community-based award that customers use to show love and support for their favorite local businesses.

The Charleston community nominates and votes for the top businesses in a variety of categories. Then, business owners highlight their honors and give their businesses the extra boost that awards can provide.

Here in Charleston, customers are always on the lookout for Charleston’s Choice honors, as it shows a business is the best of the best. And this goes for all types of awards any business might be recognized for. Let your community know you’ve been recognized through these branding and promotional strategies.

Are you a business owner that has been nominated? This is how you can boost your honor!

Brag in your email marketing

You’ll want to make sure that you’re bragging about your award everywhere you can. Emails are a great place for that. You can make specialized emails focused on your award. Or simply add in the honors to your existing communications.

If you have a regular newsletter, dedicate a special edition to announcing the honors. Make an event out of it and catch subscribers’ attention by detailing how and why you won.

What makes your customer relations the best in the business? Why is your business the top tourist hotspot? Awards carry prestige by nature. But customers want to know just why you’re the best.

This is also a good place to start incorporating the award logo into your branding. This would be temporary and wouldn’t be applicable in all branding locations, so there’s no need to rework your logo. So find the best way to pair your logo with the award branding and place that naturally in your emails. Have employees update their signatures to include that your business is an award winner.

Show off the award with pride

Take advantage of this time to promote your award in the digital and physical space. SEM campaigns can show web searchers that you are a business worth looking into. And traditional web page ads catch the attention of audiences in your area, if you are employing geomarketing capabilities.

Businesses with a customer-facing storefront will have an easy time showing off their award. On-location signage promotes your success to all potential customers or clients.

But businesses located within a large office complex in their own suite don’t have the opportunity to flaunt as much. Local billboards are a good substitute and open you up for even greater reach.

If physical ads by the side of the highway aren’t your thing, you should at least be showing off your victory on your website and social media pages. Update your website’s hero image and fancy up your homepage for a few weeks to celebrate. Maybe even run a contest to show you want to celebrate with your customers, not just tell them how great you are.

Other benefits of winning awards

If you haven’t gotten your business entered into awards, consider the added benefits outside of attracting new business. The prestige of being an award-winning organization affects all aspects of business.

Awards can bring growth to your business internally as well. It’s not always about showing off the award to the public. Current staff will be able to take pride in the work they do and the company they belong to. It’s an opportunity for a great boost in company morale. So even just putting up the award logo around the office can have great effects.

The celebration events for the awards themselves can also be a great opportunity for employees of winning businesses. Award parties can be a place to network with other winning businesses and build new business relationships.

Our Charleston’s Choice celebration brings together local businesses and gives them a chance to show the community why they were selected for the top honors. Restaurants and beverage companies can share their award-winning creations with attendees.

There is always value in building your face-to-face engagement with your community. Event sponsorships can enable you to directly reach your community and professional peers. It is a great way to build your brand image.

Signs, advertisements and published announcements are the wide-reaching way to show off your accomplishment. But, an event sponsorship gives you a more intimate way to connect with potential customers or partners.

Finally, it should go without saying that a little time to unwind does wonders for everyone.