As trends and technology expands, there are ever more marketing and advertising opportunities for companies, brands, products, and services that can be taken advantage of to further growth. ESports agencies offer one such industry that many brands don’t even consider advertising what their company offers in, especially if their products aren’t directly video gaming related. However, the audience of eSports is huge worldwide, with the primary demographic being males between the age of twenty-one and thirty-five, which means that, if what your brand offers is of interest to that demographic, then there’s a huge market available for you to advertise to.

What are eSports?

Esports are essentially competitive events related to console, PC, and mobile gaming platforms. There are a wide variety of games that have come out in the last few decades that have offered means for people to be competitive, and with the expansion of live streaming online, eSports has skyrocketed in popularity. While many people prefer to play video games, when they are interested in competitive versus games, they often also enjoy watching professional players play at the peak of their talent and skills, just like traditional sports. Esports are organized as individuals for certain games, as well as teams for others. Advertising opportunities are available, through eSports agencies, in a wide variety of forms: you can choose to sponsor entire conventions, whole tournaments, specific matches, specific games, teams, or individual members and streamers. ESports is already a multi-billion-dollar market worldwide, and it is always expanding as more games and more people get interested in eSports. With so many options available, is it any wonder that hiring eSports agency matters in expanding your marketing to the eSports market?

Importance of eSports Marketing Agencies for Brands and Players

Advertising agencies have been around for almost as long as advertising has, and when new marketplaces open up, they are there as a guiding hand to companies to ensure their foray into the new marketplace is smooth and profitable. Esports marketing agencies are there to help their clients build connections throughout the market, and to help manage those connections to the benefit of everybody involved. The eSports audiences are very volatile and fickle; any misstep could lead to being forced out of the market for months or even years. As well, building relationships through sponsorships requires a certain level of expertise for crafting contracts that are beneficial for all involved in order to get the most return on investment for the advertiser, and to greatly interest the ones being sponsored.

Building Up Your Brand Reputation to eSports Audiences

Every game in the eSports market has almost a unique set of viewers, so a lot of research has to go into what the interests and sensibilities of each video game stream viewer is; the types of products and advertising methods that interest a League of Legends stream viewer could be vastly different from a CS:GO viewer, for example. This leads to difficulty in building up brand reputation with eSports audiences, knowing where a product is most going to be viewed positively, and the marketing methods that need to be employed for that audience. This is also a concern for the eSports player, and an eSports agency will work with players to find them the best sponsorships that match their personality, and viewership. ESports agency connections are a great asset to both the players and the advertisers, and they act as a middleman to build up connections that are beneficial to all parties and long lasting.

Understand Client Interactions in eSports

The interactions for eSports agency clients are numerous, and the most common one is the contract that is signed between the eSports player, team, game, or competitions, and the advertisers that want their products and services showcased. Legal contracts can get complicated, and having an expert middleman that can help both sides hammer out the contract is important. Contracts are full of legalese language, hidden loopholes, and other intricacies that an eSports agency is instrumental in navigating to help protect both the players and the advertisers, and to foster a positive relationship.

ESports Specific Marketing Knowledge

Many brands already have experience and knowledge about marketing, but eSports marketing is almost an entirely different beast when it comes to the volatility of audiences, and the differences between gaming viewerships. More importantly, though, eSports agencies are a necessity for any eSports player looking to gain sponsorships because a vast majority are not experienced in marketing, and they need someone to look out for their well-being when it comes to finding sponsors and protecting them from malicious contracts that are not beneficial. Success in the eSport market for everybody, from brands to individual players, can greatly benefit from marketing assistance, contract negotiation, and connection building, and an eSports agency is the best option for almost everybody involved.

From big to small, most companies are realizing the true potential of WeChat in marketing and branding. Over 300 million users populate WeChat’s diverse userbase, providing a large potential market to be tapped with well placed and tasteful marketing campaigns promoting your brand. Here are five tips to help you market your brand on WeChat:

Invest in High-Quality Content

Many brands have large social media presence on WeChat. These brands, with their verified WeChat accounts, post high-quality, original content regularly, generating a large following of people sharing and liking their content, thereby promoting their brand. When a brand’s account is verified, it can attract audiences by posting high-quality media content with audio messages, videos, photos and text for their fans and followers. This creates a feedback loop, making sure the brand remains in the public consciousness for much longer.

Offer Incentives and Loyalty Programs for WeChat Users

WeChat marketing (https://adstochina.westwin.com/WeChat-Marketing) has the capability of allowing a company or brand to change all of its followers into members. This allows the business to use the marketing tactic of offering incentives and loyalty programs using geo-location services to locate the member and offer him nearby promotions. Thus, the user has the incentive to return to the brand’s page, creating a feedback mechanism that retains many loyal customers.

There are three ways to market to consumers on WeChat:

a) Promote a VIP card through the app

b) Send promotion notifications

c) Market e-coupons that they can exchange in physical stores

Targeting specific communities is also a good strategy. You could advertise, for example, your selection of vintage wines to a wine-enthusiast community, or your range of pet products to a pet-care community, and so on. All of this creates a direct brand attachment with your consumers, ensuring they will return to your brand for their purchasing needs.

Offer 020 (Online to Offline) to users via QR Codes

Brands that are looking to bring more of their fans and consumers onto WeChat can embed a QR Code linked to their accounts in as many locations as they can. This way, the instant a user scans the QR Code, they become a member and follow the brand’s shared content and marketing.

To take advantage of this, brands put their QR codes on the physical products they sell, and they coerce customers to scan it with offers, discounts, lucky draws or souvenirs. They also feature their QR code on their Weibo Page, to grab the attention of users. This way, they generate a large userbase and fan following very quickly and inexpensively.

Be Entrepreneurial on WeChat

WeChat is unique in its large and well-networked userbase, and it provides opportunities to reach a large audience very quickly. This has been made possible largely by cooperation with Tencent, the parent company behind WeChat, who has provided a large assortment to tools to create WeChat-based solutions. This way, the user does not have to deal with the clutter of too many apps and can enjoy the convenience of meeting all his/her needs directly off WeChat. For example, a hotel may develop a WeChat app-based booking system for their clientele, or a travel agency may allow users to book tickets directly off WeChat, and so on, all in partnership with Tencent, who provide you with excellent support and tech guidance.

Create Websites inside WeChat

Yet another WeChat tool allows brands to create webpages within WeChat that market their products to consumers directly. This gives followers a better brand experience, while also providing the brand with a sleek and streamlined set of interaction menus to interact with their fans. Many brands have already used these tools to generate large userbases who can enjoy direct interaction with the brand and its content. For example, McDonald’s ran several viral marketing campaigns, including the widely-popular ‘Big Mac Rap’ contest. Contests and promotions like these generate large followings because they are free and easy to participate in. In this fashion, direct interaction with the consumers helps to improve the brand’s image and its e-reputation.

Thus, WeChat could prove to be an incredibly lucrative marketing platform, with its wide array of functions and tools. Brands and companies could take advantage of this unique platform and geo-localized potential consumers, categorize them, and target them effectively, thereby successfully marketing their brand on a massive scale.

When new technology trends appear, you have to be ready to jump on board when it comes to utilizing them to expand the reach of your brand and business. Voice-enabled devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home have opened up a new arena for advertising your business and driving customers to your products and services. These devices can be used all over people’s homes, or even their cars, or smartphones, but how can your brand benefit from them? A voice marketing agency specializes in getting your brand noticed on these new voice-activated devices, giving your brand a more literal voice than ever before.

What should you look for when deciding which voice marketing agency to choose for your brand on these new voice-enabled platforms?

An Understanding of the Latest Voice-Enabled Technology

It may seem obvious, but one of the main points to consider when choosing a voice marketing agency is that the agencies you are considering fully understand the voice-enabled marketing concepts. As voice-enabled devices such as smart speaker become more and more ubiquitous in homes, a voice marketing agency needs to know how to develop voice-specific marketing methodologies and skill sets in order to properly interpret the needs of the customer. Voice isn’t the same as text, when a person is speaking to a voice-enabled device, they will use more natural sentences, so the AI deciphering the command needs to first understand context, then it can be passed on to be interpreted properly, giving the user the information they need about your products and services.

Experience in Brand Voice Marketing

Voice-enabled devices offer a new experience for users and how they interact with marketing and brands. A voice marketing agency you are considering needs experience in developing a brand voice; the way that your brand connects and expresses itself to customers. With a literal voice now speaking about your brand to a potential customer, the agency will need to know how to craft the right way for it to speak to them that will properly represent your company. What do you want the voice to say about your company?

Flexibility

Like standard marketing agencies, a voice marketing agency needs to be flexible. Every company has its own brand voice, and marketing strategies, so when expanding your strategy into the voice-enabled device market, you’ll need a unique plan, and the voice marketing agency needs to cater to your company specifically.

Communication

Communication is key when it comes to hiring an agency to work with you to improve your marketing strategy, and that is no different with a voice marketing agency. When considering an agency, keep track of how prompt they are when replying, and if they are using the same point of contact each time. Ask who will be communicating directly with you, and what methods of communication are best. You can inquire about how often they will be giving you status reports too.

Finding the right online marketing agency can be a bit of a process, but its not difficult once you get started. Fortunately as the need for branding agencies grows, there are more marketing companies to choose from and they can all serve you well, if you know how to hire the right one. How can you find the marketing company in Austin who will be the best for your business?

1) Understand what you need – What are the problems that you need the marketing company in Austin to solve for you? Research the market and have a good idea of what kind of branding you are looking for before going to talk with someone. This will give an idea of the right questions to ask and the answers that you are looking for. This doesn’t mean that you should then be able to do the marketing yourself, it just puts you and your online marketer on a similar footing. You will have an idea of what you are looking for, what questions to ask and how to answer the questions the marketing agencies will ask in return.

2) Know your market and your clientele – This essentially means that you should know who your niche market is. That is, the kind of clientele that you currently appeal to and those you are hoping to appeal to. If you are not one hundred percent certain, the online marketing agency in Austin can help you hone it as needed. You will have a clearer idea after talking to a marketer, but remember, you are aiming your marketing somewhere specific and asking the agency for help to build a brand. When you want to find a marketing agency that will help you with a branding strategy, you are asking that agency to help you tell a story that your target market will enjoy.

3) Find an agency that matches your values – One of the things you are looking for when you are shopping for an online marketing agency in Austin, or your local area is that it matches your values. You are going to be working with the agency you choose for a long time, hopefully, and its a good idea to find an agency that will help you find your brand, and appeal to your clients, and not just use any tactics that may work in the short term, but drive customers away in the long run. This is why it is good to have a solid concept of who you are before you select a marketing company.

4) Ask others for advice – Once you have narrowed down the prospects, check their website and read their blogs to get to know them better. Ask other companies who have used this marketing company and you will have a good picture of how they work.

5) Look local – The agency is an online agency, and is producing an online product, but it is still a good idea to hire an agency familiar with the area where you, your business, and your clientele are. A marketing company in Austin can help because they are familiar with people and sensibilities of the people in Austin. A company that is local is easier to find information about and it can also cost less and be easier to deal with a local company, if possible. Plus, you are supporting the local economy and keeping money in the region.

6) Hire someone you feel comfortable with – Ask a lot of questions and talk as much as you can to the online marketing company in Austin, or your local area, that you choose to hire. There are questions to ask the company you consider, such as what kinds of tools they will be using, and how they are going to boost your online presence. If you are not comfortable asking questions then they won’t be the right agency for you.

7) Do they know their stuff? – Your search for the right online marketing agency should have given you a good deal of knowledge on what they should know. It will be easier now to find a reputable agency that keeps up with the trends and changes and knows how to help their clients with the big issues, as well as the little ones.

The significance of Search Engines

In today’s web-based business scenario, one cannot avoid the importance of search engines. Search engines play an important role in the overall functioning and efficacy of the web world. In a nutshell, search engines are the sievers that one comes across in the digital ocean, where the accumulation of a plethora of websites occurs in each day. Without this sieving process, it will be absolutely awful for everyone to search and find out the particular website you are looking for. Just creating a website will not do the trick; one will have to do certain focused and persistent efforts for making the site perceptible and reachable. The prime thing to do is to create an easily navigable website and make it search engine-friendly.

Baidu PPC – Vital in China’s Business Environment

Businesses without a website will not be able to reach out to the public. Therefore, without making the company websites visible in the eyes of the search engines, managements will not be able to run their establishments profitably. The search engines select the details of the websites in line with the query of the searchers. If the search engine fails to notice the website, then that means, the site will stay out of the eyes of the customers. The major search engine in China is Baidu, and hence, making the websites fully Baidu-friendly becomes an unavoidable task of all companies that function in China. One of the best pragmatic ways to make a website Baidu-friendly is to go for Baidu PPC (Baidu Pay per Click).

Baidu Pay per Click: Five Tips for a Successful Campaign

Website Localization: The marketing methods that prevail in the modern era are quite different from those of the bygone days. It has become much more categorical, because of the competitive nature of the contemporary market. This is a fact everywhere in the globe, and China is no different. In brief, the uncompromising and hard-hitting marketing strategies are the torchbearers of successful businesses in our time. This is true for all business that focuses internationally or nationally. Hence, when a company focuses on a local market, it is imperative that the related marketing strategies should take the right path. The company must be able to reach the locality, from where it plans to gain customers.

Language and Tone: Another main thing to make sure is that the language used and the tone used must be perfectly in tune with the local requirement. Hence, experienced professionals must write the entire web contents, ad copy, etc. This is the practical way to make the site more customer-friendly as far as the Chinese market is concerned.

Company’s Expertise: The Company with whom you sign a contract for carrying out the Baidu PPC should have successful practical experience in the related tasks. The company must be expert in performing the campaign management. This includes the Keyword research and monitoring, Ad copy testing, optimization, bid adjustment, and creative campaign implementation. The proficiency of the company must extend to various other tasks such as strategic consulting, search engine marketing, social media marketing, website localization, e-commerce solution, display advertising, etc.

Related SEO Work: Baidu PPC is just one of the tasks, and this has to go in concert with the other Search Engine Optimization (SEO) works. SEO works to line up the products or services of a company with the online search of the customers. However, PPC translates this scenario into a monetary benefit. Hence, all companies that operate in China will have to give great importance to Baidu PPC.

Live Support: It will do a lot of good if you can provide live support to the campaign. Practically, there is a greater possibility of converting these conversations into sales. In addition, while signing a contract with a Baidu PPC provider, it is always better and practical to create an ideal support period. This will be practically good for your company and for all the related promotional works.

Marketing roles are harder to fill as finding the right marketing talent is not easy. To make it easier for you, we have created a list of important marketing interview questions and answers that would help you select the right marketing talent.

What is Important to Achieve Marketing Success?

The candidate should be able to draw up a rough marketing strategy for your product or service. No matter what the strategy is all about, the main focus of the marketing strategy should be customer satisfaction.

The candidate should be able to incorporate the company’s brand in all marketing activities. Also, the marketing strategy drawn by the candidate should take into consideration the circumstances it faces.

Which Marketing Channels Are Popular?

It is no secret, getting highest ROI is one of the objectives of every marketing strategy. There is no correct answer for this question as every year the marketing landscape keeps changing. The candidate should have knowledge about the market shift and ongoing trends in marketing.

A website is the most effective channel followed by email, social media, organic search, paid search, and a few others. The candidate should have the capability to use all marketing channels to connect with the audience.

Is Social Media Marketing and Digital Marketing Different?

It is one of the important marketing interview questions and answers that test the candidate’s ability to differentiate and understand different marketing channels. The right answer is digital marketing includes the use of all digital channels to promote products and services.

Social media marketing focuses on using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, to promote products and services. Social media marketing is part of digital marketing.

What Are the Different Approaches to Marketing?

Marketing approaches can be classified into three categories – Relationship marketing, business marketing, and social marketing.

• Relationship marketing focuses on customer satisfaction and building relationships with customers.

• Business marketing focuses on industrial goods and not on consumer products.

• Social marketing focuses on using a social media platform to promote products and services

Besides explaining different approaches, the candidate should be able to develop marketing strategies for the given approaches.

Which Analytics Platforms Are Known to You?

If you are looking for a person to help your marketing team with reports and insights, you need to look for someone who has knowledge of generating reports like website traffic, lead conversion, email success, paid search statistics, and social conversions.

Google Analytics, Kissmetrics, Mixpanel, Heap Analytics, Google Search Console, Oribi are some of the marketing analytics tools used today.

What Kind of Lead-Campaign Gets You Excited?

Every marketing campaign does not generate the same types of leads. The answer to this question would help you understand how the candidate thinks about user journeys and what kind of user journey he/she can plan for your company’s products or services.

The ideal answer to this question is awareness of the candidate and the brainstorming capabilities of the candidate that would play an important role in his/her success on the job.

Can We Explore All the Inbound Marketing Channels?

The answer is you cannot use everything for inbound marketing. You need to select content that is important for your prospects. You can conduct interviews or run surveys to find out which social media platforms your prospects use and what type of content they prefer.

You can use these marketing interviews questions and answers as a reference to create your own set of questions that are relevant to your hiring and industry needs. We hope the interview questions above help you uncover marketing talent and creative thought process of the candidate you are interviewing.

Do you feel we have missed an important question that should be part of a marketing interview? Do you have any questions? Please feel free to leave your comments below.

Choosing a reliable and trustworthy SEO company to work with is the first step towards success. However, when you are looking for professionals you need to know what to look out for. Every professional will draw you a rosy picture of how your business will achieve new heights with their marketing strategy but you need to let the results speak for themselves. SEO is basically more traffic, more revenue and more sales. There are multiple benefits of hiring an SEO company for your business. But if you choose the wrong partner, you will have to face a difficult time ahead.

How to choose a reliable SEO company

1. Define your goals: Every size and type of business has certain goals to achieve. Before you hire an SEO company, you need to clearly define the goals so that you know what the hired team will be working at. You need to brainstorm and figure out the steps that will help you improve your online presence. A professional and reliable company will have the data and strategy to help you achieve your goals. They will know where to focus on and what to work on.

2. Choose a company that tracks data: A huge amount of data is generated through every campaign you run. For the best SEO solutions, you need to work with a company that uses the data and measures it with the amount you spend. The data will include everything from site visits to click through rates and phone calls. You need to make decisions not on assumptions but on the data available in front of you. The company should consistently make use of the data and interpret the same for you as well. If you do not see a higher ROI, you need to speak to the SEO team and change the marketing strategy.

3. Check SEO company reviews: The easiest way to learn about the past performance of the company is by getting unbiased reviews. You can check the reviews online or read their testimonials. You can also search on Google and check the reviews. If you are not satisfied with the reviews, you can ask for the case studies from the agency and contact a current client to understand their level of satisfaction.

4. Meet them in person: Before you finalize any company, you need to schedule a consultation and meet the SEO team in person. Most likely, the SEO team will be happy to meet you and you will be able to learn about the type of people on the team and the manner in which they deliver. You need to build a strong relationship with the SEO companies in Houston before you go ahead with them. They will be your partner in growth and will turn your goals into a reality.

5. Set a budget: It is advisable to choose a company that offers a package fit for your budget. Develop a budget that helps you achieve your goals. Do not overspend on an SEO company for any reason. It is best to ask about the package deals and the price when you meet the team in person. Lay out your expectations and ask them to provide you a cost for their services. SEO companies have monthly packages for you to choose from and when you choose a deal, keep your budget in mind.

If you have chosen a reliable and trustworthy SEO company to work with, you can sit back and relax. The company will deliver beyond your expectations and will ensure that you achieve a higher ROI. Make it a point to view the progress with regard to the goals, the spending and the results from time to time.

You must be aware about the importance of Google on consumers. Majority consumers use Google to look up for products and services. Whether they are searching for local products or looking for online options, they tend to use Google for the same. The process of search begins with keywords that are related to the product and Google will show up results based on the page rankings. The results will have the keywords the consumers searched for. It has been noted that consumers tend to click on one of the top five results displayed on Google. Hence, if you want more traffic on your website, you need to ensure that your business is displayed on the first page of the Google search results. Every website is trying its best to be on the top spot. You might not have all the knowledge required to build a digital marketing strategy or to use SEO for your business. This is why you need to hire Miami SEO services.

Hiring SEO services will allow you to concentrate on the area that needs your time and efforts. No business owner can manage every department and that is why you need to leave the digital marketing to those who are experts in their work. The purpose of SEO is to generate traffic for your website and only a professional will be able to understand the ranking of Google and to help you build an online presence. Look for qualified professionals for The Woodlands SEO and understand how they work. They will be able to look at your website and will offer solutions to meet your goals. You need to share your long term goals with them so that you can work together and achieve the same. Professional SEO experts have knowledge and experience in the industry. They use this knowledge to understand the industry you operate in and offers the best services. Google constantly change its algorithms which means you will have to change the SEO strategy to remain at the top of the page rankings. If you do not have the knowledge about the same, you will not be able to grow your business. This is why you should prefer hiring an SEO expert.

The SEO experts will use your resources effectively and will make it look extremely easy to implement the strategy. It is a time consuming process to build and implement an SEO strategy which only professional experts can manage. Instead of spending all your time in trying to win the consumers through SEO, you should best leave it to the professionals who will do it in half the time. Once you hire the services, you will realize how much time you have on your hand to manage the business. Hiring SEO services is much more cost effective than having an SEO team in the office. The employees you hire might have limited knowledge and could struggle with optimization of the strategy when Google changes its algorithms. An effective strategy also means that you do not need to invest in paid advertising and you will be saving a lot of money. The experts have complete knowledge about the latest trends in digital marketing and about the competition. They will analyze what your competitors are doing and will ensure that you stand out from the crowd.

Hiring SEO services is one of the best decisions you could make for your business. You will notice the change in your business through the data and numbers shown to you by the experts. Every campaign will lead to conversions and increase the website traffic. It is always better to let the SEO experts do what they do best while you concentrate on the important aspects of the business.