Marketing during a recession can be a challenge for businesses, but it is also an opportunity to stand out and grow. Despite the negativity surrounding recessions, they are not always as bad as the media claims. Businesses that put in the extra marketing effort can see the benefits and come out on top. So let’s cover strategies for marketing a business during a recession and why it is important to do so.

First, it is important to understand why recessions happen and what their effects can be. Recessions occur when there is a significant decrease in economic activity, resulting in a drop in demand for goods and services. This decrease in demand can lead to job losses, decreased consumer spending, and a general sense of uncertainty among the public. The media often exacerbates these negative effects by focusing on the negative aspects of recessions and neglecting to highlight the positive opportunities that can arise.

Despite the media’s focus on the negative aspects of recessions, it is important to remember that they are not always as bad as they are portrayed. In fact, recessions can present a unique opportunity for businesses to stand out and grow. During recessions, consumers tend to be more cautious about spending their money. They are more likely to seek out bargains and deals, and are more likely to pay attention to advertising and marketing messages.

In order to take advantage of this opportunity, businesses must be strategic in their marketing efforts. Here are some tips for marketing a business during a recession:

1. Focus on value

Consumers are looking for value during recessions, so it is important to highlight the value that your business provides. Offer discounts or special deals, and make sure to communicate the value of your products or services clearly and effectively.

2. Emphasise quality

Consumers may be more willing to spend their money on high-quality products and services during a recession, so it is important to emphasise the quality of what you offer. Highlight the features and benefits of your products or services, and emphasise how they can improve the lives of your customers.

3. Diversify your offerings

During a recession, it can be helpful to diversify your product or service. This can help you reach a wider audience and increase your chances of finding success. Consider offering new products or services that appeal to your target market, or expanding into new markets.

4. Maximise digital marketing

Digital marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach a large audience during a recession. Utilise paid advertising, social media, email marketing, and other digital marketing channels to promote your business and reach potential customers.

5. Network and collaborate

Networking and collaboration can be valuable during a recession, as they can help you connect with other businesses and potential customers. Attend industry events, join trade organisations, and seek out opportunities to collaborate with other businesses.

6. Be adaptable

Recessions can be unpredictable, so it is important to be adaptable in your marketing efforts. Be open to new ideas and be willing to pivot your strategies if necessary. Stay attuned to changes in the market and be ready to make adjustments as needed.

In summary, recessions are not always as bad as the media claims and can present a unique opportunity for businesses to stand out and grow. By focusing on value, quality, diversification, digital marketing, networking, and adaptability, businesses can effectively market themselves during a recession and reap the benefits.

The key is to be strategic and proactive, and to not be intimidated by the challenges posed by a recession. By putting in the extra marketing effort, businesses can come out on top and achieve success even in the face of economic uncertainty.

Newsjacking is a marketing strategy that involves taking advantage of breaking news or current events to promote a brand, product, or service. The goal is to quickly leverage the attention that a news story is receiving and associate your brand with it, potentially increasing brand awareness, engagement, and conversions.

Benefits of Newsjacking:

1. Increased brand visibility

Newsjacking provides a quick way to get your brand in front of a large audience, as news stories often receive a significant amount of media coverage and social media engagement.

2. Relevance

By aligning your brand with current events, you can show that you are in tune with what is happening in the world, and that your brand is relevant to your target audience.

3. Timeliness

Newsjacking allows you to act quickly and respond to breaking news in real-time, giving your brand a sense of urgency and relevance.

4. Cost-effectiveness

Newsjacking is a relatively low-cost marketing strategy that can produce high returns, especially when compared to other forms of advertising.

5. Increased engagement

Newsjacking can help you generate buzz and engage with your target audience on social media.

Negatives of Newsjacking:

1. Lack of control

When newsjacking, you are essentially relying on the media to cover the story you want to associate with, and you have little control over the tone or angle of the coverage.

2. Timing

Newsjacking requires quick action and a good understanding of what is happening in the world, which means that you need to be constantly monitoring the news and be prepared to act at a moment’s notice.

3. Sensitivity

Newsjacking can be seen as insensitive or inappropriate if your brand is associated with a negative or controversial news story, which can harm your reputation.

4. Lack of originality

Newsjacking can easily be perceived as opportunistic or lacking originality, especially if your brand’s association with the news story seems forced or inauthentic.

5. Legal issues

Newsjacking can also pose legal risks, such as copyright infringement, if you use someone else’s intellectual property or spread false information.

Newsjacking Tips

Despite the potential negatives, newsjacking can be an effective marketing strategy when executed properly. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your newsjacking efforts:

Monitor the news

Stay up-to-date on current events and breaking news by setting up Google Alerts, following news outlets on social media, and subscribing to news aggregation websites.

Choose your news carefully

Not all news stories are suitable for newsjacking. Choose stories that are relevant to your brand, target audience, and values, and avoid those that are negative or controversial.

Be timely

The faster you can respond to a news story, the more impact you can make. Set up systems and processes that allow you to act quickly, such as pre-written tweets or pre-made graphics.

Be authentic

Your newsjacking efforts should feel natural and authentic, not forced or opportunistic. Make sure that your association with the news story makes sense and that your brand’s message is relevant to the story.

Measure your results

Newsjacking can be difficult to measure, but you can track your results by monitoring your social media engagement, website traffic, and conversions.

In conclusion, newsjacking can be a powerful marketing strategy that can help you increase brand visibility, relevance, and engagement. However, it requires careful planning, execution, and monitoring to ensure that it is done in a way that is respectful, authentic, and legal.

Content is at the heart of every form of digital marketing and yet many businesses struggle with not only what to write, but how to write it, and so we’ve polled the team of content writers at Bigg to compile our top 10 best practices for writing content that will help to engage your target audience and keep them coming back for more.

1. Know your audience

Understanding who your target audience is, what they want and what they are searching for is key to creating engaging and relevant content. This can be done through demographic research, analysing data from analytics tools, and conducting surveys.

2. Compelling topics

Your content should be interesting, relevant, and valuable to your target audience. Choose a topic that is in demand, has high search volume, and has a significant impact on your target audience’s life.

3. Clear structure

Create a clear outline for your content that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. This structure will help you keep your content organised and focused, and it will be easier for your readers to follow.

4. Attention-grabbing headlines

Your headline is the first thing that your audience sees, and it can determine whether they will read your content or not. Make sure your headline is clear, concise, and engaging.

5. Use simple language

Content should be easy to understand and written in a language that is accessible to your target audience. Avoid using technical jargon, and write in a conversational tone that is engaging and relatable.

6. Break up your content

Large blocks of text can be intimidating to readers, and they may not stick around to read the entire piece. Use subheadings to break up your content, and include images to make it visually appealing.

7. Use storytelling

People are naturally drawn to stories, and incorporating them into your content can make it more engaging and memorable. Consider weaving personal anecdotes or case studies into your content to help illustrate your points.

8. Optimise for search

While writing for your audience should be your top priority, it’s important to also consider search engines. Incorporate keywords, meta descriptions, and header tags into your content to make it more easily discoverable.

9. Use statistics

Including data and statistics in your content can make it more credible and persuasive. Make sure to use reliable sources, and be clear about the context in which the data was collected.

10. Edit and revise

Take the time to revise and edit your content. Check for spelling and grammar errors, and make sure that your content flows smoothly and logically.

By following these best practices, you can create content that is engaging, valuable, and effective at reaching your target audience. Remember, the key to successful content writing is understanding your audience, choosing a compelling topic, and delivering it in a clear and concise manner. Happy writing!

Setting goals is an essential part of creating a successful marketing plan. Think that’s obvious? You might be surprised just how many businesses we talk with understand they need marketing but only because they’ve been told they do or because everyone else is doing it.

Without goals, a marketing plan is like a ship without a compass, wandering aimlessly without a clear direction. Goals provide a roadmap for the marketing plan and serve as a benchmark for measuring its success.

Your blueprint

A marketing plan is a blueprint for how you will reach your target audience and achieve your marketing objectives. It outlines the strategies, tactics, and resources that will be used to achieve specific marketing goals. However, without clear, specific, and measurable goals, it becomes difficult to develop a marketing plan that is effective and successful.

Focus

Goals are vital because they give the marketing plan direction and focus. They help to prioritise the activities and allocate resources effectively. Goals also help to define the target audience, which is critical in developing an effective marketing plan. By knowing the target audience, you can develop marketing strategies and tactics that will reach them and engage them effectively.

Measure success

Your goals will also provide a benchmark for measuring the success of the marketing plan. By having specific, measurable goals, you can track its progress and determine if the plan is working or if adjustments need to be made. Without these goals, it becomes extremely difficult to measure the success, making it impossible to know if the plan is working or if changes need to be made to improve it.

Business strategy

Setting out exactly what you want to achieve will also help to ensure that your plan is aligned with the overall business strategy. The marketing plan should support and reinforce the business strategy, and goals help to ensure that this alignment is achieved. This alignment is critical in creating a marketing plan that is effective and sustainable.

Be SMART

It is important to note that goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. This means they should be clearly defined and measurable, attainable within the given resources and timeframe, relevant to your business, and have a defined timeline for completion.

Summary

Setting goals is a critical step in creating a successful marketing plan. Every successful marketing campaign should start with the ultimate goal and work backwards to define the actions required to hit it. This could be sales but sometimes it’s other metrics such as leads, enquiries or even just engagement around your brand but, without knowing the desired outcomes your marketing team will have no direction, no gauge of if they’re doing a good job and have no ability to revise the campaign to deliver what your business needs.

A content strategy is an essential aspect of digital marketing as it helps to guide the creation, publication, and management of content across various channels. One key aspect of a content strategy is identifying where the reader is in the sales cycle. This is important because it helps to ensure that the content is tailored to the reader’s needs and preferences, and that it is delivered at the right time.

The sales cycle is the process that a potential customer goes through from the time they first become aware of a product or service until they make a purchase. This process typically includes several stages, including awareness, interest, consideration, and decision. By identifying where the reader is in the sales cycle, a content strategy can ensure that the content is tailored to the reader’s needs and preferences at each stage yet, many businesses don’t align their content with their goals.

Pain

One of the most important aspects of a content strategy is writing about the reader’s pain. This refers to the problems or challenges that the reader is facing. For example, a reader may be experiencing pain related to a leaking water pipe, difficulty in closing sales, or problems managing their finances. By identifying and writing about these pain points, the content can connect with the reader on a deeper level and provide them with valuable insights on why they are facing these problems.

Desire

Another important aspect of a content strategy is connecting with the reader’s desire. This refers to the goals or aspirations that the reader has related to the problem they’re facing. For example, a reader may have a desire to increase their revenue, to improve their customer service, or to expand their business. By identifying and writing about these desires, the content can provide the reader with valuable information and resources that can help them achieve their goals.

Solution

Finally, the content strategy should provide the reader with a solution. This refers to the product or service that can solve the pain points or help the reader achieve their desires. For example, if the reader is experiencing pain related to a leaking water pipe, the solution may be your 24 hour plumbing service. If the reader has a desire to improve their customer service, the solution may be your customer service training program. By providing the reader with a solution, the content can help to move the reader closer to making a purchase.

Summary

Your content strategy should identify where the reader is in the sales cycle which will, in turn, enable you to create effective and engaging content.

However, try not to fall into the trap of writing about the pain, desire and solution all in one piece of content. It’s very rare for a reader to be ready to take on board and connect with your business if you’re giving them all three steps at the same time, in fact, it could be seen as disingenuous.

As a side benefit, writing about each of these stages separately will give you more content pieces to post and promote. With a well-crafted content strategy, a you can effectively reach and engage your target audience, and ultimately drive more sales

Images play a crucial role in a company’s marketing efforts. They can be used to capture attention, convey a message, and create an emotional connection with the audience. In today’s digital age, where attention spans are short and competition is fierce, having high-quality images is more important than ever.

One of the biggest decisions a company has to make when it comes to images is whether to use stock images or hire a graphic designer. As an agency offering graphic design, you might think we’d always opt for the latter, but both options have their pros and cons, and the decision ultimately depends on the company’s goals, budget, and resources.

Stock images

If you don’t already know, stock images are pre-existing photographs and illustrations that can be licensed for use. They are widely available and can be found on websites such as Shutterstock, iStock, and Getty Images. The benefits of using stock images include their affordability and the fact that they are readily available. They can also save a lot of time and effort, as they don’t need to be created from scratch.

However, stock images have some downsides. They can be overused and can be found on many other websites. This can make a company’s marketing materials look generic and unoriginal. Additionally, stock images may not perfectly match a company’s branding or message.

Graphic designers

Graphic designers, on the other hand, can create custom images that are tailored to a company’s specific needs. They can create illustrations, graphics, and photos that are unique and consistent with a company’s branding and message. This can help a company stand out and create a stronger emotional connection with its audience.

Hiring a graphic designer can be more expensive than using stock images, but the investment can pay off in the long run. Custom images can be used across a variety of marketing materials, such as websites, social media, and print advertisements, giving a company a consistent and cohesive look.

Additionally, graphic designers can also be helpful in creating visual elements such as infographics, icons, and charts that help to convey complex information in an easily digestible format. A designer can be helpful in creating visual elements such as infographics, icons, and charts that help to convey complex information in an easily digestible format.

Summary

Images play a critical role in a company’s marketing efforts and it always amazes us how little some businesses value them. Whether to use stock images or hire a graphic designer obviously depends on a company’s goals, budget, and resources.

Stock images are affordable and readily available, but they can be generic and may not match a company’s branding or message. Graphic designers can create custom images that are tailored to a company’s specific needs and can help a company stand out and create a stronger emotional connection with its audience.