Today, more and more consumers are shopping online. It has therefore become crucial for brands to offer a pleasant online shopping experience. A digital catalog is an excellent way of presenting your products effectively and attracting the attention of potential customers. In this article, we’ll reveal 3 reasons why you should create an online catalog for your brand.
Increase your brand’s visibility
An online catalog is an excellent way to increase your brand’s visibility. By publishing a digital catalog, you can reach a much wider audience than you would with a paper catalog. Consumers can easily find your catalog by doing a Google search or visiting your website. What’s more, a digital catalog is easy to share on social media, which can help increase your brand’s reach.
Offer a convenient & personalized shopping experience
An online catalog offers consumers a convenient and personalized shopping experience. Customers can easily browse your catalog at their own pace, and search for specific products using search filters. What’s more, digital catalogs can be customized. For example, you can decide to recommend your products directly in your publications, thanks to Shopping links.
Reduce production costs
Creating a paper catalog can be costly in terms of time and money. Design, printing and shipping costs can add up quickly. By contrast, creating an online catalog is much more cost-effective. Design costs are generally lower, and it’s easy to update the digital catalog without having to reprint copies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, creating an online catalog for your brand offers many advantages. It can increase your brand’s visibility, offer consumers a convenient and personalized shopping experience, and reduce production costs. If you don’t yet have an online catalog for your brand, now is the time to start creating one.
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Chances are that everyone has heard the phrase “call to action” before. It is used frequently in marketing as a tool to generate action from consumers, whether that comes in the form of clicks, sign ups, calls, purchases, or something else. Here are three reasons why you should use a call to action (CTA) in your digital publications.
What is a Call to Action?
First, a definition! In a general sense, a call to action is a statement that encourages people to do something – or take action – about a problem. In marketing, it’s a term for a word or phrase that gives your customer directions for the next step to take. CTAs are used in both traditional marketing and digital marketing. In a printed flyer or catalog you might see “Call now” or “Visit our website”. On a digital channel you might be likely to see phrases such as “Click here” or “Sign up today”. It could be in the form of a clickable button, banner, graphic, or text. Once clicked, the CTA redirects the user to the next step, for example a page with information about the product or a registration page. So what are the benefits of using a call to action?
1. They attract attention
The CTA is there to attract attention. If you are running a digital marketing campaign, you will most likely have specific goals for your campaign, whether it’s sales or sign-ups or something else. Your CTA can help you reach these goals by directing users to take the desired action: clicking to learn more, reserving a table, starting a free trial, etc. Having this visual element will attract website visitors or publication readers so they go down the right path along the customer journey (or sales funnel). They are also useful in digital content marketing strategies.
Visitors to your website or publication should be able to recognize the CTA. You can stick with your brand guidelines and use your company’s colors, or you can use a bold color that stands out from the rest of your content. Either way, you will want the CTA to be visually engaging. You can add arrows or other graphic elements to encourage clicks. Reduce the clutter around the CTA so it is very clear that you want people to click. It should also be concise, so make sure that your text isn’t too long.
2. There is a clear path for users
A good call to action will direct the user to the right place. If there is no CTA, then it’s possible that the user will just leave your webpage (or publication) without taking the next step. A strong CTA should clearly define what the result will be when the user clicks. The words in your CTA should match exactly what will happen afterwards. “Learn more” should take the user to more information, not a shopping page, for example. In the publication below, the Calaméo Magazine, we have a CTA for readers to try a PLATINUM account. Before you click, you know that you will most likely be directed to a sign-up page or a page with information about the different account options.
3. They are trackable
Another great reason to use a CTA in your publication is that they are trackable! They provide a lot of information about your audience and your campaign. You can measure whether a campaign is successful by tracking how many clicks your CTA receives. Then you can see how many of these clicks turn into purchases (or sign-ups or reservations, etc.). A strong CTA can also help boost your click-through rate.
You can find the statistics of the links in your publications on your Calameo PLATINUM account or connect your account to Google Analytics.
Adding a call to action to your publication
We’ve covered the “why” of CTAs, now let’s address the “how”. Adding a CTA to your publication is easy to do with Calaméo. Here’s how: first, your CTA graphic (banner, button, or text) must already be part of your publication. Once your document is uploaded to Calaméo, simply add a link on top of your CTA using our Editor tool. This link will make your CTA clickable and will take your viewers to the desired destination. Make sure in the Label field you write a short and clear phrase that matches the existing CTA on your page. Paste your link and… voilà! Your CTA is done and ready to go.
Using a call to action can make a big difference in marketing. They draw attention to your campaign, they help guide potential customers through the sales funnel, and you can easily track them to monitor if your campaign is successful. In addition, inserting a CTA in your publication using Calaméo is easy. We hope this guide to CTAs proves useful for you!
This year, optimizing content for search is top of mind for businesses everywhere. Of course, search has been key to success on the Internet for more than 20 years. But as just about everything went online, getting discovered in search results has taken on a new importance. What are the SEO trends to know in 2021?
But first…
In case you missed it, check out our look at the top SEO trends in 2020. Learn about voice search, the no-click challenge and more. All caught up? Read on for three ways to prepare for the future of search.
2021 Search trends for business
Back to basics
The number one rule for 2021 is to focus on the fundamentals. Despite entire industries built around tiny changes to the way search works, simple optimizations are still easy and effective. They may not be new, but these strategies are the starting point for any good SEO effort. For example, make sure that you associate each piece of content with appropriate keywords. Then, double check that those keywords appear in the content’s title, description and text.
While this idea has always been the heart of SEO, few would have imagined it to be a major trend in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic forced businesses to move everything online—and revealed that many were neglecting search basics. All the more reason to set aside the fancy stuff this year and review your content’s keywords. Or to put it another way, don’t let an oversight stop your content from being found in search.
💡 TIP: You can add or update your publications’ title and description on Calaméo in just a few clicks.
UX factor
Although the basics should come first in 2021, that doesn’t mean SEO trends are standing still. One major announcement from Google made it clear that it’s time for businesses to get serious about user experience. Also known as UX, this aspect of digital design includes the interfaces and structures that allow people to interact with websites. Overall, good UX makes it easier to do things like placing an order or contacting support online.
And now, improving your site’s UX can have a big impact on its visibility in search. Just like loading speed and mobile display in past years, UX factors will soon affect search results. According to Google, content quality still matters most. But the pages to beat will be the ones with great content and great experience. The bottom line? Starting in 2021, UX should be part of your business’s SEO strategy.
Analytics overhaul
Last but not least, there’s a new reporting tool in town for anyone following their content’s views. More specifically, businesses are looking at Google Analytics 4: an updated version of the data tool used by millions of sites. GA4 will eventually replace Universal Analytics, which was first released in 2012. First, however, businesses need to consider how and when they will want to make the switch.
In addition to technical changes, Google Analytics 4 offers fresh ways to understand how people use search to visit your site. That may mean adapting your existing methods for evaluating your content’s performance. Before updating everything, take the time to test the new platform. Be sure to note the metrics you want to watch and connect them to the information you already have. For a smooth transition, a little preparation goes a long way!
Quick conclusions
Now that you’re all caught up on the most important SEO trends for 2021, what’s next? Here are a few action items to help you start taking advantage of these trends today.
Invest now
If it’s been a while since you made SEO a priority, put it back on your to-do list in 2021. You may want to invest in a full SEO audit of your business’s content to get a sense of where things stand. Then, commit the time and resources necessary to optimize the basics. Don’t forget content types other than regular pages: videos, images and publications should all be optimized.
Be patient
Even with a solid investment, the visibility of your business’s content may not grow overnight. Building an audience on search requires consistent content and attention to quality. Create a few benchmarks that you’d like to achieve this year and track your progress, but stay focused on your long-term SEO goals.
Look ahead
Many of the upcoming changes to SEO involve complex projects. For instance, UX improvements can take months to research, design and put in place. As a result, it’s a smart idea to begin planning for these changes now. Decide on a timeline for how your business will tackle big SEO transitions, like moving from Universal Analytics to GA4. That way, you’ll be ready for the SEO trends in 2022!
As always, one simple way to boost your business content’s SEO is with smart digital publishing. You’ll find all the details you need to get started in our Ultimate Guide to Digital Publishing. Or see for yourself how easy it is to do even more with your professional content! Create your free account on Calaméo today.
