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	<title>digital Archives - Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</title>
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	<link>https://switch.com.mt/tag/digital/</link>
	<description>A Malta-based marketing agency with global ambitions</description>
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	<title>digital Archives - Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</title>
	<link>https://switch.com.mt/tag/digital/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>The Beauty of Working in Digital Marketing</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/beauty-of-digital-marketing-office-blogger/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Melissa]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Mar 2016 15:00:32 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Office Bloggers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing Malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Switch]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=1527</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. &#8211; Confucious As cheesy as this might sound, it’s true. I often hear people complaining that they hate their job, that the day passes too slowly, and how demotivated they are to get out of bed in the&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/beauty-of-digital-marketing-office-blogger/">The Beauty of Working in Digital Marketing</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. &#8211; Confucious</em><br />
As cheesy as this might sound, it’s true. I often hear people complaining that they hate their job, that the day passes too slowly, and how demotivated they are to get out of bed in the morning (although, in all fairness, I struggle too when the alarm goes off- but that’s only because I am a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-OHoCY60eo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lazy sloth</a> at heart and I treasure my ten hours of sleep).<br />
Truth is, I love what I do and I am motivated to get to work every day. Yes, there have been times where I wanted to flip my desk, panicked because of deadlines, or burst into tears at the thirty-three-thousandth time the website broke down for no actual reason. But, when looking at the bigger picture, there have been far more good days than bad days.<br />
Here’s why I think working in digital marketing is great.</p>
<h2>Work without working</h2>
<p>One thing that happens when you are completely immersed in the online world, is that you never really switch off. You could be scrolling through your personal newsfeed, and come across something you made for a client (and then, obviously, check the stats to see how that post is doing), or an article that sparks an idea for an upcoming project. I have countless of screenshots on my phone and ‘saved’ posts on Facebook that I keep for work purposes. Some may argue that you don’t ever cut off from work and therefore never take a break, but when you feel like your job is more like a hobby you see everything from a different perspective. I’ve often found myself writing blog posts over the weekend, and not because I am a ‘workaholic’, but simply because I enjoy what I do, and sometimes I may get inspired to do something outside office hours.</p>
<h2>Work remotely</h2>
<p><em>Oh, the joy of working in pyjamas!</em><br />
All I really need to get my work done is an internet connection and a laptop &#8211; which is great, because it means I can pretty much work from anywhere. On the days where I lack motivation, creativity, or I am simply facing a ‘writer’s block’ I leave my desk and try find inspiration in the boardroom floor, in a coffee shop, or from the comfort of my sofa. I’ve always struggled with sitting down at a desk for too long, as I often felt like I was restricting my creativity. You can now easily find me sitting under a table working on a blog post, or doing analysis from the bedroom floor.</p>
<h2>It keeps you going</h2>
<p>There are two things that keep me hooked and interested in the job I do, and challenges me to do better: measurable and unpredictable.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #ff6600;">Measurable</span></h2>
<p>I’ve always hated numbers, and stopped studying maths at a relatively young age, but one of the things I enjoy doing at work are reports. I love going through the statistics, seeing the numbers, analysing the results in order to understand what we may be doing wrong, what we have to keep doing and what is worth trying to do. It’s something that I find fascinating &#8211; to everything we do online, we can see results and analyse them.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #ff6600;">Unpredictable</span></h2>
<p>Did you ever expect a post to do extremely well, but you disappointedly find out that it was just a flop? It has to me, many times.<br />
There are different factors that can influence the performance of a post, an advert, or article, such as time, medium used and content. But ultimately, there is one factor that is unpredictable: people.<br />
At the end of the day, what we must always remember is that everything we do has one sole goal: communicate to people. We may want them to like a Facebook page, shop from an outlet, use a service, donate to a charity, or simply visit a website &#8211; but we have to always remember that who we are targeting are people. Humans who can interpret a message, an ad, an article in different ways. At Switch we strongly believe in the importance of H2H (human to human) communication &#8211; who we target aren’t machines, but people who may interpret our message differently from the way we wish them to, because that is the beauty of humans: everyone has different opinions. The fact that we are constantly facing this unpredictability is what makes this job so interesting and challenging.<br />
Here’s a recent example of unpredictability in people &#8211; check out how this employees reacted to the ‘BIC for her’ pens to celebrate Women’s Day:</p>
<div id="fb-root"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2873 size-full" title="The beauty of working in digital marketing" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TheBeautyOfWorkingInDigitalMarketing.png" alt="The beauty of working in digital marketing" width="700" height="900" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TheBeautyOfWorkingInDigitalMarketing.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TheBeautyOfWorkingInDigitalMarketing-640x823.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TheBeautyOfWorkingInDigitalMarketing-320x411.png 320w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TheBeautyOfWorkingInDigitalMarketing-20x26.png 20w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></div>
<p>Read more about this story on <a href="http://mashable.com/2016/03/09/innocent-smoothies-for-her-pens/#idMFXYWw_Oqc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mashable</a>.</p>
<h2>Constantly learning</h2>
<p><em>The internet doesn’t sleep.</em><br />
Every day I learn something new, and I love it. Social media is constantly changing, and you need to quickly adapt to those changes in order to remain on top of the game. Facebook decides to change the insights of the Pages? No problem, Teri and I will start trying and testing in order to learn exactly where to find the stats we need for reports and analysis &#8211; n.b.: swearing at the monitor and banging the desk may occur in this process.<br />
This is probably my favourite thing about this job &#8211; I am constantly learning. Whether it’s by reading an interesting article that Matt shared with the team, or a deep conversation on how to effectively use Instagram, or by simply listening to presentations during the Friday’s Brainstorming sessions (I’ve learnt a little bit more about photography thanks to Ed’s “Making Pictures, Telling Stories” <a href="http://weareswitchdigital.com/2016/01/last-friday-night-making-pictures-telling-stories/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">presentation</a>), there is always something to learn. There is no place for monotony in this job and office.</p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/beauty-of-digital-marketing-office-blogger/">The Beauty of Working in Digital Marketing</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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		<title>U is for Usage</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/u-for-usage/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike BG]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2015 09:48:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[A to Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[user]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=2125</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>When hearing the word usage, the first thing that comes to mind is my monthly data usage *yikes*. However, apart from the fact that this month I will be paying a lot, we could also focus on the many different usages of the internet. Be it shopping, messaging, gaming, researching, or getting lost in the&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/u-for-usage/">U is for Usage</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When hearing the word usage, the first thing that comes to mind is my monthly data usage *yikes*. However, apart from the fact that this month I will be paying a lot, we could also focus on the many different usages of the internet.<br />
Be it shopping, messaging, gaming, researching, or getting lost in the thousands of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw57CRiTxzw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maury</a> and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2H5YVfZVFw">cute cat</a>” videos, we are all using the internet for large portions of every single day.<br />
Shopping online has become one of the biggest uses of the internet. Online shopping has benefitted the whole planet, allowing you to purchase anything that is available anywhere around the world.<br />
ASOS, River Island, Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, you name it! All of these are massive online clothing outlets that generate millions in online revenue daily. However, let’s not forget the biggest stores online; eBay and Amazon. These 2 websites have everything you need in a click of button, and will be delivered to your door a few days later.<br />
Nowadays everyone also uses the internet to text each other. WhatsApp has become one of the biggest applications on smartphones. It became so popular that they are now implementing it on computers and tablets! Fun fact for you: WhatsApp is worth $19 Billion. This application is the reason to why people are non-stop on their mobiles texting.<br />
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2555 size-full" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/usage.gif" alt="Usage of digital gif" width="500" height="281" /><br />
Not only do people pay to have Wifi at home (and how can we forget the good old days of the dial-up internet? Not being able to connect to MSN because someone was on the phone – horrible memories), but they also pay for internet data to be used on their mobiles, despite the free Wifi spots available. This is because we all want to be connected and to communicate. Humans fear loneliness &#8211; this is why we are always glued to our phones, even when waiting on line at the bank.<br />
This is why <a href="http://switch.com.mt/y-is-for-why-digital-marketing/">digital marketing</a> has become so efficient. The internet has brought new opportunities for brands to advertise, to reach to possible customers, and communicate with their audience. Take a look at Facebook, by simply scrolling through the homepage we see different sponsored-post, all belonging to different businesses that try to reach us. What about those newsletters we receive in the email that remind us about a product or service that we are interested in? I love those daily reminders!<br />
Just imagine having no internet available, and an essay about “The Evolution of Humanity” to be handed in tomorrow. Pretty much impossible right? And can you think of a faster way to reach out to your customers?  I think not. The digital era has given us the opportunity to communicate with our audience right away; we are able to interact with them almost immediately – that is an advantage we definitely didn’t have before.<br />
We have reached an era where we cannot imagine our life without the internet, both for personal and professional use. The effectiveness of digital marketing has allowed companies to expand their business overseas, reach new markets, and increase their audience’s brand awareness. There is no going back now, just forward, so make sure that you make the most of the online world.<br />
Happy browsing!</p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/u-for-usage/">U is for Usage</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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		<title>T is for Test</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/t-for-test/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Melissa]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2015 09:39:32 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[A to Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing Malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Test]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[user]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[user experience]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=2117</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Never stop testing and your company will never stop improving. Why should you test? We test things on a daily basis. We try out a new route to work, we go for a test drive before purchasing a car, we try a new brand of cereals, or we test different hairstyles before picking the right&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/t-for-test/">T is for Test</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;"><em>Never stop testing and your company will never stop improving.</em></p>
<h2>Why should you test?</h2>
<p>We test things on a daily basis. We try out a new route to work, we go for a test drive before purchasing a car, we try a new brand of cereals, or we test different hairstyles before picking the right look. We are constantly testing so that we can find the best option for ourselves, the one that works best and that we prefer. This is exactly what happens with a business, whether big or small. You test a campaign, you test a website or you test your social media. You want to see how your audience reacts to what you do, so as to find the strategy that works best for your company.<br />
The easiest way to find out whether something works or doesn’t work for your business is through A/B testing. This type of testing will provide you with the information you need to have in order to understand how you should go about things. For instance, A/B testing will help you decide which emails people prefer reading, or which social media post works best.</p>
<h2>What is A/B testing?</h2>
<p>A/B test (or split testing) is simply using two variants that target the same audience at preferably the same time in order to see which performs better. Once you have analysed the results, you can adopt the winning variant.  For example, it’s been proven that using visuals on social media increases engagment. How was this proven? Through split testing: variant A involved posting a Facebook update without an image, while variant B involved positing the same update with an image. In this case, variant B was the winning one.</p>
<h2>Examples of tests</h2>
<p>Anything that requires a response can be tested. Emails, social media, call to action and websites. Let’s say that you wish to change the look of your homepage, and you have two designs in mind but you are not sure which one will have a better response. You can launch both of them, side by side, and see which one performs better &#8211; this way you will have a clearer idea of which is preferred by your audience and move forward with it.<br />
Another example would be wishing to have more subscribers opening your newsletters. A way to go about it through A/B testing is by having two different subjects, send them to the same number of people and analyse the response after X amount of time (this can vary from thirty minutes, to eight hours – it’s up to you to decide). The version that would have been opened the most in the amount of time you would have decided on is the winning one. Through this type of testing you will be able to understand which subjects are more eye-catching and interesting to your audience.<br />
You may wish to have more people purchasing products through your website. Consider changing the color of the purchase button  &#8211; you’ll be surprised by how much of a difference such a little alteration could make. Get creative and find out which option your audience prefers!<br />
<a href="https://blog.optimizely.com/2010/11/29/how-obama-raised-60-million-by-running-a-simple-experiment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Check out</a> how Obama managed to raise $60 million through testing.<br />
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2464 size-full" src="http://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/t-is-for-test-01.png" alt="A/B testing, user experience" width="700" height="400" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/t-is-for-test-01.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/t-is-for-test-01-640x366.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/t-is-for-test-01-20x11.png 20w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/t-is-for-test-01-320x183.png 320w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/t-for-test/">T is for Test</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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		<title>S is for strategy</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/s-for-strategy/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Melissa]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2015 09:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[A to Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing Malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=2108</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>There are approximately 3 billion people connected to the internet as I am writing this blog post (check out how many are connected right now here). All these people form the online world (a beautiful place, full of cat videos and DIY tips), by either communicating to relatives via email, having a Facebook account where&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/s-for-strategy/">S is for strategy</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are approximately 3 billion people connected to the internet as I am writing this blog post (check out how many are connected right now <a href="http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>). All these people form the online world (a beautiful place, full of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tntOCGkgt98" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cat videos</a> and DIY tips), by either communicating to relatives via email, having a Facebook account where they share funny videos or by doing online shopping. This is why nowadays more companies are investing in digital marketing.<br />
It is therefore very important to have a strategy (or a plan of action) that will make you stand out and make sure that the message you are trying to deliver reaches your audience.<br />
There are different reasons as to why you should have a strategy. Perhaps you wish to rebrand your organisation, advertise a new product, or find new ways to reach your audience online.<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2457 size-full" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/s-is-for-strategy-01.png" alt="Digital strategy Switch Digital and Brand Agency Malta" width="700" height="483" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/s-is-for-strategy-01.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/s-is-for-strategy-01-640x442.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/s-is-for-strategy-01-320x221.png 320w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/s-is-for-strategy-01-20x15.png 20w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<h2>Five steps to implement a successful strategy</h2>
<p>1 &#8211; Determine what your <strong>goal</strong> is. It may seem like something you don’t need to do – but do not underestimate the importance of this very first step. You want to make sure that your team is all in agreement and have the same objectives. You cannot possibly move forward if there are internal conflicts or misunderstandings. This could include something as simple as choosing how to advertise a product, to the complex decision of rebranding the whole company.<br />
2 &#8211; Once you have agreed on what your aim is, the next step is to <strong>brainstorm</strong>. You must decide what needs to be done to go ahead with your plan in order to succeed. Brainstorming is very important, and it requires a good amount of time. To come up with great and creative ideas you need to get out of your comfort zone. Our advice is: stay away from your desk. Change the boardroom into a games room, go to the beach and take with you note pads and colorful pens, or simply go for a walk and get inspired by your surroundings.  We tend to lose our creativity when we are sitting in front of a monitor, so get up and open up your mind.<br />
3 &#8211; Choose a <strong>deadline</strong>. If we had all the time in the world, we wouldn’t get anything done. Pick a date, mark it on your calendar in BIG BOLD TEXT, put reminders on your phones and have sticky notes spread around the office with the date written on it. It’s essential to have a deadline, it allows you to manage your time and have a target to reach. Make sure that everyone is aware of the important date, and if needs be send some kind and funny reminders to your team – just in case all those colorful sticky notes aren’t enough.<br />
4 &#8211; Once you and your team have an idea and have picked a deadline, you have to decide on <strong>how</strong> you are going to go about it. For example, you wish to organise a competition for your target audience so as to promote your product: how do you intend on doing it? Will you be using social media or will you organize an event?<br />
<strong>5 &#8211; Who</strong>? It is now time to delegate the work. This will require time and discussion; you want to make sure that your team feels comfortable enough to run the task, they have clearly understood what they have to do and have enough time to get everything done in the most efficient way possible.<br />
Ready, steady, <strong>go</strong>! Now that you have a strategy in mind, it is time to put it into action and show everyone what you are capable of doing.</p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/s-for-strategy/">S is for strategy</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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		<title>O is for online</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/o-for-online/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Julia]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 08:24:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[A to Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing Malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing malta]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=2060</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>A trip down memory lane Remember the days when you&#8217;d have to use an encyclopaedia to finish off your history report? Or when you&#8217;d buy a DIY book for inspiration for your next craft project? What about the days when you&#8217;d send a letter or a postcard? Coming back from a holiday meant inviting everyone over&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/o-for-online/">O is for online</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>A trip down memory lane</h2>
<p>Remember the days when you&#8217;d have to use an encyclopaedia to finish off your history report? Or when you&#8217;d buy a DIY book for inspiration for your next craft project? What about the days when you&#8217;d send a letter or a postcard?<br />
Coming back from a holiday meant inviting everyone over to flip through vacation photos, and taking a photo of yourself involved using the timer on the camera then quickly running across the room, getting into position while hoping your hair didn&#8217;t mess up and your smile looks good and you&#8217;re not squinting and- BOOM! picture taken.<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2345 size-full" title="Vintage social networking" src="http://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-01.png" alt="Vintage social networking" width="700" height="521" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-01.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-01-640x476.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-01-320x238.png 320w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-01-20x15.png 20w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<h2>You might have a (slight) problem</h2>
<p>Do you still remember all of your friends&#8217; phone numbers by heart- do you even call them anymore?<br />
Do you feel an incessant need to snap a photo of everything and share it with the world?<br />
Do your Facebook &#8216;friends&#8217; really care about your cat&#8217;s face when it&#8217;s sleeping, or how many reps you did at the gym, or about the romantic meal you just had with your better half, or the amazingly yummy ham and cheese toast resting on a bed of lettuce you had at 3am because you couldn&#8217;t sleep because your neighbour&#8217;s cocker spaniel wouldn&#8217;t stop barking after a cat ran across the road and climbed up a tree and&#8230;..<br />
Yeah. No.<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2350" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-07.png" alt="o-is-for-online-07" width="700" height="400" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-07.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-07-640x366.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-07-20x11.png 20w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-07-320x183.png 320w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<h2>O is for online. And oh are we online!</h2>
<p>Let&#8217;s start here &#8211; we love the digital world. We find it fascinating, the things that can be managed through the internet are amazing. For example, this week Mark Zuckerberg announced that <a href="http://www.technobuffalo.com/2015/08/29/1-billion-people-used-facebook-on-monday/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 Billion people were on Facebook</a> at the same time- that&#8217;s 1 out of every 7 people in the world! The ALS foundation raised about $100 million through the ALS ice bucket challenge last Summer while creating huge global awareness. Families who might be separated by distance can speak to each other in real time through Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber&#8230; or anything else.<br />
However there is a big but (and we cannot lie).<br />
The &#8216;but&#8217; is that we, as a digital marketing agency know what it&#8217;s like to be logged in almost all day long. Whether it&#8217;s reading up on the latest news, monitoring different social media accounts, or analysing the latest trends, we&#8217;re more or less connected all day long. The e-mails and notifications don&#8217;t really stop, but we don&#8217;t mind because it&#8217;s what we do. Then when work&#8217;s over our computers might be off, but we&#8217;re not. We&#8217;re connecting with friends and family, discussing the evening&#8217;s plans, taking photos of our mouth watering meals, or curating our Pinterest boards &#8211; we&#8217;re always there&#8230;. 24/7, tapping away.<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2346 size-full" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-02.png" alt="online marketing" width="700" height="400" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-02.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-02-640x366.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-02-20x11.png 20w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-02-320x183.png 320w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<h2><strong>So when does it get too much?</strong></h2>
<p>Everyone has their own limits, some can be &#8216;logged in&#8217; longer than others, but the reality is that everyone needs a break. That&#8217;s where our activities come in &#8211; we eat together as often as we can, we&#8217;ve moved into an open plan space, and we have our weekly brainstorming sessions and occasional nights out. Why? Because we understand the value in disconnecting and enjoying each other&#8217;s company the good old fashioned way. We enjoy walking to the supermarket in the scorching heat &#8211; just because it gets us away from our desk and lets us stretch our legs. We enjoy making tea for the whole office just so that we can visit everyone&#8217;s desk and say hi. We leave sticky notes instead of sending e-mails, and we occasionally give a stressed out colleague a high five as we pass them in the corridor, or surprise them with hot chocolate on their desk as their deadline fast approaches.<br />
These are simple things &#8211; but they make a huge difference.<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2348 size-full" title="Pie day at Switch Digital and Brand Agency in Malta" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-05.png" alt="Pie day at Switch Digital and Brand Agency in Malta" width="960" height="665" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-05.png 960w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-05-768x532.png 768w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-05-640x443.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-05-320x222.png 320w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-05-20x15.png 20w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<h2><strong>A small request</strong></h2>
<p>So we have a small request&#8230; or even a task. Call your friends and have a chat, get up off your chair and say hi to your colleague the good old fashioned way, organise a day out with your staff.<br />
The digital world is a beautiful one, but it&#8217;s not the only one. So, as advocates of the beauty of going online, we&#8217;re asking you to take the time to switch off and connect the good old fashioned way.<br />
What do you think?<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2347 size-full" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-03.png" alt="Vintage Phone" width="700" height="400" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-03.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-03-640x366.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-03-20x11.png 20w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-is-for-online-03-320x183.png 320w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/o-for-online/">O is for online</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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		<title>Your Guide to Writing a Digital Brief &#8211; The Intro Series</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/guide-to-writing-digital-brief/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2015 08:06:10 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Be Human]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[campaign]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital campaign]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing malta]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=1231</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>One of the hardest steps clients find when starting to work with a digital agency is the briefing process, specifically writing a digital brief. We all know that a brief can determine the success or failure of a job, and the concept of a brief has not really changed since its inception. However the approach&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/guide-to-writing-digital-brief/">Your Guide to Writing a Digital Brief &#8211; The Intro Series</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One of the hardest steps clients find when starting to work with a digital agency is the briefing process, specifically writing a digital brief. We all know that a brief can determine the success or failure of a job, and the concept of a brief has not really changed since its inception. However the approach has had to change radically with digital media.<br />
We’ve been lucky enough to have worked with a few clients who understood how to brief a digital agency, but we’ve also seen our fair share of nightmare briefs &#8211; which is why I’m going to share some tips which will hopefully help you work better with the digital agency of your choice.<br />
There are different expectations for the specific entries in briefs for development projects and campaign projects, but I’m going to try and be as generic as possible.</p>
<h2>Trust the agency’s expertise, but share all of yours</h2>
<p>It seems terribly self-serving to start with this point, but it’s true. The reason a client comes to an agency should not be solely about knowledge in implementation, but about our expertise in delivering a sound strategy too. We can’t stress this point enough. No matter whether you were a digital marketing expert 6 months ago or whether you’ve never run a digital campaign in your life &#8211; trust the experts with the strategy, but have blind faith in their tactics.<br />
The online marketing scenario changes daily, and a good digital marketing agency reads up about the industry obsessively. If you want to be ahead of the curve, then trust their knowledge, but make sure you brief them well. We might know a hell of a lot about online marketing, but you need to teach us all there is to know about your industry, your audience and your objectives.<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-6383 size-full" src="http://weareswitchdigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/digital-brief.jpg" alt="Digital brief - pencil" width="750" height="500" /></p>
<h2>Always “start with why”</h2>
<p>Simon Sinek coined the term globally, but we’ve been saying it (in a slightly different context) before we heard of him (yeah, we’re hipsters that way). Hubspot have a great article about <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/customers/3-takeaways-from-start-with-why" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">applying “Start with why” to marketing</a> but we also like to apply starting with why to our briefing process.<br />
So ask yourself (and tell us): Why do I want to run this campaign? What is it that is driving you to come to an agency to run a digital campaign? This is different to defining the campaign goals &#8211; we’re not after whether you want more leads or more impressions, we’re after the reason that drove you to start working on a brief and put money behind the campaign, specifically online.<br />
Also ask yourself why you’re going to an agency, and what you hope to achieve by working with one.</p>
<h2>Define goals</h2>
<p>Once you’ve understood why you’re going to start an online project, be it a campaign or a solution, then it’s time to start defining your goals. Painting a clear picture of what you hope to achieve from the exercise will help the agency understand better what you will be judging their performance on.<br />
Goals can vary greatly based on the type of job you’ll be giving your agency, but make sure you take the time to sit down and discuss whether your targets are realistic and whether they make business sense at the end of the day. It might be very fancy to say I want to reach 1,000 Facebook likes by the end of the month &#8211; but if you’re marketing a product that is bought by enterprise-level CEOs, then that might not be the right goal to be aiming for at this point in time.</p>
<h2>Define audience</h2>
<p>Which brings us to the audience. As I stated earlier, we know our stuff, but you know your stuff better. So tell us who your ideal target audience is, and we’ll go after them like a heat-seeking missile.<br />
Be very clear when communicating this though, and let us know whether this audience is the one that will naturally be attracted to your product or service, or whether it is a new market that you would like to tap into. Both goals can be achieved, but they need very different approaches.</p>
<h2>Be clear about budgets</h2>
<p>“Online marketing is free, though, right?” Erm. No. “But I know how to boost posts on Facebook, so I can handle it myself, right?” Erm. No. We usually point our customers in the direction of my micro <a href="http://weareswitchdigital.com/2015/04/introduction-to-online-advertising/">introduction to online advertising</a> (and <a href="http://weareswitchdigital.com/2015/04/introduction-to-online-advertising-2/">part 2</a>) at this  Online marketing, when managed correctly, offers a phenomenal return on investment, but it’s far from free.<br />
So next time you’re looking for a digital marketing provider, set a budget for your campaigns. If you’re lost, get in touch with one and you can get a list of suggestions. Don’t make one mistake, however. Don’t come to an agency like ours and define the amount of “airtime” spend vs agency fees (we’ve had this happen to us, really). Any self-respecting agency will show you the door. If you’re used to spending 10% of your “airtime” on production fees for something like TV or print, then think again.<br />
A TV ad is filmed once and shown repeatedly, so whether you show it once or a 100 times, there is only one <a href="http://www.beewits.com/web-design-contract/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contract</a> to be negotiated and signed. You’re done in a few hours and you see the commission rolling in every time the ad is shown.<br />
Digital ad campaigns are very different. They take constant monitoring and tweaking and need to be reported on regularly. And that’s just advertising. If you want to see your ROI shoot up you should be working on an inbound marketing strategy &#8211; ratios there would usually be closer to 80:20 (fees:ad spend), but your return on investment will usually go up by about 60%. Remember, it’s not who you spend your money with that counts, it’s what you get out of it.</p>
<h2>Tell us what you love</h2>
<p>Okay, so I already said you should not dictate strategy, but hey, this does not mean I don’t want to hear your side of the story. Digital marketing is human after all, and we need to communicate your story in a way that reflects your (and your brand’s) personality.<br />
If you’re after a development project, then it is far more important for you to tell us what other sites you like using and what the market leaders in your field are doing. If you can, also tell us why you love what you love &#8211; tell us why you think a particular site is working.<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-6384 size-full" src="http://weareswitchdigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/digital-brief-love.jpg" alt="I love green cushion - Guide to writing a digital brief Switch" width="750" height="1125" /></p>
<h2>Tell us what you hate</h2>
<p>This is just as important. We don’t want to offend anyone with our efforts, and we sure as hell don’t want to have an irate customer on our hands because we designed a site in a way that does not work for them.<br />
Just as crucially, you should be in a perfect position to tell us what your customers hate. So tell us, and tell us at this  not after we’ve spent three weeks coming up with a creative concept. Remember, at this stage marketing transcends political correctness. So if you have an audience that would go better with a particular minority or would have a great problem with another one, let us know now and we’ll keep it in mind.</p>
<h2>Tell us what to keep in mind</h2>
<p>Sometimes clients also have wild-cards. They have agreements with personalities, they have brands they can’t compete with or others they have to compete with, suppliers they have to use (or avoid) etc. Let us know about these as early as possible.<br />
This can change the way a campaign or project goes drastically, so it is imperative that we know before we work on it. So if your e-commerce site needs to plug into your cash register &#8211; give us the brand at brief stage so we can look into the technology that will join them together now, not a week before we launch the site.</p>
<h2>Finally</h2>
<p>Remember: “If you fail to communicate, you’re communicating failure”, goes the oft-quoted mantra. Which is why there is no surer road to creative failure than a miscommunicated and subsequently misunderstood job.<br />
Take your time to come up with the best brief possible and you will be sure to reap the rewards at the end of the campaign. You’ll also have a happier agency &#8211; and hey, we’re human too 🙂</p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/guide-to-writing-digital-brief/">Your Guide to Writing a Digital Brief &#8211; The Intro Series</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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		<title>A is for Analyse</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/analyse-z-digital-marketing/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Julia]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2015 08:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[A to Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analyse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing Malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing report Malta]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=1229</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;re taking a break from our 10 Before 10:00 series to bring your Monday morning brains something new to chew on! 26 letters, 26 terms from the land of digital marketing. Join us as we explain the A-Z of digital marketing in simple bite sized chunks which go hand in hand with your morning coffee. Analyse&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/analyse-z-digital-marketing/">A is for Analyse</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><em>We&#8217;re taking a break from our 10 Before 10:00 series to bring your Monday morning brains something new to chew on! 26 letters, 26 terms from the land of digital marketing. Join us as we explain the A-Z of digital marketing in simple bite sized chunks which go hand in hand with your morning coffee.</em></em></p>
<h2>Analyse</h2>
<p><em>Examine (something) methodically and in detail, typically in order to explain and interpret it &#8211; Oxford Dictionaries.</em><br />
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/02/10/2014-is-the-year-of-digital-marketing-analytics-what-it-means-for-your-company/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2014 was the year of the analyst</a>. Data analysis was recognised as one of the most important aspects of any digital marketing initiative or campaign. Real time reports and access to all sorts of specific details meant that you could analyse literally anything- even your data analysis methods.<br />
Often when planning a campaign you get so caught up in the activation, the events, and the logistics, that you completely neglect the fundamental backbone of success &#8211; analysis. Getting into the nitty gritty of what your audience likes, how they respond, and which page on your site they spend most time on provides the insight you need in order to market more effectively.<br />
However you have to be sure that you don&#8217;t waste your time on analysing the wrong metrics. There are plenty of different tools that can help you analyse a variety of things, but the main thing you need to keep in mind is that analysis is about striving for change. It gives you tangible and actionable data which you can then use in order to improve the situation you&#8217;re in. Analysis is every pro-active person&#8217;s best friend and you don&#8217;t need to be a whiz to figure it out.<br />
Here are a few things to keep in mind when analysing a situation.</p>
<h2>Digital analysis should be ongoing.</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s not something you do once, instead it&#8217;s a constant which follows your progress and gives the clearest illustration of how your work is developing.</p>
<h2>Digital analysis should be inclusive.</h2>
<p>Sometimes you might become so focused on one aspect that you forget about the bigger picture. It&#8217;s useless getting lost as you meticulously analyse the data of your demographics while neglecting things like your bounce rate. Everything has to come together like one giant spider&#8217;s web of information.</p>
<h2>Digital analysis should be creative.</h2>
<p>You might be thinking &#8220;how can I be creative when dealing with facts?&#8221; What we mean is that your methods of analysis should be creative. We&#8217;re not telling you to invent methods which make no sense, but do look at the situation from different perspectives so that you can tackle the situation in a different and more effective manner.<br />
<em>Of course we&#8217;ve only touched briefly on the subject of what digital analysis entails, there&#8217;s a lifetime of information out there waiting to be explored, so go out there and check it out! </em></p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/analyse-z-digital-marketing/">A is for Analyse</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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		<title>Know your customer to generate great results</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/know-your-customer-to-generate-great-results/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Astrid]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2015 07:38:54 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Office Bloggers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clients]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing Malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media coffee shop]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=1809</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>In the world we live in today a firm’s biggest concern is, “Am I understanding my client enough?” Customer loyalty in this day and age is far more difficult to win over than it used to be, mainly because consumers have more power than ever before. This inconvenience is thanks to technology. The importance of&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/know-your-customer-to-generate-great-results/">Know your customer to generate great results</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the world we live in today a firm’s biggest concern is, “Am I understanding my client enough?” Customer loyalty in this day and age is far more difficult to win over than it used to be, mainly because consumers have more power than ever before. This inconvenience is thanks to technology.</p>
<h2>The importance of Feedback</h2>
<p>Consumers of any age are knowledgeable about social media, online shops, and also review sites. They’ll definitely consult their friends and read review sites before purchasing products. While you might not be able to control what they hear via word of mouth you can ensure that you always present the best representation of your brand.<br />
Regardless of whatever business sector a firm operates in, <strong>feedback is essential</strong>! It’s fundamental that you track customers’ experiences as from start to finish and see where their positive experience breaks down. For some it might be positive throughout, for others the positive experience might disappear as soon as they reach your website.<br />
Whether the experience is negative or positive you should do your best to ensure that you improve the experience for the customer. This will show that you care about their satisfaction and will give them a positive impression of your brand – leading to good publicity for you!</p>
<h2>The double-edged sword of going digital</h2>
<p>Go Digital &#8211; but stay true to your human roots!<br />
A mistake that is often made by companies, especially the older ones, is that they don’t step into the digital world. If you look outside for a mere five minutes, you’ll immediately notice that half the people surrounding you are all face down looking at their beloved smart phones, learning new things which interest them- even though 99% of the time they are playing Candy Crush or whichever game happens to be trending at the time!<br />
Nonetheless, in today’s world promoting your firm on social media is considered to be essential! Statistics show that 63% of adult smartphone users can’t go an hour without checking their social media accounts.<br />
Simply creating an account on the most relevant social media platform, or at the very least having a decent website that is social media friendly is already a big step in the right direction &#8211; you’ve instantly done your audience a huge favour, helping them get in touch and find the information they need whenever they need to.</p>
<h2>Customer and client interaction</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s important to be present online when your customers look you up, but keep in mind that if a person is looking you up, they&#8217;re expecting to speak to a human and not a robot. Interaction with clients in a human-to-human context is vital if you&#8217;re hoping to build a relationship with your customers, regardless of technological barriers.<br />
If we take into consideration a particular product, you can always show the product’s process, as well as the people who make this process possible rather than just posting a photo of the product on a shelf in the showroom and its corresponding price tag. Customers love knowing from where their products have actually come from while unwrapping the story behind them.</p>
<h2>Opinion sharing</h2>
<p>Last but not least, social media is now the place where customers share their opinions about companies. We have all heard about the “Are you being served?” Facebook group which has been a big hit in the local scene. Social media as well as review sites now make it so much easier for the individual to express his or her true opinions; be it opinions of dissatisfaction, or else of contentment. The online world is the platform where they can be brutally honest, as well as feel a particular power… that of influencing others.<br />
So remember the customer might not always be right, but in today’s world, the customer needs to be pampered and truly cared for. Open your eyes, prick up your ears, log on to the new reality and take the time to really get to know your customer.</p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/know-your-customer-to-generate-great-results/">Know your customer to generate great results</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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		<title>Creating the ideal landing page</title>
		<link>https://switch.com.mt/creating-ideal-landing-page/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2014 12:13:16 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital campaign]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing Malta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[landing pages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://switch.com.mt/?p=1127</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The importance of a landing page cannot be underestimated. They should be an integral part of every online marketing campaign because they aid greatly in conversion. Websites have to be built to cater for many different situations. You can never tell who is going to land on your site, and you never really know what they’re&#8230;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/creating-ideal-landing-page/">Creating the ideal landing page</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The importance of a landing page cannot be underestimated. They should be an integral part of every online marketing campaign because they aid greatly in conversion.<br />
Websites have to be built to cater for many different situations. You can never tell who is going to land on your site, and you never really know what they’re there for. When designing and building sites, therefore, you have to be a bit of everything for everyone.<br />
There are courses of action which you might want to highlight over others, but you still have to keep every possible option in mind. The last thing you want to do is get a potential customer to a site and lose them because you were trying to push something else down their throat.<br />
A landing page, on the other hand, offers you a path to a luxury that is usually reserved to quasi-individual communication. You can reserve landing pages for very specific paths of entry and then prepare content that is targeted specifically to the audience you know will be landing on that page.<br />
Have I lost you yet? I probably have, however it all becomes clearer with a small practical example.<br />
Imagine I was selling fruit and vegetables on my website. When I’m building a website I can’t really tell what people want when they get to my site. I can, very broadly, assume that the people who land on my site want to top up on their greens. I could, to a certain extent, safely guess that my ideal customer is potentially interested in living a healthy lifestyle, but these will all be broad assumptions.<br />
So I could decide to build three separate landing pages to be used when I’m linking to my site from a variety of sources.</p>
<ul>
<li>I could build a landing page with the advantages of buying fruit and veg in bulk from my store for chefs &#8211; indicating how my prices are competitive for business to business sales.</li>
<li>My next landing page would target people who are after a healthier lifestyle. I could extoll the virtues of eating fresh produce. This page will also highlight the fact that I’m sourcing greens from local farmers.</li>
<li>My final landing page would be aimed at party-goers who are looking for the only source of fresh lime in the area. This would be a page giving various Mojito recipes and promising a free sprig of fresh mint with every lime bought, only as long as you mentioned that you were buying the lime for mojitos.</li>
</ul>
<p>So now that we’ve understood why we need landing pages, we need to try understanding what helps make ones that work better.</p>
<h2>Set your marketing goal</h2>
<p>Before you can even start planning what you want your landing page to look and feel like, you need to have a marketing goal set in your mind. It is imperative that you stick to one particular aim and resist the temptation to try solving more than one issue at once.<br />
Remember, the whole point of going down the landing page route is to gain an advantage over the rest of your site by being specific, so don’t try to cram more than one goal. You can’t build a landing page that will gather data, sell, go viral and clean your dog’s droppings.</p>
<h2>Choose an action</h2>
<p>Once you have a marketing goal in mind, you need to translate it into an action that visitors can take once they arrive on your landing page. Copyblogger quotes <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/great-landing-pages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Seth Godin’s five courses of action</a> that can be offered to people who arrive at your marketing materials online:</p>
<ol>
<li>Get a visitor to click to go to another page</li>
<li>Get a visitor to buy</li>
<li>Get a visitor to give permission for you to follow up by email, phone, etc.</li>
<li>Get a visitor to tell a friend</li>
<li>Get a visitor to comment or give you some sort of feedback</li>
</ol>
<h2>Identify the benefits for your visitors</h2>
<p>Most traditional marketing focuses on features. It is quite understandable &#8211; the go-to source of knowledge usually lies within product development, so it’s natural for them to flaunt their feature-set.<br />
Buyers, however, only really delve into features when they’re in a far more advanced stage of the purchase life-cycle &#8211; essentially when they’re choosing between a small set of products they’ve identified as potential choices.<br />
Before then, all they’re really interested in is how the product or service is going to make their life better, ideally in a tangible way. Sometimes your list of benefits needs to sell the need of the product itself &#8211; so our friendly green grocer might want to show the advantages of living a healthy lifestyle in order to drive more traffic into his store.<br />
If, on the other hand, the fruit and veg man was operating in an area where people are generally health conscious, then he’s probably competing with quite a few other similar businesses, so the benefits he has to highlight are specific to his place and the produce he’s selling.</p>
<h2>Stick to the message</h2>
<p>The big difference between a landing page and a regular website is that you are allowed to be far more specific on landing pages. If you have a hundred products or services, this is not the place to be shouting about them.<br />
People came to this landing page for one specific reason. If you’re doing your job well enough, people came to this landing page from one specific source. So make sure that all you do is make it clear that you’re there to help them solve that specific need. Landing pages are not the place for cross-sell (unless cross-selling is your only aim for the landing page).<br />
If we built a landing page for party-goers, convincing them that we’re the best source for lime and mint to base their Mojitos on, then there is absolutely no value in extolling the virtues of living a healthier lifestyle or losing weight. They’re not here for that, so don’t distract them from their main aim. Make the best of the few seconds you manage to get their attention for and get them to order their mint and lime.</p>
<h2>Write clear and concise copy</h2>
<p>People are busy. People are very easily distracted.<br />
Keep your paragraphs short and your sentences even shorter. If you can get away with one sentence instead of two, do so. If you can get away without any body copy at all, then by all means go for it.<br />
This will obviously depend on what you’re selling. Some products or services demand longer explanations and punters will demand reassurance, but always go through your copy and ensure that you’ve removed all the extra fluff.<br />
Before you start, read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Elements-Style-Fourth-Edition/dp/020530902X" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Elements of Style</a>, by Strunk and White (first edition available for free <a href="http://www.crockford.com/wrrrld/style.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> and the second <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> (PDF)) &#8211; you’ll get a lot out of it, but it is worth the read if only for this paragraph:</p>
<blockquote><p><i>“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”</i></p></blockquote>
<h2>Reassure people that they’re making the right decision</h2>
<p>Visitors to your landing page need to be reassured that they are in a place they can trust. And what better way to confirm this than by adding real-world testimonials, either from peers or from professionals.<br />
If you can pull some words from a well-known and instantly recognisable review site, then definitely do so. We did this with the landing page for Corinthia Hotels recently, taking reviews from TripAdvisor and showing their (Excellent) rating amongst one of the first things on the page. This has a much higher impact on visitors than simply stating great things about your product yourself.<br />
If you can use social proof, then do so too. There are many ways of inserting live information in your landing pages, maybe simply by showing how many people are actually on the page, how many people have used the service recently or just the number of followers you have on Facebook or Twitter. A Facebook Page Like box is great because it even shows which of your friends have already liked the page (and therefore your brand by extension).</p>
<h2>Make it easy for people to take the right action</h2>
<p>So now you have your goals set up and all your content written perfectly. People who get to your landing page are more likely to believe in your product or service because you’ve given them good reason to.<br />
So what do they do next?<br />
Their next step should be immediately clear. It should be very easy for them to take it, it must feel natural, and it should leave no doubt in their mind as to how the action should be taken.<br />
You should have chosen your goal in the beginning, now’s the time to achieve it. If you want email subscriptions, then don’t put buttons all over the page asking people to buy your products (just in case they want to buy after all). You’ll confuse visitors and waste money on the traffic you generated to the landing page.<br />
Keep any forms you place on the page short and to the point. Only gather the information you absolutely need from your clients &#8211; this is not the time to profile your visitors, this is the time to open a line of communication.<br />
Test the page on people who have no idea what’s going on, see if they find it as obvious as you do what their next action is. Try asking people you know who are close to your target demographic &#8211; no use asking your tech-savvy colleagues to test a page if you’re aiming it at retirees.</p>
<h2>Test, Measure, Tweak, Repeat</h2>
<p>So now you have a landing page that’s done &#8211; time to go out and celebrate? Nope, I’m afraid not. This is when your hard work starts. Now you have to create multiple variants of your landing pages and start using them to slowly but steadily improve your numbers.<br />
We’re back to our starting point &#8211; tweaking content. This, however, is where we change our content subtly depending on the source of our traffic. It has been proven that conversion rates improve if you use the same verbiage as people’s searches. Using the right keywords in landing pages also improves your relevance, and therefore gives you more brownie points with paid search traffic.<br />
So test variations, measure their impact, teak your tests and repeat the process until you’re running a well oiled conversion machine. Good luck!<br />
The screenshots below shows two examples of landing pages we did for APS Bank and Corinthia Hotel London.</p>
<p style="line-height: 14.25pt;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-1590 size-full" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-aps-home-loans.png" alt="Ideal landing page APS home loans" width="700" height="1155" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-aps-home-loans.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-aps-home-loans-621x1024.png 621w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-aps-home-loans-640x1056.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-aps-home-loans-320x528.png 320w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-aps-home-loans-20x33.png 20w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<p style="line-height: 14.25pt;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-1589 size-full" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-corinthia-hotels-international.png" alt="Landing page Corinthia Hotels international" width="700" height="2691" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-corinthia-hotels-international.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-corinthia-hotels-international-266x1024.png 266w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-corinthia-hotels-international-533x2048.png 533w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-corinthia-hotels-international-640x2460.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-corinthia-hotels-international-320x1230.png 320w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-corinthia-hotels-international-20x77.png 20w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;<br />
Other examples:<br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-1592 size-full" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-swapp.png" alt="Ideal landing page Swapp" width="700" height="1689" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-swapp.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-swapp-424x1024.png 424w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-swapp-637x1536.png 637w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-swapp-640x1544.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-swapp-320x772.png 320w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-swapp-20x48.png 20w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><br />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-1591 size-full" src="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-alley-kat.png" alt="Ideal landing page Alley Kat" width="700" height="1710" srcset="https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-alley-kat.png 700w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-alley-kat-419x1024.png 419w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-alley-kat-629x1536.png 629w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-alley-kat-640x1563.png 640w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-alley-kat-320x782.png 320w, https://switch.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/creating-ideal-landing-page-example-alley-kat-20x49.png 20w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><br />
Do you think that your business could benefit from better landing pages? Why not drop us a line at <a href="mailto:espresso@switch.com.mt">espresso@switch.com.mt</a> to see how we can help you increase your online presence and ROI?</p>
<span class="et_bloom_bottom_trigger"></span><p>The post <a href="https://switch.com.mt/creating-ideal-landing-page/">Creating the ideal landing page</a> appeared first on <a href="https://switch.com.mt">Switch - Digital &amp; Brand</a>.</p>
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