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How Much Should I Spend on Marketing?

Posted on March 31, 2021January 4, 2024 by Phil

How much should I spend on marketing is a pretty common question we get asked. And it’s a fair question. But like anything in the marketing world, it’s like asking: How much does a good logo cost? Or How much does a website cost?

The short answer is… It depends… Not very definitive is it? It depends on what your goals and budget are and whether you see marketing as an investment or a cost. Fortunately, there are some guidelines that can help you decide.

What do the experts say?

While there is no hard and fast answer about how much to spend on marketing, there are some guidelines and general rules of thumb that can help you make the decision about what’s best for you.

Well how about this. According to figures from a recent CMO survey published in February 2021, across all industries the spend averaged 8.9% of revenue on marketing. In theory, this money spent should generate more revenue. When it’s done right, it’s money well-spent.

Finding the sweet spot for spending can be a challenge though. Ultimately it comes down to what you believe the purpose of marketing to be. And if you see it as an expense or an Investment.

Marketing is an Investment

The important thing is to see any marketing spend as an Investment. Not an expense or cost.

Sometimes investments return a lot, sometimes they return a little. Sometimes investments return nothing and sometimes they end up losing you money. However, if you look at any long-term investment, whilst there are always peaks and troughs. In the long run, if you understand what you are trying to achieve, monitor and measure results, and adapt when necessary, most of the time you will see a good ROI.

Marketing is no different. If you define really good SMART objectives, it is much easier to put measures into place to get to the destination.

If you’re throwing money at various activities with no real plan or direction, and not measuring the results, then you are just throwing money away. Marketing without a plan is like driving with your eyes closed. You’re probably going to crash.

Download a FREE SMART Goals Template

What do Graphic Designers do?

Posted on March 24, 2021September 28, 2023 by Phil

When something becomes second nature, it’s almost impossible to describe it in its most simplest form and that’s how we feel about Graphic Design! We’ve been living and breathing design for well over a decade (that makes us feel old!) so to say that we are passionate about it is an understatement. But what do we actually do?

What can you design/create?

The sky’s the limit – all we need is a brief! One of the biggest parts of graphic design is planning. This involves researching, understanding the client’s needs, creating a brief, and then making sure that it is fit for purpose.

Once all of these things have been done then we can move onto the design stage.

Some things that a graphic designer will typically design include:

Logos. Logos are the first thing a lot of people think of when they hear “Graphic Designer”. It’s for a good reason. Logos are probably the most important part of your brand identity. It’s how people recognise you, your brand, and what you do.
Websites. The design of your website can make the difference between a person choosing your business or competitor. A good graphic designer takes colour, shapes, fonts, usability, and much more into account when creating a custom design.
Apps. Apps might seem similar to websites, but they can be quite different. Getting the design of the website (and extra features too) to an app is no easy task. The designer will typically work close with an app/website developer to make sure it looks good and works like it should.
Print collateral. Digital may be the biggest part of design these days, but print is still important. Having flyers, booklets, handouts, guides, or something else you can pick up can mean a lot. Having something your customers can take home with them can be an excellent reminder later on too.
Business cards. There are several ways to get business cards like Vistaprint if you’re keen on doing them yourself. But a professionally-designed business card can make a huge difference. A lot of our clients found it was worth having us design the business card, then they can reorder it with the same design as needed.
Promo products. Branded products still have an impact but the design of those products is crucial. Sometimes that means doing some tweaks to the logo or putting your branding in the perfect spot. A designer can help you get this just right.
Adverts. These can be printed for newspapers and magazines, or digital for Facebook or Google. For an advert to be effective, the design needs to be eye-catching but also represent the values and culture of your business.
Much more! Graphic designers can work on many more things, even speciality designs like building signage, books, vehicle wraps, and much more.

A day in the life of a graphic designer

A typical day for a graphic designer will be different depending on where you go. Some designers are specialists in one area. Others do a little bit of everything. Let’s break down a typical day for a Graphic Designer at Back9 Creative.

No two days are exactly the same as a designer at Back9. We might be working on a logo concept part of the day. This involves researching imagery, competing businesses and sketching out ideas. Later on, we might move on to designing some business cards. And then it’s over to a digital marketing campaign and we need to design an eye-catching Facebook advertisement. Then to finish the day off, we might design a new website page. Are you getting the feeling that multitasking is key?

Do you have to be qualified to become a graphic designer?

You don’t have to be qualified but it certainly helps when competing in the job market. Employers will typically look for a new graduate that has a Bachelor in Design or has a minimum of three years of experience.

It also helps to have experience with software like Adobe Creative Cloud. Some software has its own certifications you can get by taking a course online (lots of them are free). The more of these you have, the better! Click here to learn more about Graphic Design as a career option.

How can an experienced designer help your business?

Designer Lormindo Mamo said “Every great design begins with an even better story”. An experienced designer can help tell that story. A professional designer in your corner helps to bring your brand to life!

With experience comes wisdom and the ability to make informed decisions quicker which in turn can help to deliver results for your business. Here at Back9, we are brand experts. We understand what can elevate your business and help it be communicated exceptionally to your target audience.

Why should I invest in Graphic Design?

You might enjoy playing around with Photoshop, Canva or Microsoft Publisher and feel fairly confident in your abilities. And if this is the case, we probably aren’t a good fit for your business and that’s ok.

But once you see the value that a design agency can bring to your business you might change your mind. Often all it takes to completely change a brand’s visual identity is a fresh set of eyes from an external party and there are a number of great design companies in Invercargill. Here at Back9, we can audit your existing collateral/messaging and identify ways to improve and better communicate your brand to your audience.

One of the main services our graphic designers do is to create a logo and brand identity. Our logo package starts at just $175 + GST per month for 12 months. Or feel free to get in touch or give us a call to see what we can do for you!

Who is the best Digital Marketing Company in Invercargill?

Posted on March 24, 2021July 17, 2024 by Phil

Updated: 26th April 2024

It’s fair to say, when it comes to any industry, not all businesses within it, are necessarily created equal. This includes Digital Marketing. So, how do we define who is the best digital marketing company in Invercargill? Or Even the Where to find the best Digital Marketing Company in NZ?

A lot of industries have regulatory bodies, however Graphic design and Digital Marketing don’t. And let’s face it, if a digital marketing company is any good, they should at least have the ability to make themselves look it. Ultimately if they are any good, they should be found on, or near the top of a Google search for the term: best Digital Marketing Company, Invercargill right? Likewise, if they are versed in the art of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) – a key component of digital marketing, then they should also show top or high in searches for SEO Invercargill – Who is the best?

The best way to decide is by reframing the question – or adding to the end of it. So, ask not “Who is the best Digital Marketing Company?” but “Who is the best Digital Marketing Company for me and my business?”

Does one size fit all in Digital Marketing

Truthfully, and although a lot of companies say they are, it’s unlikely that there’s a one-size-fits-all company in any industry. So which will be the best for you depends on your needs and circumstances. What’re your criteria for partnering with an agency?

One of the most important parts of teaming up with a company is working with people who believe what you believe. You can usually feel that in your gut. And from my experience, I would say trust your instinct!

How do you Choose the Right Marketing Agency?

Below are some of the most popular digital marketing companies at the top of a google search. These are companies that also say they do business in Invercargill, New Zealand.

Market Elements

Market Elements offer Google Ads, Social Media Marketing, SEO and Invercargill Web Design services. They have been providing marketing support and integrated marketing campaigns for small and small-medium businesses since 2010.

Market Elements say “It’s all about the relationship and the results for us. Most of our clients ask us to work with them well beyond their initial project, as they value the fact that we’re local and offer professional, independent advice and services”.

With team members collaborating from multiple locations, Market Elements do not appear to have a home base. However this can probably work to their advantage too. Lower overheads can mean more cost-effective pricing.

If you are a small or medium business then Market Elements are well worth touching base with. The best thing for you and your business to do your research!

Netbranding

Netbranding came up pretty high on the first page of Google for the search: Who is the best Marketing Company in Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand? But let’s just back this truck up a bit. Netbranding is not an Invercargill, Southland or even South Island-based business. A quick click on their about section of their website reveals they are a full-service Auckland digital marketing agency.

Whilst I firmly believe location is not a barrier. And marketing and design can be done remotely from anywhere in the world, I feel that this is a little misleading. So Caveat emptor – Let the buyer beware.

If you’re not too bothered about using someone on the ground locally, Netbranding could be a fit for you. Therefore they could be worth a call. However, if you want to be able to walk into the company’s studio and work through things face-to-face, then a local Invercargill-based studio might be the best fit for you.

Quantum Print

Don’t let the name fool you. Quantum Print doesn’t just specialise in print solutions, they also offer digital and web services.

Sometimes Quantum Print’s clients don’t really know where to start. Do they need a website? Does their website work effectively to bring the results?

What is SEO? Do you need to be on social media? Do you know how to work on each aspect of the digital realm?

They are here to help.

In Quantum Prints’ digital marketing consulting programme, they explain that they will guide business owners who have low to zero knowledge about the digital world on how they can take advantage of all the tools and services available to boost their sales and brand reach.

They have a digital marketing specialist who is there to help you understand everything in a simple way. This is so you can make all decisions on your own and get prepared to evaluate your digital activities. And avoid common ‘traps’ or being misled by service providers who do not always have the best intentions.

How it works?

Quantum Print’s marketing consultant is available for hourly sessions to be arranged when best suits your needs.

During your sessions, their consultant will understand more about your business needs. Subsequently assess your current digital situation. And then instruct you on what are the best options for your business. That includes what should be your priorities, and how much you should invest on websites, digital ads, social media, etc.

In each session their consultant will try to be as clear and straightforward as possible. This is to help you understand all the pros, cons, and technical aspects related to digital marketing.

They can either go to your office location or you can come to our Invercargill office for the consulting sessions.

Virtual sessions are also available if requested. Their Marketing Consultant’s hourly rate is $110

Digital Eagles

Digital Eagles state they are “A DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY THAT’S REDEFINING INVERCARGILL BUSINESSES”

They offer a full range of Digital marketing services from, SEO, SEM, PPC, and so on. Much like us here at Back9 Creative and the others in this article. One thing that is interesting to note, is that there are multiple references within their landing page for Digital Marketing Invercargill, that state they are in Invercargill. Like this “A content marketing and social media agency in Invercargill, you can trust.”

Well my friend, if you are still with me, and at the risk of sounding downright biased and not impartial, the issue I take with this is much like Net Branding further up the page… They are not from Invercargill, they are not based here. They are also using Keywords from another competitor who used to work for them. Bottomline is… When the very line on your website which says you can be trusted is actually a fabrication – what does that say about the company?
It’s your call you may be ok with it and if so get in touch. But if honesty and integrity are important, turn away and have a crack at the crossword.

Market South Now called Naked Creative

Naked Creative, formerly Market South is a marketing, communications, and graphic design company. They are a digital agency with full-service offerings. This can include Branding, Web Design, Advertising Campaigns, Strategy, Copywriting, PR, Print, and more.

Market South is passionate about creating kick-ass brands and campaigns that drive sales and help their clients make more money!

As well as a full suite of marketing and advertising services, they produce and own a range of products and publications focused on promoting Invercargill and the greater Southland region. Owner and Creative Director Carla Forbes is a well-known Southland business personality and has held a number of roles on boards including the Southland Chamber of Commerce, where she was president. Forbes has also been the face of a number of local campaigns including, Stand up for SIT and The NZAS Tiwai Point Fight for Fairness campaign.

And of course, Back9 Creative!

Named as a finalist in The Designers Institute of New Zealand’s Best Design Awards, Back9 is a trusted name in the digital marketing landscape of Invercargill. Back9 Creative was started back in 2011 by husband and wife duo Phil & Alli Robinson. With the rise of digital technologies, they believed that without the huge budgets of global brands, the ‘traditional’ outbound way of ‘interruptive’ selling and marketing was no longer as effective.

As design-driven agency with a focus on Web Design, Custom Apps and Search Engine Marketing, Back9’s goal is to help is to help ambitious businesses grow and succeed by tapping into new technologies and new ways of thinking.

So, who is the Best Digital Marketing Company for me and my business?

So which design and digital marketing company based in Invercargill, is the best for you and your business? That depends on what you’re looking for.

At Back9 we strive to be the best digital marketing agency in Invercargill. Digital Eagles, Graphx and Market South aka Naked Creative, all aim to offer a full-service. They say they can handle any level of marketing, from managing social media to building a brand new website. Graphx appears to be aiming to be a better fit for smaller businesses. Naked Creative has a proven track record in serving a more corporate market. Netbranding and Market Elements appear to be more focused on the digital aspect. That makes them good options if you are looking to go fully digital and don’t need traditional marketing campaigns.

If you’re looking to partner with an agency for your digital marketing endeavours, it’s worth taking the time to research. Talk to the businesses above and other Invercargill-based design and marketing companies. Look over their services and see if their style and tone match what you want for your own business. Taking time to find that right fit and work with credible, reliable businesses can save time and trouble later on. So it’s worth the effort!

All about Facebook Ads – Give your posts a boost!

Posted on March 23, 2021April 22, 2025 by Phil

Facebook is the de facto social media platform, with over 2 billion active users. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before it also became one of the most powerful ways for businesses to advertise to potential customers. Enter Facebook Ads. Once you have a business page, Facebook makes it easy to advertise on the platform with that attractive blue Boost Post button will you can throw a few bucks at your post to increase the reach, and hopefully, the engagement. Seems pretty straightforward, right?

If that’s the only way you run ads, then yes, it is. But they also won’t be nearly as effective as going deeper into the system. Facebook has an incredibly large range of tools for advertising and some of the best targeting systems on Planet Earth; if you know how to use them right. In this article, we’re going to skim the surface of some of these different tools and how they can give your posts a boost to reach the people that want to see them.

All of these methods involve using the Facebook Business Manager. If you have a business, we highly-recommend using Business Manager instead of just a page if you want to do marketing on Facebook for more than just an occasional boost now and then. But if you’re going to make use of the additional marketing options, it’s well worth the effort!

The Facebook Pixel

Before going too far into the deep, we need to talk about the Facebook Pixel so that all of your juicy data will be stored for you to use later. Facebook Pixels are little bits of code that Facebook can use to track information, such as how many people click on your ad and where they come from. This information is retrieved when an image is loaded that is a single pixel in size (so too small to see).

Putting this Pixel on your website will also let you attribute conversions such as phone calls and purchases to your Facebook ads, so that you can see how effective they really are instead of having to make a guesstimate. Facebook has a short guide to show you some of the things the Pixel can do for you and why you should have one set up, especially if you have a website.

Who’s your audience?

Who you think your audience is and who is actually your audience may be two different groups. This can be a complex topic and one we can help you out with at Back9 through a Buyer Persona/Target Market Workshop. And business owners are sometimes surprised at what they find out!

Once you have your audience down, you’ll notice that they share some similar characteristics. It might be that they’re all around 45-60 years old. Maybe they skew male. Maybe they tuned in to watch the series finale of Game of Thrones and were disappointing with the ending. Facebook audiences can go extremely in-depth… But demographic targeting is only the tip of the iceberg.

Facebook Ads Manager

Boosting a single post is relatively simple and intuitive. Facebook Ads Manager, on the other hand, will probably look very intimidating to a new user. Take a look and see for yourself.

Yes, there’s more to it in every direction too. Facebook Ads Manager is a massive system with a plethora of options, including different options for budgeting, targeting, ad delivery, and ads creative. Taking the time to learn and understand these options can make your ads much more effective–and save you money too. But to do this, you need to take the time to understand demographics targeting, custom audiences, and lookalike options. There are also several objectives for ads like aiming for page likes, purchases, clicks, and engagement (video views, shares, post reactions, etc).

Interests and demographics targeting

The standard and most basic way to target people is through interests and demographics. As long as people are accurate in their profile, (instead of putting date of birth as January 1, 1900 when they’re clearly in secondary school) and like pages of things they’re interested in, then the targeting does a great job. Facebook also makes educated guesses on people’s interests based on posts they interact with. However, you can still miss out on people who haven’t yet added interests or liked certain pages.

Imagine you’re trying to sell building supplies to home builders, so you choose the “Home construction” interest. But the most prominent builder in your area instead only put an interest of “Custom Builder”, another option. If you don’t put in that “Custom Builder” option, that person may never see your ads.

Likewise, if people don’t update their profile for a while, you could be making location-specific ads to people who have since left the city you’re targeting… Or even the country. So while although the targeting tools are powerful and specific, they’re still limited by what information people include… Which is why Lookalike Audiences and Custom Audiences can take your targeting to the next level.

Lookalike Audiences

If you want to, you can think of every possible characteristic of your ideal customer, like their age, marital status, income bracket, education level, and so on, then put in all that data manually and make an audience like that. Sometimes narrowing down manually can be the best option, but if you end up having 65 different options, you’ve either done a super good job, or limited it down to a handful of your friends and family.

Lookalike Audiences take some of the guesswork out of creating audiences by having them based on data you already have. The most common places to get this data is from people who visit your page or who visit your website. When you have a Facebook Pixel on your website and also connected to your ad account, lookalike audiences can be an extremely useful option.

One of the options you have for a lookalike audience is website visitors. Not only can the Pixel show remarketing ads to the people who actually visited your website, but it will also take note of the characteristics that your website visitors have in common and create a group based on them. Then you can create ads that are only shown to this group, and you’re likely to see your sales and engagement skyrocket!

Custom Audiences

Like the name suggests, custom audiences are audiences that are… Customised. What this means is that you aren’t sending your post out to random people, but instead directing it towards people of your choosing. With a custom audience, you build a group based on one of ten different sources, as shown by the image below.

Along with your own sources like your website and app (if you have them), Facebook has ways of helping you create audiences with their own sources. Video, for example, lets you segment by people who watched from 3 seconds to 95% of one of your videos in a timeframe of your choosing. Facebook Page lets you choose by people who visited, like, or engage with your page, along with other options.

Perhaps the most important is the Website source. Choosing Website lets you combine data from your website with your Facebook page, meaning you can reach large segments of people you may have never gotten to through Facebook otherwise. It’s also a powerful tool for remarketing. You can create an audience of people who looked at a product on your website or added it to their cart but didn’t purchase. Then, you can show them an ad for that product, a strategy that is shown to have one of the highest conversion rates by reminding people to buy something they already showed an interest in.

Why can’t I find where to make Custom and Lookalike audiences?

As we mentioned at the first of this article, Business Manager is an important part of creating advanced, targeted Facebook Ads. You won’t find where to make Lookalike and Custom audiences on the normal Facebook interface. In Business Manager, Audiences is its own section that you can find by clicking the Busines Manager three-line hamburger icon and choosing the Audiences icon under Shortcuts. From there, go to “Create Audience” and follow the prompts to create Custom and Lookalike audiences.

Campaign Objectives

Campaign Objectives are probably the most important reason to use Facebook Ads Manager over boosted posts. With a boosted post, you’re simply sending your post to a wider audience. With campaign objectives, you’re doing the same, but with a specific goal in mind.

Awareness Goals

Facebook ads have two Awareness options: Brand Awareness and Reach. Brand Awareness shows your ads to people who are most likely to remember them. This helps people to recognise your brand. The other option is Reach. Reach is similar to boosted posts, and gets your post out to a larger group than if you didn’t pay for the boost.

Consideration Goals

There are 6 different conversion goals in Facebook Ads Manager:

Traffic. Traffic sends people from Facebook to somewhere else. This can be your website, your app, or simply your Facebook Business Page. Use this if you’re looking to get eyes on something specific.
Engagement. This is a step up from traffic. With engagement, you want people to see your post and then do something. Sub-categories include Post Engagement, Page Likes, and Event Responses. Choose this if you want people to do more than glance at your post. Engagements are more expensive than traffic, but can also do more for your brand.
App Installs. If your business has an App, this goal sends the ad to people likely to install it. Sub-categories include automated app ads (the algorithm makes ads) or App ads (manually-created ads).
Video Views. Videos are the most engaging kind of content. Use this to get views and possibly shares–videos can go viral if they’re done right! And this objective is a great way to get the snowball rolling.
Lead Generation. Once you’re ready to get actual leads from your ad, try out this campaign objective. Prospects will have to complete a form to be registered as a lead. This is a good option when you have a solid lead pipeline workflow and have a plan in place to get in touch with these leads or send them content that may help them with their decision to work with you.
Messages. Messages are Facebook Messenger messages specifically. If you want people to send you enquiries on Facebook, try this. It can be very powerful when combined with automation like automated messages or ManyChat.

Conversion Goals

Conversions are for the final step of the Buyer’s Journey. These can help people decide that now is the time to work for you. Many businesses focus solely on Conversion goals, but they tend to work best when combined with Awareness and Consideration ads too. Focusing only on conversions without setting up the framework can mean you spend a lot of money for few results. Be sure to have a plan in place like a solid website or lead pipeline when choosing these campaign objectives.

Facebook has 3 different conversion options:

Conversions

Facebook defines conversions as a target action a person takes. Standard conversions are things like visits to a specific page, a contact form on your website filled out, signing up for a newsletter, or starting a free trial. But you can set up custom conversions too. These can be defined through the Facebook Events Manager tool or by having a developer set up conversion tracking code. It’s important to set these up before doing a campaign targeting conversions. If you don’t, you won’t know if the conversions are working; the ad will say there are always 0 of your target conversion. Even if someone did do the conversion action–the ad won’t know it if there’s no data telling it that the conversion happened.

Catalogue sales

These are for eCommerce sites specifically. If you can sell products online, you need to connect your website catalogue to your Facebook ad account. This can be done through the Catalogue Manager in Business Manager. Setup can be a bit tricky though and requires a lot of permissions. You’ll need to be the Owner of the Facebook Page, the Catalogue, and the Ad Account to setup Catalogue Sales. Alternatively, you can create a Facebook Shop and make sales directly on Facebook instead. Find out more about how to set up a shop on Facebook here.

Store Traffic

This campaign objective is to send people to your physical store. The ad will pop up when someone is in a certain proximity (that you set) to your store. If they have Facebook active and then visit your store, it will count towards your Store Traffic goal. In order for this to work, you need to add your store details. These ads tend to use the “Get Directions” call-to-action to get someone nearby interested and to visit your store.

Facebook Targeting and iOS 14 (and beyond)

Apple and Facebook have been rivals for over a decade. The release of iOS 14 is the next level of their rivalry. After exposés like The Social Dilemma, Facebook has been under fire for privacy concerns and manipulative tactics to keep users on the site. Apple responded to these kinds of allegations against Facebooks in their iOS 14 operating system update.

In iOS 14, many of the standard tracking tools listed above will stop working as they have in the past. When someone opens an app like Facebook, they’ll be prompted to check whether or not they agree to data collection. If they do, existing methods of tracking won’t be affected. But if they choose no, much of the data won’t be available.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to tracking for ads: The first is that targeted ads are useful and helpful. These people believe that if they’re going to see ads anyway, why not have it be something they might want? By seeing what you’re looking for, these ads can help you solve problems you’re having. This is what companies like Google and Facebook believe.

The second group thinks that targeted ads are intrusive and a violation of privacy. How can these companies know what you want if you’ve never searched for it? Their multi-million dollar algorithms know a lot about you. But these people would rather have that data collection limited–even if the ads are more generalised. This is what companies like Apple and Duck Duck Go believe.

How will iOS 14 affect Facebook Ads?

Without opting-in to tracking, ads will no longer be based on their interests and past activities. Many people will choose not to opt-in to data collection when they update to iOS 14. As a result, ads overall will be less effective than they used to be. Expect to need a higher spend to achieve the same kinds of results, unless Facebook drastically lowers costs for running ads, which is very unlikely.

Done right, Facebook ads can be a huge boost!

There’s a lot that goes into doing Facebook ads properly. But if you spend the time to learn the platform, they can deliver huge results. And we’ve seen many businesses have success through these ads.

Typically, when we set up everything correctly for a business, we’ll see about an 8x return on ad spend for eCommerce conversions. This means that if you’re using the Catalogue Sales conversion and spend $100 on ads, you’ll get about $800 worth of sales. People with a larger following can get even higher results. For one popular Facebooker, we saw a 16x return on ad spend through Remarketing.

However, this success comes from proper setup. You also need a basic understanding of setting up tracking code, or work with a developer who does. Or you can let the experts handle it for you. At Back9 Creative, our team has set up Facebook Ads for dozens of clients. We can help you set up an ad account, conversion tracking, and help you choose the best campaign objectives for your goal. Get in touch with us today to find more about how we can help your business through Facebook Ads.

What is a vlog?

Posted on March 22, 2021August 20, 2021 by Phil

Vlogs are a popular kind of video on the internet today. So what is it? Vlog is the abbreviation of “video log”. What it refers to is the practice of filming oneself and sharing content. That content can be a review, a report or even an opinion piece through the power of video. Though you can vlog about almost anything. It’s very similar to a blog, just in video form.

Why choose to do a vlog?

It can quite often be a much quicker way for a content creator to get their message across by just creating a quick video of themselves and posting online, rather than spending the time writing it all down. A great place to share vlogs is on social media such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube as well as using features like creating a Live Video.

Vlogging is a powerful way to engage with your viewers because of the format, it will often feel much more like a conversation compared to reading an article/blog.

Vlogs vs Blogs

Vlogs might seem like they’re simply a modern way to do blogging. Overall, videos have been shown to be much more engaging. Most people are also more likely to remember something on video as opposed to text.

However, a blog article has its advantages with Google SEO. Google is still using keywords from your article to help with ranking. Search engines can’t watch a video or listen to audio, but they do index text.

Does this mean you can’t do SEO for Vlogs? Not at all. Videos have their own kind of SEO, and you can find out more about that in our article How do videos help your SEO. This is why it is super important to use relevant titles and descriptions when uploading a vlog to your website.

Is Vlogging right for you?

You might be wondering if vlogging is right for you. It’s a good way to get the message out. It all depends on what you have to say and how comfortable you are on camera. (Tip: Read our article on How to Prepare to be on Video for help with this!) Getting the setup right might take some practice.

If your vlog looks cheap or low-quality, it might hurt more than help. Lighting, backgrounds, etc. are important and make a massive difference in quality. That doesn’t matter as much for personal vlogs, but it does if they’re for your business. Make sure to watch them through when you’re done. Try to see it from the customer’s point of view. They don’t know the work that goes into it–they just see the final product. If you saw the vlog, would you do business with your company?

Vlogging takes time and investment to get right, but it can be worth it. Once you do a few and get into a routine, it gets easier too. Sometimes, having an outsider’s perspective can help too. At Back9, we can help by giving you tips and tricks for being on camera. Or we can even do filming for you if you like. We can do Videography for blogs, events, business promos, recruitment, and much more. Get in touch with us today if you’d like help with our professional videography service.

Google’s May Algorithm update is a Game Changer!

Posted on March 3, 2021December 23, 2021 by Phil

Most normal people don’t even know what the Google Algorithm is. Let alone care what a Google Algorithm Update is. Or what it means to them… Are you one of those people? That’s okay. But even if you are, if you’re in business and you have a website, and you want it to be found, then you need to know about this next update!

This update is BIG. REALLY big. It WILL separate the website winners from the losers! If you don’t understand – or even care for the “nerdy Geek Speak” – that’s cool I get it, but before your eyes glaze over and you hit the back button, or give up and go watch videos of cats, I urge you to read on, or at the very least, contact your website provider to discuss what you need to do to get your website up to speed.

The 3 Key Aspects of Core Web Vitals

Google announced this Algorithm update last April. This means that they’ve let us know ahead of time that this major change was in the works. Only recently did they put a date to it, however. In May, their new measurement for SEO called Core Web Vitals will start taking effect. Specifically, they are introducing three metrics specific to page experience. These Core Web Vitals put simply, will address:

1. Site speed

The speed a website page loads once a link is clicked on from search results. Google has been pushing fast site speed for several years, because that’s what users want. Over half of users won’t wait more than 3 seconds for a page to load. Yet, stats on page load speed claim the average is anywhere from 15 seconds to nearly 30 seconds to load. Mobile sites are meant to load faster, but many take longer because the site wasn’t designed to work on mobile devices.

So what does that mean for you? If you are able to get your pages to load in under 3 seconds, you should see a boost in results. All content “Above the fold” (What someone sees without scrolling down) should load within that time. Most sites are going slow, and if you’re faster, you’re more likely to rank above them in Google.

2. Interactivity

How seamless user interactivity is – for example, with no delays in button-tapping and site response or desired action. We’ve all been to a website with broken buttons or a confusing structure. With Interactivity being measured soon, sites that are designed and built better will rise to the top. Google knows design and ease of use is important to people. So they’re going to start rewarding sites that do it well–and punishing ones that don’t.

3. Stability

The stability of a webpage content is the way it loads for a user on the screen. Have you ever been on a website and see something you want to click, but then it moves right before you click it shifts and you click something else? Those kinds of things will soon be measured as Stability. The layout of the pages should generally be consistent. Pages where text or images keep shifting around while other things load (Think ads loading while you’re reading) will start to see a decrease in rankings. Google has known this kind of site behaviour annoys people, so they’ve found a way to measure and analyse the most important factors that cause this.

What does this mean for your website?

This change could be good or bad news for your website. It’s good news is that if you already have a well-built site that loads fast and gives a good user experience. You might not have to do anything to get the benefits! You’ll probably see your rankings increase and it will be easier for you to be found in Google.

The bad news is that if your site needs improvement, this update could hurt. An old, basic, slow site won’t do well when things change. If you’ve been putting off updating your website, now is a good time to action it. The sooner you do it, the better.

Procrastination is easy!

When you have hundreds of things on the go – as most business owners do, it’s easy to let something like this sit in the “I’ll worry about that when it happens category”, If you’re familiar with the Eisenhower Matrix then this is the probably sitting in the Important, but not Urgent quadrant.

This is normal. We see it all the time with business owners and only when something becomes Urgent and Important, is it really on the radar? It’s human nature to put things off or procrastinate when we don’t understand the impact or cost of the action, or the cost of inaction for that matter.

If you value your website and you get a good amount of leads from organic traffic, then the cost of inaction here could be detrimental to your business.

On the other hand if you don’t know what your website is up to or what it is returning for you I recommended you talk to a good Marketing Company. Have a read of our article by clicking the button below to see how to find a marketing company who is a good fit for you.

User Experience – It needs to be top shelf

User Experience is a bit of a buzzword these days in digital marketing. However, it also can’t be understated. The user, A.K.A. your leads, prospects, and customers have all of the power these days!

Your website needs to cater to their expectations. Whether that be expecting the site to load lightning fast, that they can navigate your site well, or simply find the answers to their questions about what you do and how much it costs.

If it doesn’t cater to these things, then the reality is you are likely to lose those visitors, never to return, especially if your competitor caters for their expectations better.

Google’s promise to all internet users

All online searchers want 2 things – relevant webpage results for their search query, and when they land on that page, a great experience from the websites. Google understands this and as such they want, no, NEED to deliver on that. And that is their core promise.

To deliver that promise, the Google Algorithm Update needs to be constantly evolving. And your website needs to keep up! Google added metrics around page loading speed, mobile-friendly need in 2018, then the BERT update in 2019 and in April 2020 they announced the focus on user experience. And May 2021 will see it come to fruition. To evaluate and measure page experience they will implement what they are referring to as Core Web Vitals.

Google has said for over a decade that they want users to have the best experience possible on websites and deliver those websites as their first results. A good website is an investment. It takes time, effort, and resources to do it right. At the end of the day, your website needs to have a good design with quality content. Some people have tried to take shortcuts, tricking the algorithm etc. but that was always a risk. Eventually, Google was going to find a way to find out what websites are doing it right and what ones took shortcuts. The next step for that starts in May. Are you ready?

What do you need to do now?

I mentioned the Eisenhower Matrix above and if you care about your search rankings, then now is the time to shift your focus. Your website maintenance, or design for user experience into the URGENT and IMPORTANT quadrant. I can tell you categorically as I write this, even our own website is well below average. Right now it needs some urgent attention! We’re working on improving it to make it better and easier to use.

So if you haven’t done much with your website in recent times – or worse – have done nothing, then please act… For your website users’ sake, please don’t procrastinate. Your website’s success quite literally depends on it.