Social Media is amongst most the powerful platforms available across the globe today. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are capable of influencing presidential elections. Moreover, such platforms are now providing employment opportunities to hundreds of thousands of people in different countries. You have positions like social media specialist, social media marketer, and what not. One such popular and desirable job responsibility is that of a social media manager. So what exactly is a social media manager? This guy is responsible for planning, implementing, managing and monitoring company’s Social Media strategy to increase brand awareness, improve Marketing efforts and increase sales.
Interested in knowing how to become a social media manager? Then this post is for you. The steps described below will give you a direction on how to become a social media manager.
You can’t become proficient in English if you don’t know the alphabets. A similar analogy applies to become a social media manager. The first step is to know what social media is and how it works. This involves making a list of different platforms and exploring them one by one. Consider LinkedIn. You are aware it’s a social media platform meant for professionals. But what next? You have to go beyond making connections, writing posts, and following people. Do you know about LinkedIn advertising? Do you know about building your business profile on LinkedIn? This is just a preview of the several features you were clueless about.
The same applies to platforms like Facebook and Twitter as well. Most of us don’t take the efforts to explore beyond the basic features of social media websites. Ignorance is bliss but not if you want to become a social media manager!
You have to practice. Theory without practical is incomplete learning. This also applies to social media management. You may know all of the platforms inside-out but it’s waste if you don’t implement your learning. You can practice with your private social media accounts if opening an experimental business account isn’t possible. Build your followers, engage with them through interesting content, and curate a brand.
Once you are confident enough, experiment with a business account on the platforms. The rules of the game may change slightly but the fundamentals remain the same.
Set Prices For Your Services
When it comes to pricing it’s a personal decision. It’s your call. How much your time is worth and what budget your potential client has are some parameters to base your decision. If your clients are a multi-million dollar business they can afford to pay you thousands of dollars per month, but if they are a small business, they may only pay a few hundred dollars.
The quality and quantity of your content matter above everything else. How much content are you going to be putting out every month and the kind of engagement you bring in determines your rates. At the same time, services don’t encompass only posting content. Growing followers, advertising, etc. also need to fall under your offerings.
This is the reason why businesses pay insane amount to social media managers. Having a strong and dominating virtual presence is essential for every organization to stay relevant today.
Okay, so you have come up with a pricing strategy. What next? Start selling your services, of course. You may not convert every lead, you may be subjected to constructive criticism, or face rejection in some other sense. That’s inevitable. Every journey has crests and troughs and selling your services is no different. Once you have built your reputation, clients will automatically come to you.
More About Services
Here’s some more information to gain clarity on the services a social media manager offers:
Posting Content
Content delivery involves scheduling posts, creating images, blog posts, audio, and video. You can also share others’ posts on Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Content is king so posting is imperative. It’s necessary to educate your audience and uploading content achieves exactly this aim. Just make sure you give due credits when dealing with someone else’s content.
Community management
You have to manage your followers. Simply having thousands of people like your page or as part of your Facebook group isn’t enough. This is a community that you are talking about. And a community stays only when it’s well-knit. Hence, the need for community management.
Businesses need help with regular posting on social media platforms. They also need to retain digital customers Pinterest management is a great opportunity for you to help businesses who have a blog. There are several other opportunities to develop your community management skills.
Conducting polls, organizing giveaways, and posting questionnaires are a few methods to implement community management.
Advertising
Gone are the days when social media was only about making virtual friends. Advertising is one of the most powerful features of social platforms. This is a more advanced skill set. And it’s risky as well since it involves monetary investment. However, to become a successful social media manager, you need to learn the art of digital advertising. There’s enormous potential in advertising, both monetarily and credibility.
Copywriting
Copywriting is about knowing how to write persuasive content that involves selling. You can write copy for websites, sales pages, landing pages, product descriptions, and email sales funnels. This service is a good-to-have for social media managers.
Grow followers
If you want clients to stay with you month after month, you need to master the art of growing followers in addition to retaining them. If you aren’t helping your clients grow their followers, your work won’t be appreciated and you’ll soon be out of business. Posting content is valuable only if it can bring new people.
Moreover, you can grow followers for free on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. With Facebook, it’s a bit tricky because you need to spend money on ads and boosted posts.
No one is interested in stale news. Content is generally of two types: Evergreen content and trending content. The former refers to stuff that’s going to say constant throughout. Whereas the latter depends on the current affairs and trends. And on social media, people are more interested in trending content.
Therefore, you need to stay updated as a social media manager. This ensures the services you offer are relevant to the time. For example, content around coronavirus is being followed by almost everyone on Facebook, etc. Thus, your post or polls on coronavirus will bring in engagement for sure at this moment.
Bringing Engagement On Posts
Instagram algorithm favors posts with significant engagements. What does engagement mean? Social media engagement includes likes, comments, shares, saves, and clicks.
Another service you can offer as a social media manager is to bring engagement on someone else’s post. You can render services to people who want to improve their existing social media content.
Areas Of Specialization
You can specialize in Instagram management. You can be someone who specializes in Instagram but you also offer other ancillary services. You can also do Pinterest management. It’s a niche because Pinterest is really good for bloggers. On Pinterest, you can help your clients promote their blogs and websites traffic and pin every single day.
Though it involves some research, you can identify niches to specialize in as a social media manager. With the emergence of new features across different platforms, now is the right time to pick one and build in-depth knowledge around it!
Higher Paying Services
Blog writing and email marketing are some services for which you can charge serious money. These are the offerings that deserve high premium prices.
These are some ways to become a social media manager
Enroll in a degree in communications or marketing. (Optional)
Learn from online courses and YouTube platforms.
Stay updated with the industry tools and tech.
Look for social media opportunities and do internships.
Keep learning and adapting.
Be comfortable working and learning on your own.
Is social media manager a good job?
If you get a job to work on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Pinterest, and other popular social media channels, then it may sound like a dream come true. And for many people, it is as its the most satisfying job role according to PayScale. PayScale indicates that the job satisfaction of social media managers comes in at a 3.8 out of 5, or “highly satisfied” rating.
What does a social media manager do all day?
The work of a Social Media Manager is to manage, create and schedule social posts. Also, the work includes monitoring analytics and react quickly to trends.
Is being a social media manager hard?
Even though there are some unexpected tasks required, being a social media manager is a fun, rewarding job. You instantly see the results from hard work and it’s interesting to be part of an industry that is so fast-paced, ever-changing, and new in every aspect.
What exactly does a social media manager do?
Social media managers create and maintain brand promotions, company information and marketing campaigns for their company across several different social media networks. A social media manager is expected to keep up with new trends and company and industry news.
Can I be a manager without a degree?
Managers manage people and projects within an organization to achieve the goals of the company. Having some kind of a college or university degree definitely helps when you want to become a manager, but it is not always necessary. With patience, time, and commitment, you can certainly become a manager without a degree.
Conclusion
Making content go viral on social media is an art and a social media manager is the artist behind it. There is no right way to do it. It all comes down to what works for you. Some only share content on social media. While other managers rely heavily on advertising and creating unique posts, etc.
As is with most things in life, the best approach is somewhere in the middle. This post should give you a head start on social media management. To achieve mastery of a skill, one needs to persevere and gradually build expertise. The same applies to becoming a successful social media manager. There’s no concept of overnight success.
Are you looking to create videos for your next project but don’t have a clue about using video editing software? Then look no further, Invideo is the answer to all your video-related problems.
It is a proven fact that videos are the new mode of marketing and sharing content on the web, so having basic skills in video-making is a must to improve your presence online. So even if you are marketing yourself or a brand, video-editing is a necessary skill set to have in your digital marketing arsenal.
But as most video editing software are not beginner friendly, Invideo is a saviour for most in this field. It has a simple user-friendly interface that anyone can navigate easily and will be able to make a video in the shortest time possible.
Invideo is a simple video editing software for beginners. It’s simple drag-and-drop interface ensures that every individual can make videos on the platform without prior editing skills. You can use Invideo to make videos for Youtube, Instagram Reels, Twitter videos and everything in between as they offer 3 video dimensions. So, let’s hop onto the features of this quick and easy video-editing software!
Features of Invideo
To help beginners make videos, Invideo provides a vast library of pre-built templates that can be used as either inspiration or as the base for your video.
It allows teamwork as multiple people can work on the same video as the content is stored in a cloud-based platform.
As of now, the video limited to 15 minutes.
There is not language barrier as you can upload your own audio and text files. What’s more? They even provide automated voice overs for your text!
Also, say goodbye to watermarks. No matter what plan you are on, Invideo does not include any watermark in their videos unless you use their premium range of iStock images and videos. Everything else is watermark free!
How to Use Invideo to make Videos from scratch?
Here is a step-by-step guide to use Invideo:
Go to the Invideo homepage and and then select “Blank Canvas”.
Select between three video template dimensions – 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16 (recommended for making videos for Instagram reels). For YouTube 16:9 is the recommended dimension.
Invideo homepage
If you have uploaded brand pre-sets beforehand then the template will automatically show your logo on the top right-hand corner.
Now all you need to do is upload your own videos/images or select from their provided videos or images and start setting up your scenes. Once you are satisfied with the background, you can add additional layers or elements on top of it be it text or images or more videos.
You can choose to animate the image/text/textbox in the right-hand panel and control every aspect of the element starting from the size to colour to filter to placement. Simply click on the element and the advanced video editing setting will become available to you on the right-hand panel and you’ll be able to change up everything you want there.
Invideo Controls
You also have the option to duplicate the scene so that you can keep the background as well as the elements the same in the next scene and don’t have to redo the process all over again. This feature saves a lot of time and patience!
After you are done with your video, you can go add the required effects/overlays and such from the left-hand panel to give your video a professional look!
Finally, you can either add your own audio file for voice over or select their text-to-speech feature or record your own voice-over on the spot. You can select the volume for this as well from the advanced setting feature.
If you simply want music in the background – Invideo has your back! Choose from their intensive copyright-free audio library at your disposal. You can choose music for every mood you can think of and even if that is not enough, upload your own music file and play it in the background. You can play both background music and audio file at the same time – just adjust the volume for each.
And for the final step you have to export the file which will take a couple of minutes depending on the features used in the video. You get the option to choose between 720p or 1080p for your download. Now you can download the watermark-free video and upload it on any platform you want!
And tadaaa! You’ve just completed your first video on Invideo. The next videos will only get simpler to create.
Pros and Cons of Invideo
Pros
It works on a Freemium business model, so you get to use the website for free. Only certain features are restricted. And basic plan starts from Only $8/month if bought on a yearly basis (with coupon code APPSUMO20 – you’re welcome!). Without the coupon the price starts from just $10/month. So it is a very cheap video-editing software for graphic designers and alike!
Their chat support is brilliant. They provide extremely prompt service and are super friendly!
Work as a team – as more than one person can work on the same video.
Pre-made templates are a life-saver for most beginners – Invideo has a template for almost every topic you can think of. Even if you don’t end up using their templates, you’ll surely get inspiration from them.
You can access all of your previous work in the projects tab in Invideo and if required, you can duplicate it for future work as well!
Invideo Pricing
Cons
You can only make videos upto 15 minutes long (but realistically that is all you need).
It works best with Chrome Browser and is difficult to use with an unstable network.
It does not have an app yet so it only works on laptops for now.
Conclusion
Hopefully with this simple tutorial on the basics of using Invideo you’ll finally be able to make that YouTube video you’ve been thinking about! Or take your digital marketing to the next level. As you know, no one can promote your brand better than you so try out Invideo for yourself and see how simple the interface is. Remember their support team is available and is prompt with their replies should you encounter any issues in your Invideo journey. So no more excuses and Best of Luck!
Invideo can be used by beginners and professionals alike! It’s simple interface makes it possible for people without prior video-editing skills create professional videos in minutes.
What is the Invideo pricing plan? or Is Invideo free?
Invideo works on a freemium model so you can make videos for free but certain features will be restricted. Their plan starts from just $10/month. But it’ll be only $8/month of you use the invideo coupon code : APPSUMO20 !
Is Invideo Indian Video-editing software?
Yes, Invideo is an Indian video-editing software headquartered in Mumbai.
Is Invideo multilingual?
Yup, you can create videos in any language you want on Invideo. You simply have to upload the text and audio files.
Marketing Automation is the process of taking the leverage of software to automate the marketing process or the repetitive marketing tasks. Most of the time marketers use this software for nurturing leads, to integrate with Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and also Customer Data platform (CDP) software.
Most of the time marketing automation is used to automate and personalize the texts and responses to the customers. According to Andrea Lechner Becker who is the CMO of LeadMD. Marketing Automations are tools that increase the efficiency of the marketers.
There are various examples of marketing automation. Some of them include an automated email that is sent to a user according to his behavior triggers. This email can be personalized and will be set ahead of time by the marketers using a marketing automation platform.
Other than this the reminders you get when you leave an item in the shopping cart after visiting an e-commerce website, the emails you get regarding the feedbacks which will be personalized. All these are examples of marketing automation.
Some of the features of marketing automation would include
Nurturing leads –
This is the process of sending a number of automated emails to the prospects so that you can engage with them by providing relevant information.
Personalized emails –
Personalizing your emails will help your business maintain a personal relationship with the customers.
Management of Campaigns –
Companies can also run Email campaigns to increase the leads with the increase of sales. It will let you send personalized or direct emails to a large number of people.
Forms and Landing Pages –
It is a tool that will help you collect various information and data from your customers. This can later be converted into the various system for storing or action according to the data received.
When you look at the pure practice of marketing automation the ultimate outcome of the efforts of marketing automation is to gain qualified leads, conversions, personalized messages, etc. Qualified leads are a collaboration of sales and marketing.
Sending the right messages to the prospects at the right time is the key to generating leads. Marketing automation will help you send the right messages at the right time to your customers. This will increase the chances of generating leads.
The future of marketing automation looks bright. Marketing automation is very beneficial for small sized businesses, medium sized business and also fortune 500s. Marketing automation will benefit all the companies irrespective of their size.
A marketing agency named JMB Partnership has said that in the near future the marketing expenses can be reduced by 12.2 % and the productivity would increase by 14.5% because of the use of marketing automation. The sales are expected to increase by 50% in certain cases.
Another marketing agency named Fathom has said that there is an increase in the qualified leads to as much as 451%.
But still, many companies and businesses find marketing automation a difficult task. There was a survey conducted by the marketing technology insights company MarTech on how various marketers feel about the marketing automation challenges.
According to the survey, more than 15% of the marketers find it hard to create automation, more than 10% found it hard to integrate the automation with the software they use, around 10% of the marketers find that automation is still complicated and again around 10% of the marketers found it hard to create content.
Marketing Automation is expected to be one of the best choices and most common practices we will be able to find in 2021 and beyond. From emails to contact segmentation to contact management, it will be using marketing automation.
Since Marketing Automation is booming and since it is becoming a popular tool it is expected that it would be easy to use in the near future. The software is considered to become easier to use if Marketing Automation is growing at the same speed.
According to a survey conducted by an email marketing company Adestra, it was found that more than 64% of the marketers require a software that is easy to use rather than technical support or pricing.
FAQ
What is marketing automation used for?
Marketing automation is used to execute, manage and automate marketing tasks and processes. It replaces manual and repetitive marketing processes.
What is the best marketing automation tool?
Marketo, Eloqua, Customer.io, Constant Contact, and HubSpot are some of the top marketing automation tools.
What are the benefits of marketing automation?
Few benefits of marketing automation are Increased marketing efficiency, Automate time-consuming, Enhanced ability to generate more and better qualified leads and Better alignment of sales and marketing goals.
Conclusion
Marketing Automation is expected to grow really fast and the growth of an organization would depend on how easily one will adapt to it. Most of the companies have already implemented Marketing Automations in their businesses. We can see a lot more companies doing it in the near future.
Today we see consumers making mindful choices about the things they purchase or invest in. The year 2020 witnessed conversations and discussions around what we consume and how it affects the environment and what’s sustainable and what’s not. Surprisingly, these conversations were not just restricted to food and clothing, but also took over the beauty and cosmetics industry. Thus the term ‘clean beauty’ took center stage!
We hear words like ‘natural’, ‘organic’, ‘paraben-free’ or ‘vegan’ when we come across a brand and its products; these terms go interchangeable with clean beauty. In simple words, clean beauty generally refers to skincare, makeup and personal care products that are formulated with natural, botanically-derived ingredients and formulated without toxic or questionable ingredients that can have a negative impact on our health and the environment.
Clean Beauty Trend
Most of the products curated and created are said to have been sourced ethically and do not have side effects on your skin and the environment. According to me, It is all about using the original source in its natural form and using that to the best of its capacity! Clean beauty is a great way to indulge in a healthy and conscious personal care alternative.
Speaking of a healthy and conscious alternative, here’s why you must switch to organic, clean beauty products now:
Reality Of Conventional Personal Care Products
Earlier we didn’t bother reading the list of ingredients at the label of the product. Most ingredients within synthetic products can contain words like ‘methylparaben’ or ‘SLS’ or a seemingly endless stream of letters that form words impossible to pronounce. For many of us, assuming that these ingredients are safe simply because they’re on the shelves of our favorite store has been enough to lull us into a false sense of security for decades. But these harmful chemicals have a long term effect on our health and we must understand that we may be negatively impacting our health just by slathering on our favorite body lotion or spritzing our favorite perfume every day.
Clean Beauty Products Are Good For The Environment Too
The two main components that impact the environment are the product itself and product packaging. Product packaging includes several components that negatively impact the environment, namely plastic. A clean beauty approach focuses on sustainable packaging, recycling and using a supply chain that reduces carbon footprint. Beauty entrepreneurs and brands must therefore produce packaging that is sustainable and eco-friendly.
Leads To Healthier Looking Skin
Having a holistic approach in achieving healthy looking skin is a must. By just applying products to your skin or hair won’t help you reach your ideal skincare or haircare goal. A healthy lifestyle is the best beauty care! It is best to avoid harsh treatments and products on the skin. Products need to be genuine and manufacturers should ensure that the labels are not misleading and solve the common consumer’s concerns.
Animal testing has been the ugly side of the beauty industry. Most harmful chemicals and ingredients were usually tested on animals before sold to consumers. Although the clean beauty movement has bought a huge change within the beauty industry as well as consumers buying behavior. Today we see emerging brands that are ‘vegan-certified’ and ‘cruelty-free’. This is the kind of change we’ve all been waiting for!
FAQ’s
What is organic beauty?
If you’re buying certified organic generally your products (food or the ingredients in your organic makeup, for example) come from a farming system that uses no manufactured herbicides or artificial fertilizers. No artificial or synthetic colors, preservatives, or chemicals (including parabens and sulphates.
Is organic skincare really better?
Many people believe passionately that natural, organic ingredients are better for the skin but the truth is this belief has no factual basis or scientific legitimacy. The surprising fact is that there are lots of natural, organic ingredients that are bad for the skin.
Does organic mean natural?
Organic foods are grown without artificial pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides. Organic meat, eggs, and dairy products are obtained from animals that are fed natural feed and not given hormones or antibiotics. Natural foods are free of synthetic or artificial ingredients or additives.
How long does organic cream start working?
The changes in your skin will typically start showing between three weeks to two-month usage.
What is the difference between organic and natural products?
Organic foods are grown without artificial pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides. Organic meat, eggs, and dairy products are obtained from animals that are fed natural feed and not given hormones or antibiotics. Natural foods are free of synthetic or artificial ingredients or additives.
Conclusion
Organic skin care is generally defined as skin care products which contain organically grown ingredients that are free from pesticides. Organic products are deemed to be more beneficial for the skin, as it is presumed there are little to no harsh chemical ingredients, and they are marketed thus. Switch over to organic products as they not only beneficial to your skin and health but also to the environment and animals that are tested on.
A business startup comes with a lot of responsibilities. If you’ve got a business idea and you think it could make a change in the market, it’s up to you to make it a reality. Funding is an essential part of any business, as, without the seed money, you’ll be unable to fire the starting gun on your startup.
Entrepreneurs are an incredibly clever and industrious bunch, but many are in the dark about how to fund their startup business idea, preferring instead to focus their energies on a core offering.
Great ideas can only fulfill their potential if they are backed by a stable investment. These are some of the ways you can fund your startup:
How Startup Funding Works.
1. Personal Money
For many people, the first inclination is to use personal money to make essential purchases. With a new startup creating so many different needs for money, it can be rather challenging to decide what needs to be funded first.
Business costs start right from the time you decide on a business name. For instance, to retain that business name, you need to register a company name via a company formation. Registering a new entity costs money, but it is one of the first requirements to legitimizing your idea.
Personal money can come from savings, and you can finance everything yourself, leaving you with total equity in the organization. One important factor to keep in mind is not only will you need cash for business purchases, but you will need working cash flow. You probably have other financial responsibilities. Therefore, you will need funds to deal with these. If you use up all your savings for your business startup idea, it could leave you in a precarious situation financially as you move forward.
Money Management Tips
2. Seek for Angel Investors
There are some people out there whose sole job is investing in businesses that might help them make even more money going forward. These are known as angel investors and they have plenty of money to spare. These are the people you should be pitching to if you think your business idea is innovative and has the potential to make big money in the future.There are many online angel investment networks, as well as local investor groups you can pitch to in person, so do your research and start submitting your pitches.
Find the right angel investor and not only will you benefit from their financial support but also their wisdom: oftentimes, they offer mentorship as a side dish alongside their capital. Although they generally offer less financial backing than banks and venture capital funds.
Crowdfunding has taken off in a big way over the last few years. Crowdfunding is a favorite of the digital economy, and probably the quickest way of obtaining finance for a new business. All you need is a compelling pitch, one which strongly references your start-up’s potential for growth, as well as a knack for interacting with your cash-rich community. The sooner you get started and get creative with your crowdfunding campaign, the sooner you’ll start to draw more people in.
As a side benefit, crowdfunding is a nifty form of advertising, a way of stimulating public interest in your company before it’s even made its debut.
4. Bank Loans
In the modern age, it almost seems anachronistic to seek a bank loan. But if you have a solid credit history or existing assets that you’re happy to offer as collateral, as well as a workable business plan with clear profit forecasts, it’s still possible to launch your start-up with an infusion of bank cash. If you want to get money, it makes sense to head to a bank where they have lots of it. Their loans might come with harsh interest rates that could cause you plenty of problems further down the line though.
5. Find a venture capitalist
Finding a venture capitalist who shares your vision, or at the very least believes in your ability to turn your idea into a successful, profitable venture, is a good way of raising cash. The main con with this option is that venture capitalists are typically looking for the next big thing and so, many entrepreneurs struggle to convey the scale-ability of their enterprise.
Venture capital funds, by their very nature, have a short shelf life as they generally seek to recover their investment, turn a profit then move on to the next fresh startup.
6. Pursue startup grants
Grants are great for people who don’t know where else to turn. If you have an unusual idea that investors and banks are scared of and crowdfunding doesn’t seem like a realistic option for you, it makes sense to apply for startup grants. While you shouldn’t expect to be cut a massive cheque, there are dozens of grants available, offered by national and state governments (as well as private enterprises) in the interests of stimulating the economy and growing the jobs market so it’s worth checking out your options for funding your startup.
The main drawback is the fierce competitiveness of such grants, as well as the box-ticking involved, it can be a frustratingly drawn-out process, but that’s the tradeoff for retaining equity.
7. Family and Friends
Lastly, the idea of hitting friends and family for cash doesn’t sit well with some entrepreneurs, but many of the world’s top magnates readily admit to borrowing from their social network early in their careers. As such, you should have no compunction about doing the same.
On the other hand, it’s not easy to put together a hefty bankroll relying solely on family and friends; and you have to ask yourself whether you want to risk straining meaningful relationships.
It is difficult to qualify for a small business loan with a credit score lower than 700. Additionally, you should build a strong personal credit score and drive down any debt prior to applying for a business loan.
What do startups use the funding for?
Startups raise funds for various reasons but most often the main purpose is to grow their business. It can take a while for a company to reach profitability and until then, the business needs some cash to keep going.
Who is eligible for startup India?
Being incorporated or registered in India for less than seven years and for biotechnology startups up to 10 years from its date of incorporation. Annual turnover not exceeding INR 25 crores in any of the preceding financial years.
How can I approach angel investors in India?
Here are a few tips to approach angel investors in India are:
Approach angel investors in your niche.
Show them how successful your past business ventures were.
How can I raise money to start a business in India?
Go for Crowdfunding.
Consider Self-funding.
Get in touch with the Venture Capitalists.
Try Angel Investment.
Try Angel Investment.
Focus on the close.
Terms of the deal.
Conclusion
Perhaps a combination of funding options is best, but only you will truly know. All these above options require a great deal of consideration and researching because each of the options that have been discussed here has its own benefits and drawbacks, don’t forget that when you’re making your decision.
SEO forecasting is the process of determining what results from SEO can drive. Results from SEO are unpredictable. The search engine algorithms are complex and take into consideration a vast amount of data. By analyzing site data, you can predict potential site visibility, which allows you to forecast organic traffic potential and conversion rates. When you look at forecasting data, you see that there is a direct connection between SEO goals (i.e. ranking improvements) and organizational goals (i.e. making money). SEO forecasting lets you use data to make predictions, such as future traffic levels and the value of that traffic. SEO forecasting can help with sales or predict the future impact for a client. Google is the single-largest traffic driver to websites.Google accounts for 57.8% of total referral traffic for the average site (10x the traffic that Facebook drives to the average site).
You’ll probably want to consider looking for:
Current organic traffic (and hopefully historic traffic data too)
Search volume
Seasonal changes in search volume
Ranking data
Conversion rates from organic search
Average Order Value (AOV)
Click-Through Rate (CTRs)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO continues to establish itself as a credible marketing channel, forecasting traffic potential. Most SEO forecasts use first-party data sources like Google Analytics or Google Search Console. Here we will discuss various aspects of data forecasting for SEO.
72% of online marketers describe content marketing as their most effective SEO tactic
Google currently holds 90.1% of total search engine market share.
81% of people do some type of online research before making a large purchase
47% of consumers read 3-5 pieces of content created by a company before talking to a salesman from that company
Leads from search engines have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads have a 1.7% close rate
75% of people never scroll past the first page of search engine.
78% of location-centric mobile searches result in an offline purchase
Why to Forcast Data for SEO
1. Ranking Improvements
The goal is to optimize content to move to page one and higher on page one of the Search Engine Results Pages (also known as “SERPs” or “SERP”) which is Google’s response to a user’s search query. Most clicks go to the top three results. According to CTR studies, the site in position one on Google receives twice as many clicks than the site in position two. Ranking higher on the SERP means more visibility for your site and therefore more impressions. Well-optimized sites get more and more traffic over time, and that means more leads and sales.
According to Google’s own search quality ratings, when it indexes the main content of each page, it checks factors like:
Purpose of the page
Content quality and amount
Website info and info about the content creator
Website reputation and content creator reputation
User interaction with the page (time on page, bounce rates, and so on)
The SEO Traffic KPI measures the number of visits to your website that are the result of organic or paid search traffic. 50% of traffic around the web entered websites by clicking on them in the organic search results. If your page ranks well, people will click it. Search engine optimization efforts aim to increase organic traffic. Most SEO focuses on optimizing for Google’s search engine, which dominates the overall search market with a share of over 90%.
Quick SEO tips to increase organic traffic:
Improve existing content with missing subtopics
Send emails to everyone you link to
Add internal links to new pages
Do an annual content audit
Repurpose blog posts as videos
Respond to relevant Help a Reporter Out (HARO) requests
Monitor competing backlinks for underperforming content
Conversion is defined as when a user buys a product. Let’s say out of 1,000 visitors, 10 buy an item online. The conversion rate is then calculated as follows: (10 actions / 1,000 visitors * 100 = 1.0 percent). The conversion rate would in this case amount to 1.0 percent.Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the systematic process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take the desired action. Increasing conversion rate means that more of your site traffic converts to meaningful actions that grow your business.
Examples of conversions:
Macro-conversions
Micro-conversions
Purchasing a product from the site
Signing up for email lists
Requesting a quote
Creating an account
Subscribing to a service
Adding a product to the cart
Conversion rate optimization has distinct benefits for SEO these include:
Improved customer insights
Better ROI
Better scalability
Better user experience
Enhanced trust
Most effective ways to increase your conversion rate:
In 2017, E-commerce accounted for $2.3 trillion in global sales, the number is expected to increase to $4.88 trillion by 2021. It’s crucial to have a strong search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Keywords in SEO is an important part of increasing sales.
SEO sales strategy is all about focusing on SEO efforts on boosting leads and sales. With this you can target potential customers and who are looking for the specific products or services that your business offers. Right SEO strategy can boost your conversion rate and increase sales. By using the right SEO strategy you can bring the right users to your website, and streamline the sales process. Implementing SEO for increased sales is a smart online marketing strategy that every business should take advantage of. An effective PPC campaign can bring in more leads for your sales. For many businesses and e-commerce sites, using a combination of SEO services and PPC/ Google Ads will make the most advantage.
Research shows that obtaining backlinks in industry-specific publications is crucial. Link building is essential to your SEO sales campaign because it increases a brand’s authority and drives additional traffic to your website.
Google Ads is a smart investment for businesses to focus on their SEO efforts. SEO is a long-term investment in exponential growth. SEO ROI is a calculation that measures the return on investment of search engine optimization.
ROI SEO formula: (Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment.
By calculating SEO’s return on investment companies looking at search engine rankings, organic website traffic, and goal completions.
You can get an idea of the potential SEO ROI from an SEO strategy. Steps are discussed below:
Step 1: Estimate the search volume for top keywords or phrases
Step 2: Find your current ranking positions
Step 3: Estimate Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
Step 4: Estimate how competitive the keywords you chose are
The most important function of SEO is increasing visibility. The higher you rank on a search engine result page (SERP), the more likely prospects are to see you and click through to your site. Increased web traffic is one of the main goals of SEO. Nearly 33% of clicks go to the first ranking page, and the first five listings get over 75% of all clicks. The concept of authority is new in SEO. authority means that your website is trustworthy, high quality, relevant, and has something to offer. The more authority your site has, the higher your ranking will be, and the more prospects will come to trust your brand. Optimizing your site with on-page SEO improves the usability of your site, and this creates a seamless and positive customer experience. The ultimate reason SEO is essential is that it can help you achieve many of your business goals.
Revenue model is how a business makes money. It is important for the company’s long term projections. It provides Current and future potentials to earn profit. Building a great revenue model convinces investors that you are worth investing in. Designing an effective and profitable revenue model forstartup is difficult but is significant.
The Revenue model is a strategy for managing company revenue. It will determine the types and sources of revenue that your business will generate. It projects how a product and service will generate revenue.
How to Create an Effective Revenue Model for Startups?
Choose a Revenue Model that is suitable for your startup and your Market
Research the market you are entering extensively. Study your customers, address subscription options to them. Analyze how your product will fulfill the customers. On the other hand, if you are looking to sell your product to larger companies licensing is the fittest option for high returns.
Revenue is a key component of the business model. Also While identifying your market, analyze your competitors as well.
Create a Revenue model that expresses the value of your startup
Your revenue model should communicate your value. How different your products and services are from the competition. A prominent selling point is to stand out your product that people will sign up for.
Build a Revenue that helps you find the top investors for your startup
Build a great revenue model that convinces investors that you are worth investing in. Focus on investors that will be in for the long haul. The investors should get a complete idea of your business values by just looking at your revenue model. Investors also focus on how profitable your revenue model is.
Determine your revenue model
An important point to figure out is how you’re going to charge your customers. There are two comprehensive types to charge your customers.
Transactional: You can Charge customers on a per transaction basis. Once the customer purchases the product from you they don’t need to pay again. Examples: Tesla, Apple (hardware), Starbucks
Recurring: You can charge your customers a monthly or annual subscription fee for the ongoing service. Examples: Netflix, Blue Apron
Determine your customer acquisition model
There are many customer Acquisition models but we will shortlist three important customer acquisition model
Direct:Does Your company has direct contact with the customers of your product. This typically means contracting salespeople who engage directly with and sell the product to customers. This tends to work best for products that demand a high price. Examples: Tesla, Palantir, Boeing.
Indirect: If your company does not has direct contact with the customers of your end product. Indirect customer acquisition includes retail sales, channel partnerships, independent dealerships, consultants, etc. Examples: Mattel, Ford, Oracle, Coca-Cola.
Inbound: Customers have no or little contact with your company. This typically entails driving traffic to a website or app with sign-up and payment interfaces. This works best for low price products or services that customers understand easily. Examples: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify.
Top 10 Most Effective Revenue Model For Startups
1. Ad-Based Revenue Model
Ad based revenue models require creating ads for product, service, or app and placing them on high traffic channels. Google’s Adsense is one of the most practical and common tool to get ads for your website. For most websites, AdSense will make about $5-10 per 1,000 page views.
Affiliate revenue is an affiliate web-based revenue model in which you signup with a company to promote their products via links. You receive a small commission for the sales of the product or if someone executes the desired action.
Affiliate Revenue Model
3. Subscription Revenue Model
The subscription revenue model is a model where the company earns revenue by charging customers a recurring fee at regular intervals. A quite common and popular example of the subscription Revenue Model is a popular streaming platform Netflix.
Subscription Revenue Model
4. Arbitrage Revenue Model
An arbitrage revenue model is a model that is followed by traders since ancient times. This is a quite simple revenue model. In the arbitrage revenue model, a product is purchased from a market or a region to be sold at high profit in a different market.
5. Direct SalesRevenue Model
In the Direct Sales Revenue Model, The business or brand directly interacts with the customers for selling their products. There are two types of Direct Sales
Inside sales – When the customer calls to place the order for the product.
Outside sales – When the brands sell their product using face to face sales transaction.
6. Licensed Revenue Model
The licensed revenue model is quite a profitable revenue model that is commonly used by music industries for licensing their songs. The brands or companies earn revenue by licensing their products. It is quite common in media industry and for patents, copyrights, trademarks.
Examples of Best Brand Licenses
Angry Birds & Star Wars.
Microsoft & Fuji Xerox.
Microsoft & Canon.
Victoria Secret & NFL.
Lego & Star Wars.
Lego & Warner Bros.
Monopoly & McDonald
7. Data Sales
Data sales can be explained by a simple phrase “If you can’t see how the money’s made, you’re the product”. The data sale revenue model is a complicated revenue model and is hard to maintain. In this revenue model, the data is sold to the business or consumers.
Specific companies use data sales as their primary revenue model while some use it to augment another revenue model. Data should be handled with care an proper public concern if you decide to go with it as your revenue model.
8. Retail Sales Revenue Model
In the Retail sales revenue model, you have to set up a traditional department store or retail store in which you offer physical goods to your customers. A retail business generates revenue from sales of the product with the help of its retail stores.
Channel sales are the most complex pursuance in the world of sales and marketing. In simple words, brands or companies rely on a third party to sell their goods.
Indirect Sales Revenue Model
10. Freemium Model
Fremmium Revenue model is a model in which the consumers are offered service for free of cost but additional cost is charged for premium features. Many companies use this type of revenue model for example Skype, Zoom, Spotify and many more.
Spotify Freemium Model
FAQ
What does a revenue model include?
A revenue model includes the offerings of value, the revenue generation techniques, the revenue sources, and the target consumer of the product offered.
What are examples of revenue streams?
Subscription fees, Renting, leasing, Licensing content to third parties, Brokerage fees, and Advertising fees.
What is the best revenue model?
Subscription-Based Business Revenue Model is one of the best types of revenue models for startups.
Conclusion
Build a revenue model for startup that is equipped for the future. Research the market you enter effectively. Creating a revenue model might seem challenging but not having one is not an option. The revenue model for startup is crucial to driving the success of your company.
With the advancement in a civilization, there has been a significant increase in the types of ailments and diseases we are subjected to. Medical conditions unheard of a century back have now become a common occurrence. People now need hospitals, medicines, and pharmacies more than ever.
However, one wants convenience within minimal time. Going to nearby stores for much-needed medicines also seems a huge task because of the time it may take. People want to avoid standing in queues and with COVID-19 around, the fear of catching the disease by traveling to hospitals, and pharmacies are widespread.
This is where an online pharmacy business plan can solve the concerns. E-pharmacy apps and websites such as 1mg, Netmeds, and Practo have become the talk of the town.
An online drug store, web drug store, or an E-pharmacy is a drug store that works over the web. It facilitates the availability of medicines and other healthcare items without the need for people to visit brick-and-mortar pharmacies.
Kinds of E-pharmacies (Online Pharmacies)
Genuine Internet drug stores (online pharmacies) in the same nation wherein the customer placing the order resides.
Genuine Internet drug stores in a different nation as the customer who’s placing the order. This drug store, as a rule, is authorized by its nation of origin and pursues the nation’s guidelines.
Unlawful or exploitative web drug store. The site page for an illicit drug store may contain lies about its nation of origin, methodology, or affirmations. The “drug store” may send obsolete or fake prescriptions, and may not pursue ordinary procedural protection.
Pharmacy Business Ideas in India
Online Pharmacy Business
Online pharmacies allow you to arrange medications over the internet through websites and applications (web/mobile). Medicine business online save you the hassle of visiting an actual pharmacy. You need to upload the actual prescription or doctor’s note on the online pharmacy’s portal, and then make the payment.
According to Tracxn, the restorative information expert firm, more than 60 online drug stores are operating in India and occupied with the conveyance of medications through web portals, mobile apps, and websites.
Advantages Of Ordering Medicine From An E-pharmacy
For Customers
You get your medicines and supplies while sitting at home.
Great discounts and other incentives like free shipping.
Which are the top online pharmacies in India today? Here is a gander at some of the top e-pharmacies in India.
Practo
Practo is a famous name in the area of medical checkups and surveys. It is an online medicine business in India. The organization has initiated its online drug application in more than 100 urban areas in India like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Lucknow. You can arrange more than 40,000 medications by using Practo.
Practo health app has tied up with several medication stores and drug retailers to convey physician- recommended prescriptions at your doorstep on schedule. The application allows you to order medicines once you upload the prescription on its portal. Practo will automatically top off the medications as and when needed. The portal additionally recalls your past requests and prepares them, if required.
1mg allows you to purchase medication on the web and access data concerning your prescribed medication. You can also get different insights into your drugs through the application. The organization has set up associations with nearby drug stores to deal with the client’s needs.
The best part of 1mg is that you can enter the prescription and get less expensive options through a similar compound i.e. a generic alternative. The application additionally offers well-being tips from famous specialists, depending on the medication you request.
NetMeds
NetMeds is a prescription requesting application, launched by the Dadha Company, which has been in India since 1914. A rebate of 15% is relevant on a wide range of prescriptions and the conveyances are made within 2 to 3 days. You can also pay in installments.
BookMeds offers various categories; drugs, care items, orthopedic consideration, mother and infant care, emergency clinic hardware, therapeutic contraptions, protein supplements, wellness items, and whatnot.
The administration is operational in over 600 Indian postal codes covering spots like Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Lucknow, Kolkata, Patna, Indore, and several other districts. You can get your prescription drugs inside 4 hours of requesting (generally, but depends on other factors as well). The online drug requesting application is available on both Android and iOS.
Yodawy
Yodawy isn’t available in India but deserves mention. Yodawy is the most famous drug requesting application in Egypt. The application gives clients a chance to look from a gigantic database of prescriptions and even proposes the right spellings to simplify inquiries. You can likewise transfer an image of your manually written solution and have specialists decode the penmanship.
Yodawy
The organization has tied up with more than 500 neighborhood drug stores in Egypt to fulfill different requests. Prescriptions are conveyed quickly from the closest drug store all over the nation. The application likewise submits guarantees for your sake if the protection supplier is recorded in its system.
SmartMedics can be utilized for requesting medicines and for counseling from specialists across different departments. You can request drugs online crosswise over various urban areas in India by calling SmartMedics’ customer service or through its website/ application. The drug store will collect the prescription from your home. You can also upload an image through the application. The application guarantees a markdown of 22% on all human services items and conveys the medications within 48 hours.
WeChemist
You can buy medicines from WeChemist’s application by uploading an image of the prescription or the doctor’s note. At that point, you have to choose your location and affirm the request to get the items delivered to your home.
BrownPacket
Requesting medicines online is a breeze with BrownPacket. You simply need to upload your prescription and give the fundamental conveyance subtleties. Your prescription is generally delivered within 2 hours to 48 hours of submitting the request. You can enjoy up to 22% discount on your order. The administration is at present available in Bengaluru, Patna, and Delhi. BrownPacket accomplices with neighborhood drug stores and welcomes medication stores to join its network.
PharmEasy
PharmEasy is one of the biggest online membership drug gateways in India. With this application, you can arrange OTC items, human services items, and drugs and get them home-conveyed within 24-48 hours. You can book well-being tests as well. Alongside sparing flat 20% on each request, PharmEasy offers you a rebate of up to 70% on well-being tests and bundles with zero sample pickup charges. At present, PharmEasy is working in 1000+ towns and urban communities, covering more than 22000+ stick codes crosswise over India. This application will assist you with medicine adherence by reordering your drugs each month. With PharmEasy, you will never fall short on your prescription.
How To Start An Online Pharmacy Business In India?
We don’t have many online drug store stores in India. There are numerous reasons why beginning an online drug store, or e-pharmacy, in India is an overwhelming assignment. Be that as it may, the two principal reasons are the absence of mindfulness and the law. About mindfulness, only a couple of minds think about online drug store stores. However, they don’t delve deep into the implementation aspect.
A significant number of them don’t comprehend what an online store implies because it may be deciphered from numerous points of view. Secondly, different laws and guidelines are intense and difficult to adhere to, demoralizing individuals from beginning an online drug store. For instance, the Laws of Pharmacies in India were composed before the invention of computers. Outdated, right?
Also, India doesn’t have any solid law characterized explicitly for E-trade organizations. Assuming you are successful in launching an e-pharmacy in India, you will need to maintain severe laws and guidelines characterized by the legislature of India. If you go outside the point of confinement, you will be reprimanded by the authorities.
For instance, the laws for the transportation of medicines from one state to another are not clear. Can the online store take cash before the conveyance of the prescription? Not clear.
First, you need to enlist your business or store as indicated by the tradition that must be adhered to. There are various classifications that may enlist your drug store under. Some of them are clinic drug stores, chain drug stores, and township drug store. In any case, the best one is setting up an independent drug store business since it limits numerous liabilities. Here are some of the other steps to be followed:
Tax Registration
You need to acquire VAT enlistment from the express your drug store is situated in. Every drug store is required to have a VAT enrollment and adhere to VAT regulatory expenses.
Medication License
You need to get a permit from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and State Drugs Standard Control Organization. There are two kinds of licenses: one is a “retail drug license”, and the other one is a “wholesale drug license”.
Prerequisite For Obtaining License
For a retail medication permit, you must have a confirmation or a degree in pharmaceutical studies (e.g B.Pharma). You should have a territory of 10 sq. meters for the store. Refrigerators and climate control systems should be in place.
Documents Required
Numerous documents like your ID, address proof, application structure, and any other relevant information would be required.
Beginning An Online Version
You should have an expert drug specialist in your ambit for guaranteeing the nature of medications and different prescriptions.
Online Pharmacy Business Model
You need to counsel your legal advisor in light of numerous laws and guidelines. Apply for every license referenced in the above paragraphs. Fabricate an association with your providers. You should ensure that your providers are certifiable and not providing any fake drug.
The initial move towards making your online store involves purchasing a domain name. If you haven’t thought of making an online business webpage, enlist a web designer as soon as possible to get started. You should have a wide range of installment choices, including money down.
To assume online installments from praise/platinum card or net banking, you can pick an installment portal for your website. When your site is up and running flawlessly, you have to showcase your business on the web. The absolute best techniques are promotion via Facebook, Google AdWords, YouTube, press releases, and so forth. There are several resources available on the internet to learn about promotion and publicity.
Give your best continuously to promote the authenticity of your online pharmacy.
The Indian pharmaceutical market was esteemed at $36.7 bn in 2018 and remained the third biggest market in terms of volume. It was the thirteenth biggest in terms of net worth. It was expected to reach $55 bn by 2020 at a CAGR of 12% from 2015 to 2020 while ascending in the maturing populace, constant maladies, rising dispensable earnings, and expanding mindfulness.
A low generation cost, which is around 33% of the production costs in the US gives India an advantage as an assembling goal. Roughly 50% of the Indian-made medications are traded to more than 200 nations on the planet, while the other half is utilized for household utilization. The Indian pharmaceutical industry is profoundly divided with ~24,000 medications and out of this, a lion’s share is disorderly.
For every household utilization, Indian retail drug stores are the overwhelming dispersion channel with over 85% portion of the general pharmaceutical deals in India. Retail drug store alludes to retail channels which sell solutions, over-the-counter medications, FMCG items, and testing administrations; for example, blood testing, sugar testing, need for blood, and so forth. As per IBEF, the Indian retail pharmaceutical division is expected to reach $59 bn in 2023 from $25 bn in 2017, developing at a CAGR of 15% between 2018-23.
Lately, around 250 online drug stores have emerged in the nation. As indicated by Frost and Sullivan, the e-pharmacy store showcase in India is estimated to develop at an exponential CAGR of 63% and reach $3.6 billion by 2022 from its value of $512 million in 2018. As indicated by NetMeds, the e-drug store represents 1.5% to 2% of the complete pharma deal, and by taking a gander at the quick development that the business is seeing today, the share can go to over 10% by 2023.
Developing web entrance, different e-medicinal services activities like Ayushman Bharat, expanding healthcare coverage infiltration, availability in remote zones, cost reserve funds on bills, and doorstep conveyance inside a brief time-frame is expanding the dominance of online drug stores over disconnected retail drug stores. Numerous players have realized the benefits and potential of the online pharmacy segment, for example, Netmeds, PharmEasy, Medlife, 1MG, and LifeCare.
Additionally, online drug stores offer preferable estimation over disconnected stores. However, they need to follow a framework set up for approval on remedies through an authorized drug specialist. Further, they have a standard inventory of medications identified with interminable and uncommon sicknesses, which neighborhood drug specialists may discover trouble to stock as a result of the significant expense engaged with the acquisition.
Online pharmacies have difficulties of their own. Some of them are web-based discrepancies. missing things, value contrast or inaccurate estimating, receipt of substitutes or diverse brand’s prescription, deferral or refusal of request as well as installment, inert client care, and so forth. A few concerns have been identified with the fundamental tasks as well:
Absence of physical assessment.
Abuse of a solution, particularly in opiate and psychotropic medications, and plan X drugs.
Absence of comprehension of the therapeutic history, if purchasing from various online drug stores.
Absence of cold chain strategic administrations and additionally; it is extravagantly costly for rustic regions.
Absence of information security.
Unlawful e-drug store sites selling tainted, corrupted, or lapsed medications.
Unregulated clearance of medications.
Absence of explicit overseeing guidelines in the case of online pharmaceutical stores.
Nonetheless, with arrangements like unified e-remedy administrations, innovation headway for solid safety efforts, and explicit guidelines, online drug stores are now efficiently handling difficulties in the retail drug store advertising segment.
At present, no particular guidelines are overseeing e-drug stores in India. And this is a significant development inhibitor for the online drug store showcase in India. Every single online drug store is working according to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, Drugs and Cosmetics Rule, 1945, Pharmacy Act, 1948, and Information Technology Act, 2000.
The Union Health Ministry in August 2018 turned out with draft leads on the closeout of medications by e-drug stores to direct the online clearance of medications and patients’ availability to real medications from true online sites. Notwithstanding, this draft is as yet anticipating formalization and finish.
In December 2018, the Delhi High Court requested a total restriction on the online drug stores crosswise over India as it was firmly contradicted by more than 800,000 conventional scientific experts because online deals are illicit and simple accessibility of medications can prompt its abuse. Be that as it may, around the same time, the Madras High Court followed up on an intrigue recorded by a gathering of online drug store organizations to suspended the boycott till a choice is declared and along these lines, gave some help to these elements. The development street isn’t as straight going ahead.
Online drug stores offer overwhelming limits to customers to pick up the piece of the overall industry. However, a forceful medication value control system by the administration will put weight on pharma organizations, eventually swaying their edges antagonistically. This rebate technique probably won’t be conceivable to proceed within the long haul.
Besides, the e-drug store isn’t just rivaling conventional drug stores yet; the administration-backed Jan Aushadi Kendra, which is another activity by the administration, offers limited medications and meds. Furthermore, the sufficient store network for convenient accessibility of medications, particularly in Tier 2 and rustic territories, is a test for e-drug stores and requires increasingly capital mixture and money for innovation.
In any case, the market has colossal potential as a result of its model of access to prescriptions a lot quicker, center accommodation, and genuine investment funds for purchasers. The segment is worthwhile for financial specialists, who have fueled $711 mn during 2018 and $189 Mn in 2019 in online drug stores. Explicit guidelines for online drug stores are of great importance; this will enable such stores to work in a directed environment, thereby profiting both e-drug stores and customers.
Experts accept that once the particular guideline will be concluded, there will be an ever-increasing number of online players in this undiscovered market with gigantic potential. In the midst of this, shoppers will consistently be a high priority for both online and disconnected pharma retailers with regard to drugs.
How much money do you need to open a pharmacy in India?
The pharmacy franchise calls for an initial investment startingfrom INR 8 – 10 lakhs, which includes licensing and documentation. The operational expenses may cost anything between INR 30,000-80,000.
How can I promote my online medicine business in India?
Ways to promote online pharmacy business plan in India:
Use a professional search engine.
Online marketing – AdWords.
SEO positioning.
Diversify with other types of products.
Keep a blog (health-related questions get lots of hits).
Create videos.
How profitable is a pharmacy business?
compared to other businesses, independent pharmacies make a healthy profit. The average independent pharmacy profit margin in 2018 was 21.8 percent. The number one profit margin in the 2017 report was only 18.4 percent. Independent pharmacies outrank accountants, legal services, and even physicians.
How can I get pharmacy license online in India?
Licensing: Online pharmacies have to register with the Central Licensing Authority (CLA) to operate, without which, no person or company can distribute, sell, stock, or exhibit drugs through e-pharmacy portals. E-pharmacieshave to pay a fee of ₹50,000 to register for a three-year license.
Edtech startups are emerging as a major business industry in India. In the next 5 Years, the Edtech market is estimated to grow 3.7x from $2.8 Bn (2020) to $10.4 Bn in 2025 (source: inc42). The global pandemic has substantially increased the adoption of Edtech services and products and is expected to reach an addressable base of over 37 million users by 2025. Edtech startups have grabbed this opportunity by its core and are providing unmatchable study experiences to the learners. On this note, it has become important to know how Edtech startups market in this competitive industry and stand-out from the crowd.
Know from an industry expert about the Marketing of Edtech Startups, Edtech Industry, Go-to marketing strategies of Edtech startups, 5 common marketing mistakes & more in this post ahead. StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Mahadev Srivatsa (VP – Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically) to get insights about Marketing in Edtech Industry.
And here’s what Mr. Mahadev Srivatsa has got to say –
1.What was Practically’s first brand campaign? How effective was it? What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
Practically, India’s first experiential learning app, designed to make learning immersive and increase retention in STEM learning among students of class 6 to 12, launched its first-ever brand campaign around the theme – ‘Bring Learning Alive’ in December 2020. The campaign has garnered 3x growth and the app has successfully crossed 330,000 downloads till date. The TVCs (TV commercials) have generated over 32 million+ views combined on YouTube and seen above average and consistent view rates, even after two months of launch, indicating relevance and popularity of the campaign amongst the target audience. This has been one of the highest by an EdTech company in India, without celebrity endorsement, so far.
The campaign included ATL (TV & Print) targeted at Andhra Pradesh and Telangana while the digital and social media marketing leg had a pan-India focus. The rationale behind this dual pronged strategy was to drive awareness and consideration in the home market and test markets at a pan-India level to gauge the brand traction and guide future expansion strategy. The brand also signed a two-week Associate Sponsorship deal with Bigg Boss Telegu Season 4.The entire communication was seamlessly woven to deliver the brand proposition of ‘Bring Learning Alive’. The campaign was also amplified using relevant PR activities.
Consumers and customers are different in EdTech, so the marketing challenge was to create a communication campaign that appealed to both set of audiences. The other was to optimize the budget available to create a maximum impact.
However the biggest challenge was to create an impact in a cluttered market, given the amount of SOV by competition in this space off late. Hence the strategy was to develop a communication that breaks the clutter and gets us noticed. Considering most brands at that juncture were indulging in dialogue-based communication, we zeroed in on a fresh, jingle format with stunning visuals to craft our communication. And the result was just amazing. Besides ticking off all KPIs that we had set to achieve, the first campaign has given us the correct dose of inspiration to go further. Besides downloads achieved, all our social media and in app metrics have also been impacted positively and this has set the ball rolling for more engagement in future.
2. Is offering something for free, a good marketing strategy to attract users for an EdTech startup?
A free trial works when the objective is to give people a taste of the offering. It also helps gain visibility and test out the product. So that the learnings, if any, can be applied to better it. When it comes to EdTech, it is important to draw a fine line as quality education, like on Practically, requires several teams and resources to work together to create the unique kind of experiential content and services that we have. With an objective to serve the length and breadth of this country, we have kept our pricing strategy Value For Money (VFM) and competitive. It is advisable to have a pricing strategy that sustains quality than compromise on it by offering it for free.
3.What is Practically’s Marketing Strategy 2021? Any business expansion plans?
We have had a great start for the brand in 2021 with the success of the first marketing campaign. We were able to pull off the entire TV campaign only with a production partner, without a brand agency. This is a dream role for any brand manager, especially when you are launching a brand and we managed to get it right at the start of our journey. Personally, it was a very satisfying experience to devise the brand proposition and work with the production house and ultimately see the vision come alive. And to have achieved our objectives through this campaign was the icing on the cake!
The success in our home/pilot market has given us confidence that we can replicate the same nationally. The plans for 2021 are aggressive as this is the hot sector and rapidly growing. The brand objective is to bring learning alive and make Practically a household name in India this year. And eventually achieve the goal of being the most loved and trusted e-learning brand.
From a business POV, while our focus so far has been on Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states in India, Practically is working on expanding pan-India in 2021, beginning with the south and west markets. And you will see the developments very soon.
With the Series B fundraise that we are working towards, we will penetrate deeper into all major cities in India and begin expansion to one international market by the end of 2021.
Our dedicated school offering- The Practically School Solution, which is absolutely FREE of cost to schools, has been a mega hit with teachers. Given the pandemic challenges, this solution has served a perfect need of the hour for schools wanting to enable quality online learning for their students. So far we have 200+ schools and 18,000 teachers who are benefitting from it. This solution will also be available now in the above markets in line with business expansion.
4. What are the go-to marketing strategies of an EdTech startup?
Marketing mediums of ATL, BTL and digital remain common. What makes the difference in strategy is the weightage that you want to invest in each of these mediums. That primarily differs from industry to industry and obviously TG (target group). Given the unusual circumstances that we are in today, across brands, TV and digital are proving to be the best and safest bet, till normalcy is restored.
5. How marketing in the EdTech sector differ from other industries?
Marketing strategies are always centred around the TG. More focussed the TG, the better the targeting. In Ed-tech K-12 segment, the consumer is the student while the customer is the parent. This presents a unique marketing challenge since the aspiration and appeal is different for both these groups.
Hence one needs to be clear at the start on what the objective of the communication is and craft the same accordingly. There could be certain topical communication targeted separately to both groups too, but then there needs to be a common brand theme. As far as brand communication goes, it makes sense to craft a strategy and communication that cuts across both. How one does that, is the trick!
6. What is the role of affiliate & influence marketing strategies in the EdTech industry?
Celebrity or Influencer Marketing is a strategy that is widely prevalent across industries and brands. Presenting a well-known face adds instant recall and is also one of the fastest and instant ways to generate brand awareness. When a famous person who is also loved and respected in his/her area of expertise associates as a brand ambassador, it also tends to add credibility to the brand.
The explosion of Edtech as a category and the investments made in it, has seen most of the incumbents adopt this strategy. A general observation is when the dominant player in a segment does this, others mostly follow suit.
Personally, I believe that need for an association depends on the stage at which a brand is and whether the ambassador is indeed a good fit with the brand values. Without both the above boxes getting checked, this is an avoidable strategy and can even backfire at times.
7. Is aggressive marketing, a method used by EdTech startups like used by other companies across industries?
The answer is actually the other way around. Traditionally FMCG and Automobile sectors used to invest heavily in marketing, especially media. Then came the telecom and ecommerce era and now media spends are heavily dominated by EdTech. Top sponsorships and premium partnerships are also being lapped up. In fact the rush for GRPs (gross rating points) and visibility amongst the incumbents in this sector, has started to look like what was prevalent in telecom, around 5 years ago.
8. What are some common marketing mistakes done by EdTech startups?
Spray and pray approach – India is the second largest eLearning market with an online EdTech user base to the tune of 10 Mn. Hence a targeted approach is important to resonate with audiences
Following a ‘me too’ approach- Not every product needs a celebrity or an influencer to establish themselves as a brand
Not defining/highlighting USPs – There have been over 3000 EdTech start-ups that have mushroomed in the last year alone. The best way to stand out of the crowd is to showcase why students/parents should pick you out of the host of others who do the same thing.
Applying the same marketing strategy and mix every time will not always work. As the industry and your product roadmap evolve, different mediums may be required to achieve results.
Focusing on customer acquisition alone is a short term play. Driving brand awareness which will eventually drive consideration and intent is the correct approach and will yield long term benefits. In a cluttered space like EdTech in India, at the end of the day, Brand will be the lone differentiator. Hence the effort needs to be set right, from the start.
9. How does the marketing strategy differ based on the target market of an EdTech startup?
Targeted marketing allows marketing teams to tailor their message to a specific group of customers. The targeting strategy is the point at which the marketing mix comes together to establish the best offer and marketing strategy for each target market.
Whether it is EdTech or any other sector, following the identification of target groups, one chooses the appropriate targeting approach. When it comes to grad and post grad students your customer and consumer are mostly the same which is unlikely in the K-12 segment. So the communication & strategy in both the above cases will be different.
Another aspect is geography. However in EdTech, every parent irrespective of geography, wants their child to succeed and have the best means to do so. So the disposable income, access to quality education, regional/cultural influences and content consumption are some key differentiators that one needs to be conscious about, while marketing a product.
10.Based on your experience & insights, what is the growth trajectory you witnessed in the way EdTech startups adopt marketing strategies in the pre & post Covid era?
Practically was launched in April 2020. So for us the learnings were different compared to the incumbents. One of the biggest challenges for EdTech as an industry, pre-Covid was adaptability to online learning and acceptance of the benefits it bestows. There were concerns as to how effective it is for kids. The pandemic was a watershed moment for this category and it removed the main barrier to online learning, since it became a norm. The growth witnessed in this category only reemphasizes the fact that when we visualize and learn through the power of EdTech, the comprehension is better. Without EdTech, education during the pandemic would have greatly suffered. And with the TG now experiencing and benefitting from EdTech, it is only here to stay and grow with a blended learning approach.
A BPO service provider usually administers and manages a particular business process for another company. In India, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the fastest-growing segment of the Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) industry. The factors which are responsible for the growth of the BPO industry in India are economy of scale, business risk mitigation, cost advantage, utilization improvement, and superior competency. Various industries have started implementing outsourcing such as information technology, engineering, business sector, etc. According to the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) the major reasons behind India’s success in ITES/BPO industry are abundant skilled and English – speaking manpower also India’s unique geographic location and the investor-friendly tax structure made the BPO industry in India more popular. India has been the leading competitor with various outsourcing businesses across the world for an attractive wage margin.
India’s BPO handles 56% of the world’s business process outsourcing.
The demand for Indian BPO services has been growing at an annual growth rate of 50%.
70% of India’s BPO industry’s revenue is from contact centers, 20% from data entry work, and the remaining 10% from information technology-related work.
The BPO sector in India is estimated to have reached 54% growth in revenue.
The BPO industry in India has provided jobs for over 74,400 Indians. The Indian BPO sector is soon to employ over 1.1 million Indians.
Business Process Industry Trend Globally
India as a Global Outsourcing Hub
More than 82% of American companies grade India as their first choice for software outsourcing. A large number of multinational companies are outsourcing their business process to Indian BPO companies. India’s share of the global offshore outsourcing market for software and back-office services is 46%. Low training costs in India allow professionals to be continually updated on emerging technologies which is a critical success factor.
Top 10 BPO Companies in India
India is the world’s favorite outsourcing destination due to the following reasons:
Established telecom infrastructure.
Innovation and creativity along with intelligent solutions.
Highly qualifies and shilled manpower.
Cost efficiency with quality.
India’s conducive business environment.
Biggest pool of IT brains with 120,000 trained IT professionals added to the industry early.
Every year approximately 2.1 million graduates pass out of India’s colleges.
India has the largest English speaking population.
Cultural compatibility and friendly customer relationships.
Services Offered by Indian BPO companies
Customer Support Services
BPO companies provide 24×7 customer services via chat, email, and /or phone. In any business ‘ Customer is King’ and no company can approach customer service function as noncore, expensive and unproductive service in a business. A happy, satisfied customer will bring is more customers. An effective and active customer support service will strengthen the client and customer relationship. It will give them a positive feeling about the brand. Companies also get an opportunity to upsell additional services and products to the customers through this service. Companies offer such professional, polite, and affable customer support outsourcing service to any business across the Globe.
Technical support services can be delivered over varied communication channels like email, chat, phone calls, or using specified software. There are various technical services which are provided by companies like installation, product support, running support, troubleshooting, usage support, and problem resolution for computer software, hardware, peripherals, and internet infrastructure.
Telemarketing Services
India has taken 40% of the global BPO market. Companies interacting with potential customers and creating interest in the customer’s services/ products.
IT help desk services helps businesses provide high-quality troubleshooting services to customers. There are a lot of qualified and skilled support engineers which are well equipped to provide industry-leading support for all levels of technical problem resolution.
Some of the services are listed below:
Level 1 and 2 multi-channel support
System problem resolutions
Technical problem resolution
Office productivity tools support
Answering product usage queries
Performing remote diagnostics
Insurance Processing
By the potential of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) insurance companies have minimized expenditure along with streamlining back-office operations. Outsourcing also facilitates the insurance company to carry out daily operations by forming a foundation of profitability and growth. It helps in reducing costs, survive any economic uncertainty, and most importantly set a stage for future expansion and growth.
Services are as follows:
New business acquisition and promotion
Claims processing
Policy maintenance
Policy management
Data Entry and Data Processing
Data entry helps companies outsource their data entry jobs with control over applications or remote server. Companies have strong firewalls for all PCs and the latest updated anti-virus software to keep client’s data safe and secure also have high bandwidth internet lines(with backup) to provide quality online typing.
In any business, there are huge numbers of data with valuable information. The data which are generated needs to be processed to exact findings, trends, and other business-critical information. That’s why the data must be processed, analyzed, and use the results to improve the business. This data processing service can be performed manually or automatically. There are automated tools available that process the data as per the requirement and processed data can then be used for analysis and further action.
The services which are done under this service are data entry from paper, books, images, e-books, yellow pages, websites, business cards, printed documents, software applications, receipts, bills, catalogs, and mailing lists.
Top 16 BPO Companies In India
Data Conversion Services
The data conversion process is required to be performed as the data needs to be in a specific format to make full use of it. It can be handwritten, audio content, video content, images, printed material, etc.
Data conversion services are as following:-
Data digitalization
Extract data from images
HTML conversion
XML conversion
Electronic Document Management(EDM)
Robotic Process Automation(RPA)
Converting handwritten to electronic format.
Conversion of PDF content to data in different formats.
Extracting data from receipts and online bills.
Bookkeeping and Accounting Services
Bookkeeping software like SAGE, MS-Small Business Accounting, Peachtree, Quick Books, and other spreadsheets are used as part of services. The experienced accounting and bookkeeping outsourcing team adopt a personalized approach for each client. There are many experienced accountants can work as a virtual back-office to business, to deliver essential accounting and bookkeeping services cost-effectively within a specified time frame. The most important part is that business information will be kept secure and confidential.
Form processing has become a stressful and inefficient activity amongst a majority of the organizations. Form processing services will also you to completely focus your time and resources towards the more important aspects of the business. Outsourcing from processing is a way to increase the productivity of an organization in the most cost-effective manner.
The outsource form processing services include:
Resume processing
Payroll processing
Application form processing
Shipping form processing
Warranty card insurance claim processing
Student and immigration form processing
Medical form processing
Legal form processing
Transportation and logistics form processing
Financial document processing
Tax form processing
Questionnaire form processing
Rebate form processing
Rental form processing
Purchase or sales order form processing
Online Research
This service provides a high level of accuracy, timely deliveries, total confidentiality, and cost-effective web research services. Online research is the slightest costly research methodology today. Companies collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative information to provide reliable and effective solutions. Companies can outsource this to skilled and trained research professionals.
Parnas Ghosh
