Victoria Lawson

🚀 Is Your Ecommerce Marketing at the Top of Its Game? 🔍 In the fast-paced world of ecommerce, businesses need more than just a great product to stand out—they need The Forge Digital's Lab! To thrive, it's essential to utilise SEO best practices to boost visibility and leverage social media to build relationships and drive traffic. High-quality content is key for engaging your audience and converting leads into loyal customers. Implementing data-driven email marketing keeps your brand top of mind, while focusing on customer experience ensures long-term loyalty. And don’t forget the importance of tracking your performance—what gets measured gets improved! With 13 years of e-commerce marketing experience (and 24 years marketing if you count my childhood!), I’ve seen how these strategies can transform businesses. Check out my latest blog post to dive deeper into these insights 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_cJ2D55 #ecommerce #digitalmarketing #contentmarketing #emailmarketing #customerexperience #seo #socialmedia #TheDigitalLab #marketingtips #businessgrowth

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Huge amounts of zero party data is collected in B2C lead gen It's used for qualification... Can this person become a customer for this product? But Is there a far greater way to utilise this data for future predictions? To change ads and sales To really personalise --- Imagine... - Has 3 children - Lives in a 5 bedroom semi detahed - Interested in reducing household bills - Salary is over £65k - Is interested in reducing carbon emissions People that answered similar: - Have spent £10,000 on average to reduce future bills - Convert 13.8% of the time, typically within 6 weeks - Go onto purchase an EV 17.2% of the time - Prefer to work with local installers they can build rapport with #leadgeneration #affiliatemarketing

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Our latest newsletter, covering PPC performance for a sample of trade businesses in May is now LIVE! Summer demand is coming into full swing as revenue generated from PPC are up noticeably and the cost to acquire those paying customers is on a steady decline. From its peak in March, CAC is now down 29% through May and we would expect it to come down even more in May. For those who are aggressively budgeting on PPC to capture the summer demand, this article is worth a read to get some benchmarks to compare your performance against. The link to the full article is in the comments! #hvacmarketing #hvac #digitalmarketing #datadriventrades #ppc #homeservices #trades #contractors

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🎁🎉 Q4 Ecommerce Growth 🎉🎁 We are already ranking position 2 for a transactional 201K peak trading UK search volume term for a gifting brand we started working with 90 days ago. Beating high authority retail giants Marks and Spencer and Fortnum & Mason. **This is not the first time we have done this postion 1 for this term is a brand we worked with two years ago.** Before working with us, the company an established e-commerce gifting brand had been working with an SEO for the past 2 years and was not getting much movement - for this term back in June the brand was Page 2, and July growth into 9 during the first month of engagement and now we are position 2. NB: As you will see from the image accompanying the post we have moved from 43-13 and 13-6 for two terms with a current volume of 50K per month (outside peak). Massive gains are being made. This growth in such a short time frame is a testament to the head of ecommerce putting faith in us, with a small internal resource massive shift from the POLARIS | SEO & Content Agency team to work on not just optimisation, content creation, new wireframes and addressing legacy technical issues holding the site back. We are bold, and we do sometimes suggest hard-to-swallow changes - but everything is data-backed (or based on years of e-commerce experience) we back ourselves, put the hard yards in and this is why we get these results so quickly. SEO campaigns are underpinned by passion, proactivity and clear strategic direction working on impactful areas to maximise exposure. This is how we get these results, time and time again. Big thanks to Sam Marlow working dilligently to deliver the campaign strategy with the client to get this traction. Safe to say, we have only scratched the surface, the peak index can be volatile and fluxes daily. We have briefed the team with a whole new Q4 strategy still to deploy to ensure we "stay sticky" during this peak for these queries - plus move further on a 300K term we are currently position 4. Data reference: SE Ranking - 2024 compare by dates 09 July - 07 October

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British retail sales came roaring back in May, increasing ahead of expectations by 2.9% following a dip of 1.8% in April, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics today. Despite continued wet weather, at Shopify we've seen increases for our merchants being driven by consumers preparing for and being in anticipation of a warmer summer. Sales of garden wear, warm weather-protective products and water sports equipment all experienced sharp sales in May, according to our latest UK merchant figures. Perhaps my favourite trend however was that we also saw a 70% rise in telescope sales in the UK, as May’s spectacular aurora borealis piqued people’s interest in astronomy-related products. I've been busy speaking with the media about these trends today, check out the stories in comments below from CNBC and InternetRetailing.

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🚀 Why are Next so successful? The UK retail brand are on track to make £1bn in profit next year. Sales were up 5.7% in the quarter to April 27 in a tough environment for retailers. And their share price has increased 57% in the last 5 years. But, Next seemingly go against all current advertising best practice. 🤖 100% digital ad spend - albeit with an annual budget of at least £46m according to recent sources. But their lack of offline spend goes against industry research on advertising effectiveness. According to the recent Thinkbox study they should be way above profitable thresholds for digital spend. Digital only is also not an efficient way of maximising reach, another advertising sacred cow 📈 No long term brand building - brands can still be built & grown online, but from what I can see from the Meta and YouTube ad libraries the creative is short (<15") and product-focussed. No big brand film for Next! 🎨 Few distinctive brand assets - I couldn't draw their logo if you asked me (but perhaps that's my limited artistic talent) and I can't think of any colours, images, slogans or sounds that make me think of the brand 🌳 Differentiation (if you're a believer in that kind of thing) - I couldn't tell you what they stand for. From the outside, they don't appear to be a "purpose-driven" brand So, what does make them so successful? Some thoughts below: 🛒 Great customer experience with seamless omni-channel shopping - combined with reliable customer service 👕 Good value, decent quality products 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Varied selection across multiple demographics. *In January 2021, Next counted nearly one million online customers under the age of 20* 💸 Strategic acquisitions & investments - including Made, Joules, Cath Kidston, Reiss and FatFace 🏬 High street legacy brand, with strong levels of existing awareness - they can harvest demand without the need to invest in brand building Would be great to get some other perspectives. Let me know why you think they're such a success story in the cut-throat world of retail.

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What does US expansion on Amazon look like for a UK based brand in numbers? I wanted to give a very general view of what you could expect from launching into the US as a UK based brand. Some caveats: ✅ I'm going to base these numbers on a business doing £2M/year in sales ✅ The reality would very much depend on your category ✅ I am not including costs of shipping, agency fees or legal/compliance related costs So you could expect the following in year 1: 🏁 Based on the US Amazon categories generally being about x8 time size I would expect your sales to be around the $800k-1.5M mark 🏁 Due to the increased competitiveness you're going to have to spend more on ads to compete and build up your presence, so a healthy ad budget for year 1 would be about $120-200k 🏁 Your ads need to be optimised towards growth so I would plan for a ROAS of £2.5-3, which I see as an efficient balance Based on the above, you're going to rely heavily on the 'Organic' side for your growth. To get the most out of this you're going to need to invest in: 💰 Best-in-category imagery and video 💰 DSP advertising (obviously not organic, but helps rapidly build your category ranking) 💰 Vine reviews (if creating new ASINs) 💰 Regular content updates likely through the support of a consultancy/agency The above is a ballpark and I would say scalable up or down depending on the size of your business. If you are interested in getting a more personalised estimation, then reach out to me here: https://lnkd.in/emRZSQH4 #amazon #marketing #growth

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Three Weeks To Go – Maximise Your Sales Before 🎅 Arrives! Here’s how to make the most of the festive rush and boost your sales: ✨ Review Your Data ▶️ What’s working? What’s not? ▪️ Calculate stock cover: Sales Units / Stock Units = weeks of stock. ▪️ Higher the cover, the slower the stock – focus on clearing those! ▪️ Tackle it now to minimise discount spend at the end of the year ✨ Optimise Listings & Store Positioning ▶️ Can customers easily find your products? ▪️Reposition products online or in key locations, create a gifting section, and ensure relevant categories are populated. ▪️Make sure images highlight your product and showcase all key details. Update or add new images if needed! ▪️ Check pricing against competitors – have they discounted already? Or have they sold out and you can potentialise? ▪️ Use your best sellers to encourage add-ons and increase basket size. ✨ Shout About Your Products ▶️ Get noticed by showcasing your products everywhere! ▪️ Use social media, emails, and customer interactions to highlight your product USP's (unique selling points). ▪️ Group slow-moving products into ‘stories’ to engage shoppers. ▪️ Try creative offers like bundles or Gift with Purchase (GWP) to boost sales, clear slower stock and minimise the profit impact ▪️ If needed, use targeted discounts based on your stock cover – don’t go too deep too soon! ✨ Communicate, Communicate, Communicate! ▶️ Make it easy for customers to shop and buy! ▪️ Highlight last postal and collection dates, free delivery thresholds, and return policies. ▪️ Promote gift cards and gift wrapping to make their lives easier ▪️ Provide excellent customer service so they're a customer for life, not just for Christmas! Anything else you'd add? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi 👋 I'm Sarah, founder of Flourish Retail, an award-winning merchandising consultancy which brings big-business expertise to retailers in a flexible, affordable way 🙌 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Photo credit: Samuel Holt on Unsplash

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Speaking with 4 eCommerce directors last week was eye-opening - when I asked about their own site's Conversion Rate or Basket Abandonment - they looked away. One started mentioning "Mobile First"?! Didn't want to talk about CVR until I pressed further. "The site is quite slow at the moment" or "Our development backlog is bigger than the queue for London Bridge's Greggs". Uhoh. I asked who their competitors were (it's important to get a client's view on their competition and then have my own view) to navigate to and research. Spent 30mins after the call reviewing competitor setups. And instantly found differences in speed, in setup, in data collection. These are where quick wins could be made - with little development required. I'm armed with data and experience - and ready to tackle CVR challenges this week. // I've run international digital marketing teams in-house and agency side for over a decade. In 2022, I took the plunge and formed Duga Digital with the aim to help more people / companies with digital data. If you'd like to chat or need to find the right person - even if it isn't me, I will know someone who can.

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Over 4.89B people worldwide use social media with an average user spending 151 minutes on the platform per day. (Statista). Now, if 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on a social media reference and 88% trust social media reviews more than personal recommendations... can you think of any good reason why you or your services should NOT be on social? What are you waiting for? PS - you don't have to do it all on your own nor risk getting lost in the sea of distraction... that's what we help you solve. Let's jump on a free discovery call and explore how you could ease your way into perhaps the best CRM out there. #socialmedia #relationshipmanagement #databasemanagement #humanattention #socialmediamarketing #socialmediastats #personalbrand #bevisible #acceleratetrust #increaseconversion #plugandplay #plugandplaysm

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High performing TikTok content = NATIVE CONTENT 📈 And the same goes for your Calls To Action. We analysed the top performing organic posts across all our clients + influencer campaigns and they ALL had one thing in common… No CTA. Does this shock you? Because it didn’t shock me at all, but every other agency owner/TikTok employee I told was gobsmacked. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, people HATE being told what to do. It’s like being told to do the dishes when you’re just about to do them anyway (a personal loathe). As you add a CTA it automatically becomes about selling a product rather than someone authentically sharing content…. I’ll say it again: As soon as you add a CTA, it becomes about selling a product rather than someone authentically sharing content. And TikTok is ALL about authenticity, as we know. When you’re used to building highly coveted, exclusive and trendy brands on TikTok, you get to know the damaging effect that poor brand positioning can have. The use of CTA’s instantly aligns a brand with creators, content and other brands that would send our clients into a coma if they became associated with them. Taylor Swift wearing a dress is cool. Taylor Swift wearing a dress with a ‘buy now’ button is not. Do you think that the overt CTA still has a place in modern social media marketing? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. #tiktokmarketing #tiktokads #tiktokagency P.S. We know social 🐐. We have a proven track record of building brands through comprehensive creator marketing strategies and then scaling through paid social adverts. Currently have availability in Q3 2024 for brands looking to win on TikTok 🥊 

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In today's digital landscape, crafting a compelling B2B buyer's journey is no longer optional – it's fundamental for success. Social media empowers suppliers to guide their customers seamlessly from initial awareness to post-purchase fulfilment, fostering trust and loyalty at every touchpoint. Delve into the key stages of the B2B buyer's journey, exploring how Jewel Ads can optimise each step. We'll cover methods for generating brand awareness through targeted promotion, fostering engagement through interactive content and social listening, and, ultimately, guiding buyers towards informed purchasing decisions. By harnessing the power of Jewel Ads, suppliers can craft a buyer's journey that fosters trust, increases engagement, and ultimately drives growth. So, are you ready to unlock the potential?

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The Nº1 culprit for underperforming TikTok ads is poor Creative 💥❌ As the TikTok algorithm continues to evolve and improve, you need to be pouring your energy into sourcing only the highest quality of ad creative, testing them, optimising them, then rinsing and repeating for every ad in every set. We’ve tested it: 🏆 Amazing ad creative WILL perform well, no matter how poor the strategy/ broad the targeting is. 🪦Poor creative with a great strategy just won’t get the same results… because it is ALL about content 👏🏼 content 👏🏼 content 👏🏼. 📌Save this helpful blueprint for creating TikTok-Native, high quality content. #tiktokmarketing #tiktokads #tiktokagency P.S. We know Social 🐐. We have a proven track record of building brands through comprehensive creator marketing strategies and then scaling through paid social adverts. Currently have availability in Q3 2024 for brands currently looking to win on TikTok 🥊 

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Why is Passive OUR ENEMY AT YO Digital? 👇👇👇👇 If average is your benchmark for success then please ignore this post. If you prefer to put your #dtc eCommerce business on STEROIDS then please do watch our vid. Right now, our team are focused on maximising data Analytics using #Ai to drive conversion to your customers in real-time WHY? Hyper Personalised Ai is the real deal driving about 30% to 80% in avg annual revenue for our clients. FACTS: We've generated an additional 90% of a multi-brand retailers annual revenue in under 1 month by leveraging #realtime data to pump up personalised communications. It's the real deal and if your eComm business is suffering flattening growth, just dm me Deryll Naidoo or Aaron Abush to catch up over a quick call or meet.

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TikTok users spend 96% of their time on the FYP, so that’s where you need to be (If you actually want your brand to be noticed 💅) It's crucial to understand how the platform recommends videos so you can tailor your content and get that attention 👏 There are multiple factors that contribute to how TikTok’s algorithm serves content to users. How you interact with content on the app determines what new content will be recommended in your feed Your actions on the platform give clues about the type of content you like or dislike The factors that reflect user interactions are; 👉 The content you’ve engaged with 👉 Who you follow 👉 Videos you have added to favourites or marked ‘not-interested’ 👉 Content you create yourself 👉 Videos that you watch to the end and rewatch And the way they get the data about the specific videos people like? ✅ Captions ✅ Hashtags ✅ Sounds used ✅ Similar accounts who like the video ✅ Searches and keywords Do research on your niche If you can figure out which hashtags, sounds and keywords are popular for your audience, you’ll have a better chance of hitting their fyp and being discovered in general 🙏 Virality ➡️ It’s not luck - it’s strategy 😎

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Worried your brand isn’t making big bucks yet? Chill bro! Spill the Beans, UK’s only event for Black/ethnic FMCG producers to get their products in front of supermarket buyers  isn’t about how much revenue you’re generating—it’s about your potential. Whether you’re pre-revenue or still scaling, you’re welcome. We help producers make connections with likeminded producers, supermarket buyers and investors. WHAT TO EXPECT →2+ hours of innovative, industry content full of gems →Live pitching to Ocado Retail, Sainsbury's’, Macknade , Nisa Retail, Crowdcube →Meet industry experts and networking with exciting new brands →Event offers support + access for underserved entrepreneurs Secure your spot here →https://lnkd.in/ekcQVfPe USE DISCOUNT CODE:STBMATES 📸 Jeffrey Oyinlola, Toyin Said, Natalie Rogers 🥘 Dawn Burton Natasha Orumbie ♻️ 👊 Alie Sesay 📌P.S. Secure your supermarket listing….what are you waiting for? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 👋I’m Colin- the food scene’s Kanya King, London-based food and drink Content Creator🧙‍ 📚Helping foodie brands promote themselves via storytelling. 🎤Founder, Spill the Beans - UK's sole event for Black/ethnic minority food producers to meet supermarket buyers 💻Connecting foodie brands with their target audiences via social media 🗣 Wanna chat? 📲Connect with me, and we can talk about your projects😁

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🚀 **The Power of PPC Advertising for Your Business** 🚀 If you're running your own business and need to attract new customers, Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on Google is the fastest and most effective way. Whether you're in retail, a PT in a gym, a Yoga or Pilates instructor, a tradesperson, a legal professional, or running an automotive, e-commerce, security, or finance business – PPC works for everyone. Why? PPC gives you "immediate, trackable results". It’s not just about paying to sit at the top of the search results page – it’s about strategically targeting your audience and ensuring your ads, landing pages, and website are optimised to convert clicks into paying customers. With our insider knowledge, we can ensure you get "maximum return on investment", without overspending. At "The PPC People London", we specialise in ensuring you’re not just seen but clicked on, and your business grows as a result. We offer tailored PPC services that cover everything from account setup and weekly optimisation to regular performance reporting— all starting from £160 a month. If you’re serious about boosting your revenue online, contact me today for a free 30-minute consultation. We’ll help you attract more customers, increase your revenue, and take your business to the next level. 🌟 Let’s talk PPC!🌟   👉 https://lnkd.in/eQjCTp8r #PPC #GoogleAds #DigitalMarketing #BusinessGrowth #CustomerAcquisition #LondonBusiness #ThePPCPeople ---   **Our Most Popular Service:**   👨‍💻 Professional Plan – £220/month   ✅ Free account review or setup   ✅ Weekly optimisation   ✅ Monthly reporting

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