Working Remotely: Adapting to the new norm post-Coronavirus world

Once every couple of years or so, something happens that forces the entire world to adapt to a “new normal.” A few years ago, when a rising number of consumers started using mobile devices and smartphones, businesses had to work on their website’s mobile compatibility. These days, amid a global pandemic, companies have to create new strategies to adapt to another norm. While no two businesses are alike, there is still a lot we can learn from automation, digitalization, and promoting a work-from-home setup.

COVID-19 Forces Global Community Lockdowns

In the first two quarters of 2020, countries from all over the world have enforced community quarantines and lockdowns. Factories, non-essential businesses, and other companies shut down to prevent the rapid spread of the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19. Some people quit their jobs due to accessibility and transportation issues, and businesses were forced to take a break.

With everything happening, business owners and employees from all sectors are wondering about the coronavirus impact to the future of work. If you own a company considered to be non-essential in the economic operations, you will benefit from having a work-from-home setup like the Annelle Digital team.

 

 

As a digital company, we specialize in helping businesses with SEO, digital marketing and social media, which is badly needed right now. Check out how SEO can help businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Aside from our services, our company values the importance of remote work. We are sharing our steps and project management solutions; you can study to see if these can work for your company.
Annelle Digital Remote Work Solutions
Governments have urged the private sectors to come up with logistics solutions for the post-lockdown lifestyle. Multiple industries know that work from home is the new normal except for factory-based operations and other location-dependent jobs.

Here are a few things that our team did during the pandemic:

Upgrade your Project Management Systems

Project management is an integral part of the creative and administrative process, so you need to have a system in place for this. Your project manager can take the lead on this and customize your procedures according to your business needs. A lot of digital solutions such as Google Drive, Trello, and Zoom have made project management and team collaboration easier.

To be more specific, you can improve your systems through:

  • Delegating tasks – Ensure everyone in your team has his/her fair share of work to be efficient. If one member has too much work to do, it could create a bottleneck and delay projects, so you have to make sure your team members contribute equally.
  • Organizing deliverables – State and clearly outline the tasks, including the members responsible for each step. You can use a team collaboration tool like Buckets or Trello and assign specific colors for items and members.
  • Setting timelines – Each step on the fulfillment process needs to have an updated timeframe. Some applications can automate deadlines and send notifications to your employee’s phone, while some can’t. If you’re using apps that don’t have notification capabilities, you can have your manager create a project timeline.
  • Consistently communicating – One of the critical things to do when you’re working online is to ensure proper communication flow. Social media websites like Facebook and LinkedIn can help you in the direct messaging of your employees. If you have communication programs like Slack and Discord, you can also create groups and share files quickly. Some messaging apps also provide notification options so that the employees won’t miss a target date.
  • Accomplishing deliverables before the deadline – Since the entire workforce is not in the same building, there are possibilities of untoward incidents and technical issues. Therefore, you should adjust the timeline to at least a week before the actual deadline. This technique holds a similar principle to setting your watch ten minutes in advance so you won’t be late.

 

 

We were able to adapt quickly because our team has tenured professionals with work-from-home experiences. If your workforce is not used to remote work, you should consider holding a one-hour Zoom or Hangouts conference to teach your younger and newer employees how to use and update the technologies you want to utilize during the COVID-19 adjustments.

Adapt technology-assisted processes

Remote work has been around for almost as long as the Internet existed. If your company needs anything automated or organized, chances are that there is already an app for that. While more general software can’t be customized to fit your specific needs, you can always find a combination of apps that can work well together.

Google-based business solutions are beneficial because they are compatible with almost all programs currently available. If some of your employees don’t have desktops and only rely on smartphones, find mobile-integrated software.

Provide for employees

Some households don’t have access to the Internet or have laptops, so it’s essential to know which team members have a suitable work-from-home environment. If most members of your workforce have their own remote office, you can lend some of your company equipment and give cash aid to those that don’t. Besides productivity support, you can also incentivize your workers by helping them in the form of perishable goods and other necessities.

Above all, provide kindness and understanding when some employees don’t perform as well as before. This crisis has affected all sectors, and some people can’t handle the situation as well as others. Your team will look up to you for stability and guidance as a leader, so be there for them.

Prepare for the New Normal

According to health experts, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Some countries have gotten more waves of contaminations, so it’s safe to assume that the new normal will be our standard for the next couple of months to years. The sooner you and your company can adapt to the new norm, the sooner you can stabilize and earn profits.

2020 has presented companies with a brand new opportunity to be resourceful and creative in their business approaches. Annelle Digital has adapted to the new remote work setup, and our company is dedicated to helping businesses with their much-needed digital campaigns. The most important takeaway from all of this is that we now have the tools and applications to take our processes digital. Don’t be afraid to experiment until you find the most suited one for your company.

How SEO can help businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic?

In the first quarter of 2020, the Novel Coronavirus or NCoV-19 has single-handedly forced the shutdown of operations and businesses on a global scale. As citizens and locally-based businesses retreat into the comfort of digital platforms, some companies have to reevaluate their business plans and competencies.

With over 2.6 million positive cases worldwide, countries, economies, and the daily way of living have been effectively disrupted. There is a reverse on globalization as airports, seaports, and other points of entry are shut down. In this article, we will talk about how the Coronavirus is affecting businesses and how Annelle Digital search engine optimization or SEO strategy for Covid-19 can help companies worldwide. Read on to find out more.

Coronavirus Pandemic Affecting Businesses

Engine conducted consumer research based on the current behavior of customers, and it has shown promising results for digital businesses. Eighty-eight percent are growing concerned about the Coronavirus health threat; however, this also presents a silver lining and opportunity for businesses. Social distancing means that most transactions won’t be in malls, stores, and coffee shops but the digital space.

In the survey, there has been a surge in online shopping by around 42% of the 1,000-person control group. The plus side is that more customers will find their way into your website and company. On the flip side, global companies will be looking for better ways to land clients. This generally means that you will get buried in their campaigns if you don’t look for a way to raise your company’s metrics and stay competitive.

Search Engine Optimization Advantages for Businesses During Pandemic

The pandemic has caused lockdowns and home quarantines all over the world. The operational countries have eventually succumbed to the need to adapt as the virus takes more victims globally. Businesses will need digital marketing methods more than ever, and search engine optimization is at the top of the list.

Here are some of the advantages of continuously deploying SEO strategy during Coronavirus pandemic:

1. People are more dependent on digital platforms

The digital space is the safest and most reliable platform for communication, collaboration, and productivity. Most traditional businesses have resorted to setting up shop online, and SEO ensures that your company can contend with the other corporations.

A common misconception is that businesses shouldn’t fret or just let the natural search engine take its course. You can see the importance of SEO in Covid-19 when you notice that you check your brand’s keywords, but other companies are taking the top positions of search results. Your competitors could end up landing your clients because of their search engine campaigns.

2. Cost-effective methods

Among all the platforms, the digital space is the most affordable. You don’t need to spend as much as you usually do on traditional methods. SEO can drive your profits up with relatively limited spending by using search engine principles and best practices.

Annelle Digital can take your functioning website and check it for possible flaws and search engine optimization issues. The company is working round-the-clock to provide high-quality digital marketing services to businesses across all industries.

3. Creates consistent long-term growth

Perhaps one of the most important benefits of search engine optimization is its long-term effects. It’s also better to start expanding these strategies and campaigns while other companies are immobile and coping with adjusting to the pandemic. Your SEO efforts will reward you even after the Coronavirus pandemic is done as long as you continue investing in your search engine campaigns.

A major advantage of deploying SEO strategies is that it lasts for a longer time than most digital marketing methods and advertisements. If you start now, your company will build a digital marketing foundation for the coming months. Having SEO strategies will help you stay competitive on digital platforms where more people are working and searching for things to buy. If you supplement your search engine tactics with a solid social media campaign, you’ll reap the benefits in the months to come.

4. Top of Mind advantage

Search engines are the perfect place to gain insight and new information. Because of this, people who utilize search engines rely on the latest data they acquire. The searchers will remember your company when they think of a particular product or service, and they find your business on the first page of the search engine results.

Alternatively, if they don’t see your website within the first few pages, you lose your credibility as a reputable company. With no prior knowledge or information, search engines allow you to make an excellent first impression and secure the “Top of Mind” spot.

5. Reinforces authority and expertise

Another importance of SEO in Coronavirus pandemic is the promotion of your knowledge and professional prowess. Your ranking in the search results will strengthen your reputation and power. As mentioned earlier, if you rate higher than your competitors, then customers will trust you more than the rest. This attribute is especially important during times when spending and mobility are limited.

6. Fresh customers waiting to spend

More people have idle time because of the elimination of travel time for jobs and the closure of some industries. As more employees work from home, it presents a unique opportunity of having at least 3 or 4 saved time every day while earning the same income. Because of this, more people are willing to spend money online.

7. Information is the most crucial resource in 2020

Communities are on lockdown, and people are turning to their computers and mobile devices for information. When you offer hyperlocal services such as deliveries, you can use the keywords plus add your area and delivery or delivery and area (like phone accessories Arizona delivery or phone accessories delivery Arizona).

Image from Google blog 

Aside from that, Google is considered one of the most authoritative sources of information online. It’s essential to have a business profile for credible local search engine optimization practices, and it’s even more important to do it right the first time. Google My Business profile is a sure way to gain local patronage and it helps you coordinate better with your customers because you can set announcements, operating hours, and add your contact details.

The Bottomline

Annelle Digital remains positive amidst the COVID-19 threat. Global businesses need to find ways to survive with malls, salons, and other non-essential or non-critical establishments. While most services and entertainment businesses are on hold, companies have relied on innovative ways to continue their operations. You should proceed to adapt and innovate to guarantee your company’s success even after the pandemic is over.

 

Bethena Aundrea Films Website Redesign

A wedding is one of the most sacred and fundamental ceremonies celebrated in a person’s lifetime. People often spend thousands to make the occasion memorable and everlasting, so they hire the best coordinators, suppliers, and professionals in the industry. The event wouldn’t be complete without the videographers and photographers making the memorabilia.

Bethena Aundrea Films, our client, is one of the professionals that make sure every event is unique and unforgettable, and we wanted to capture the essence of their service on their website. In this case study, Annelle Digital did a website redesign campaign for a Philippine-based wedding video company, Bethena Aundrea Films.

It was a fast-paced project from conceptualization to implementation, headed by our Digital Marketing Manager, Jenna Gabat. The client was satisfied by the fast turnaround time and accessible communication with Annelle Digital throughout the entire process.

Read on to find out more about the business and the web design we did for them.

Bethena Aundrea Films

The Bethena Aundrea Films company captures the joy and delight of nuptials, founded by Rence Bautista, a wedding photographer since 2012. Rence established the company in 2015 and named it after his firstborn child, Bethena Aundrea, who serves as the primary inspiration for high-quality service. Since then, his team of graphic professionals has had great feedback from all its clients and guests.

Bethena Aundrea Films specializes in same-day edit videos, primarily entertaining wedding photography and videography. However, over the past years, they have also built an impressive corporate portfolio accommodating launching events and special programs. With this powerhouse team of professionals, they needed a great web design to boost their search engine visibility.

With an experience of over five years in the wedding and corporate industries, the company believed that it needed a website redesign to complement the new logo and simplify the contents, making them more appealing.

The Requirement

The client wanted to improve the company’s branding and revamp the existing website to match the new logo. Bethena Aundrea Films website redesign centered around improving the current theme to better suit the improved branding. The only goal is creating a site that looks well with the modified logo.

Annelle Digital discussed the project scope and provided a study that immediately got support from the company. It was a quick process from idea submission to output, with only one submitted proposal to final design approval. Jenna Gabat, our Digital Marketing Manager, designed and presented the accepted and realized idea. Annelle Digital team was able to finish the entire project in less than a week.

Previous and Redesigned Website Comparison

The new design capitalizes on the luxurious feel of the new logo. The entire concept, improvement and implementation process took less than a week. There were minimal revisions during the execution supervised by Jenna Gabat, which accounted for the quick turnaround rate.

Here are the comparisons from the former website:

Bethena Old Homepage deisgn               Bethena new homepage design
Before                                                                                                                After   

 

Homepage

We modified the old site to have an updated and responsive design. An appealing addition to the home page is the testimonial snippets at the bottom, which are more attractive compared to the previous text-only testimonials.

About Us

To increase the attention of the company’s founder, we designed the page to have a single image. This kind of layout has improved the attraction ability of the page, and it centers on the company’s story.

Videos

The previous design had too many subcategories. The client wanted to reduce them to only two major categories: Wedding and Corporate. 

Rates

The centered texts allow the prices to be more visible and apparent. The new colors allow the “Reserve Now” and “Enquire” buttons to stand out. 

Blog

To emphasize the blocks of blog content, we utilized the color black. The rectangle layout allows the web owner to add highlight photos that can supplement the title.

Contact Us

We changed the plain white backdrop to the new brown background. The contrast between the brown, pink, and white allows the “Contact Us” button to stand out better.

Web Design with Annelle Digital

Annelle Digital offers holistic business services to companies from all over the world. We have a track record of providing high-quality SEO, content, web design, and digital marketing solutions. Our team of professionals can achieve all of your digital business goals, and we can customize your campaign to suit your brand.

If you’re struggling to generate quality traffic, and you need help in having a high search engine ranking, our experts can help. Contact us for an appointment today.

5 Things You Need to Ask When Screening for an SEO Consultant in 2020

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the process of having your website rank high in search engines. This method is crucial because it helps your site become more visible to potential clients and customers. Most visibility leads to better traffic quality, and it can invite curious users that are looking for answers that your business can provide.

It’s safe to say that a website is your portfolio and digital home. Even when you have multiple social media pages, you will still need a website that contains everything you do. Before you start thinking about your website’s designs and outreach methods, you should consider your digital strategy by getting an SEO consultant or agency.

This article will talk more about search engine optimization consultancy, and how you can find the right SEO consultant through basic questions.

Search Engine Optimization Consultancy

A search engine is a program that looks for websites based on corresponding keywords and keyphrases. It has crawlers that go through every text from every site on the world wide web. The search engine then publishes the results according to the relevance of the input. Search engine optimization is the system that ensures you rank high and favorable to search engines.

The entire search engine optimization process is technical and time-consuming to do on your own, which is why you need an SEO consultant instead of having an entire department. Most SEO consultants and agencies can do a variety of SEO-related tasks.

While you’re looking through prospective SEO consultants, the first questions will be crucial to selection.

How to Find the Right SEO Consultant

An SEO consultant can help you make or break your web presence and your business. Hiring an SEO consultant should involve asking the right questions. In this way, you won’t run into substantial SEO problems in the future. 

Here are the key questions you have to ask your prospective search engine optimization consultant:

1. What should I include in my business value proposition?

A strong signal of any business comes from a strong value proposition. That’s why asking an SEO consultant’s insight about your business value proposition is essential. It’s what sets your business apart from your competitors. If the SEO consultant doesn’t even know what a business value proposition is, then it’s a sign that he or she doesn’t have a strong marketing background.

Your SEO consultant should also ask you about your current business value proposition. Answers that coincide or match have higher chances of success. That’s why you have to be keen in choosing an SEO consultant; as one who comes from a trusted and experienced SEO company will have clear objectives and plans even before you start talking.

2. What does an excellent sales cycle look like?

A good SEO consultant knows the importance of internet marketing in customer acquisition. Depending on your brand and niche or industry, an ideal sales cycle means generating more traffic, leads, and sales. An SEO consultant who knows the worth of a new customer would help you with effective budgeting and developing a good business plan.

Choosing someone who knows well about your niche will likely do more for your business. It is because a specialized SEO consultant already knows your niche’s sales cycle, what customers expect and demand, and what makes them frustrated to leave a website. Not knowing a sales cycle could be a red flag that your SEO consultant has limited knowledge of sales.

3. What is online marketing’s level of success?

In the search engine optimization equation, a brand or business’s online history is crucial. Google and search engines take a website’s age and other factors as consideration. Asking this question will help you create a better perspective as to what the SEO consultant can foresee and contribute to the greater good of your company.

An SEO expert with the best combination of online marketing strategies can bring more benefits to your website and your overall business. While social media marketing, email marketing, and content marketing are some of the best ones, you can never be sure what will work for you if you haven’t tried them yet.

That’s why an experienced SEO consultant can help shed light on the shadowy parts of online marketing you haven’t explored yet so you can attain success the first time.

4. What should our short-term and long-term goals be?

Always bear in mind that search engine optimization is for a long-term investment. Asking this question to your prospective SEO consultant will help you understand how the SEO services offered can influence and align with your business’s goals.

If your SEO expert is telling you that you will reach the first rank in one month, then you should reconsider working with that person. He or she may be using blackhat SEO tricks, which might have you at the top of the ranks at the risk of getting banned permanently by search engines.

The search engine optimization consultant can give you a realistic overview of the project. You can talk about your business goals and ask the expert about its feasibility. If you’re currently on the second page of a particular keyword, you might get to the first page after a few months. Depending on the SEO efforts that you want.

5. Can I see client projects with the best results so far?

Every successful SEO companies have a long list of satisfied clients. Since search engine optimization is a long-term commitment, you should find the consultant or expert that has proven results. Without these testimonials or satisfied clients, you might be putting your money in a company that can’t guarantee your expected outcomes. 

If you’re the consultant’s first customer, you won’t have a solid campaign, but you can bargain for cheaper service charges.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of SEO companies and agencies available all over the world. Having the right questions will make you more confident in your decision. This way, you can choose the best SEO consultant that will help you achieve your goals. Be in full control and arrange an SEO consultant who can bring out the best of your brand.

 

Three Main Things You Avoid When You Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

One of the main reasons why businesses moved into digital is that necessary marketing tools can be low-cost and accessible. In fact, when entrepreneurs started exploring the platform, many were told that, when equipped with basic knowledge of SEO and content marketing, digital marketing campaigns can easily be a one man’s job.

That, in all honesty, is not untrue. Digital marketing campaigns can indeed be done by entrepreneurs themselves, but there are risks. And we believe these risks are far greater than the time and resources they save from not extending their need and hiring a team of experts.

Here are four main things that entrepreneurs avoid when they hire a digital marketing agency:

  • 1. Unintended Deprioritizing Operations

As most entrepreneurs can attest to, managing a business can already be a struggle. When they attempt to put more on their plates and start managing their own promotions and marketing campaigns, eventually, the priority and focus will shift: should they be investing more time on marketing since they are emerging, or should they be focusing on operating the business more? There is a reason why huge corporations have different vice presidents for marketing and operations. Both are equally important, and both tasks cannot be effectively and efficiently done by the same person.

  • 2. Wasting Time Testing Waters

Without prior knowledge and experience, entrepreneurs tend to actually spend more time and resources testing every tool promoted in different forums or by industry colleagues; in order to learn the most fitting tool for their business needs.
An experienced and capable digital marketing agency with a good track record would know the most apt and effective tools and processes to utilize. This not only saves time, but it straightforwardly lays down expectations and a working timeline that ultimately benefits the business, and leaves the entrepreneur only in the role of a decision-maker.

  • 3. Producing and Reading Useless Analytics

This is probably the biggest risk of all. If an entrepreneur, without the necessary understanding of marketing ins-and-outs, heedlessly formulated his own metrics to measure a campaign’s effectiveness, it is safe to assume that his analysis of results would not be sound as well.More concerning than that is its eventual impact: he will then reference his analysis in finalizing decisions in human resources, branding, and product and service development. This unknowingly might bring the business on the opposite path to growth.

Regardless of what others say in the industry, it is, therefore, more effective and (cost-) efficient to hire a digital marketing agency. The best choice of digital marketing agency should not only follow-through with their deliverables, but also be able to commit to their clients’ needs, and intelligently forecast trends and produce materials that will help the business in the long run.

We, at Annelle Digital, are confident in our capabilities in helping your business grow now and in the near future. Get in touch with us to see if we are the right fit for your digital marketing needs. Say hello at info@annelledigital.com.

Just investing in digital today? Here’s what to expect–and enjoy

If you have taken the first step in going digital today, congratulations! Some may think that you are already late to the game, but remember the saying, “The best time to start was years ago, but the next best time is today”? What matters most is you have taken the first step in taking your business to a more modern (and exciting) platform.


As we are very excited for you, we have compiled basic things to expect and look forward to now you are going into digital:

  1. Depending on your market, you should still invest in traditional marketing

    First and foremost, you have to remember that in marketing and advertising, there is no one-size-fits-all. Different objectives warrant different strategies. Different strategies need different tools.While most users today, regardless of age and class, tend to have access and consciously look into online reviews or peer recommendation, there may be segments of your market that opt to not be active in digital. If your market involves mothers of toddlers who allot time for social media yet are avid audience members of a show, digital marketing strategies and traditional marketing strategies should go hand in hand.

  2. It can actually be cheaper than traditional marketing

    One myth that surrounds digital marketing strategies is that it extremely costs less than traditional media. Digital platforms are cheaper to organize campaigns on, compared to the tedious process of media buying and placements on television, radio, and film. Small entrepreneurs, even high school kids, are able to start a campaign using Facebook Ads for just $5 USD. However, producing content can be of similar cost. For example, if you need a poster, similar to traditional, you need to outsource a graphic designer. With videos, you need to outsource a production house. But with tweaks and utilization of different tools available, these can be cheaper.

  3. It is ultimately faster (and you can schedule releases, too!)

    With the instantaneous nature of internet-based platforms and tools comes the instantaneous feature of marketing platforms as well. Once your content is set, you can immediately post in order to reach your audience as soon as possible. In addition, you can seamlessly plan for future releases, as there are various tools available that allow you to schedule (and even backdate!) releases across these platforms.

  4. It focuses on your market

    Compared to traditional marketing, digital marketing can segment your market up to your audience’s smallest characteristics. You can now segment per age, gender, political views, preferred films, and favorite restaurants. You may choose to have your content shown to your segmented audience. And this is not definite. You may set different audience for different campaigns.

  5. It is data-driven

    Because everything in digital is instantaneous, audience reach and reception can also be measured, when you need and want it. With the existence of browser-based cookies, tools have been developed to take advantage of their function. You may now know the number of people reached by your ad, their geographic locations, their interests, and key people influencing their decision-making, to guide you to develop which strategies generate more leads.

  6. It provides an accessible platform for feedback

    As your audience can be reached easily through digital, they can also easily reach out to you as well. Complaints, feedback, and suggestions can now be easily forwarded, with the existence of proper feedback system. While they are not without downsides (e.g., fake complaints can ruin brands and their reputations), it provides an accessible two-way communication system for complaints and concerns between you and your audience; which will eventually lead to the development of your product and services. Today, accessibility through community and social media management is one of the top considerations of consumers in selecting a service or product.

  7. It is relatively new, so developments are on the way

    Everyday, more and more people are given access to the internet. Five years ago, tools that we commonly use now were still in-the-works; even considered sophisticated. With that trend, we can safely assume that more tools for more effective marketing will be developed continuously.

Digital is an exciting platform that needs perseverance, strategy, and consistency, which you will not regret taking on.

Congratulations again for taking the first step in going digital!

For questions and concerns, you are more than welcome to contact us at info@annelledigital.com.