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Time to Team Up With A Digital Marketing Agency in Cyprus

March 30, 2020

by Emilie Miller with No Comment Cyprus

Last week Cyprus went into lock down. Businesses closed and this caused devastating effects to stores who rely on high street sales. With this we’re witnessing more businesses becoming dependent on online sales and some are not thriving due to a lack of a good online presence. This is where you can utilize your time and team up with a digital marketing agency in Cyprus! Most agencies have the capability to work remotely so if you’ve got free time on your hands from self-isolating consider taking the time to really look at your online presence.

It goes without saying that after Cyprus went into lock down the internet usage increased; in fact, it has dramatically increased around the world with an average of a 20% growth of web traffic in most countries.

The sites with the highest amount of traffic and therefore still receiving inquiries and sales are of course those that rank on Google’s first page. We will cover why and how they appear on the first page throughout this article. As well as why you need to follow suit. And do not forget, once this is all over you will need an epic online presence to bring activity and sales back up.

So, let’s go through the important questions you need to consider:

How is your website speed?
Do you rank of the first page of Google for your services?
Do you have high quality content?
Does your website have video content showing your services?
How up to date are your social media pages?

The Importance of Website Speed

Imagine this scenario: You’re interviewing someone for a quality position within your company and they arrive late. Is that a good first impression? You’re less likely to hire them, right? Well it’s the exact same for slow loading speed on your page. According to statistics if your page doesn’t load within 4 seconds you will lose 25% of your visitors, meaning the number of conversions is heavily impacted. The visitor has such a bad first impression that even if you have high quality content on your site, they won’t bother to read it.

In today’s world people automatically associate fast loading speed with professionalism and are confident your site is worthy of their time if it loads quickly. Therefore, site speed is vital for good UX (user experience), whatever it is that your audience are looking for, give it to them fast! They will presume you’re highly professional and this will increase your ranking.
Speaking of rankings, Google rankings are affecting by site speed. Google’s algorithm considers page speed so if your site takes more than 2 seconds to load Google is less likely to care about your most recent blog or update.

Now it’s time to find out why you need to partner with a digital marketing agency in Cyprus to help you out.

To achieve essential loading speed, it takes someone who is tech savvy to minimize files, optimize images, enable compression, optimize the server and minimize the HTML, just to name a few. Luckily for you, every digital marketing agency will have a developer who does on-page SEO.

How to Achieve Good Search Engine Rankings

Since we mentioned page rankings in the previous paragraph lets delve into the subject a bit more. Firstly, do you ever go onto page 2 of Google to find what you’re looking for? Much like how people
associate fast loading speed with professionalism, people also associate first page sites with being more reliable and trustworthy.

Now as we mentioned, page speed has an impact on search engine ranking but let’s not forget about backlinks. Backlinks are when a site links to another site and this is considered very important to Google. If you receive a backlink from an aged domain you’re doing very well, although a backlink from a newer domain isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Second thing to consider is page level factors. If you are writing content and using an outdated system of ideas, then you won’t get the rankings you strive for. Yes, keywords in the title tag are important but they’re not as important as they used to be. It’s the same with the content you upload, it’s outdated to upload a lot of short articles, instead upload a few high-quality pieces a month.

Obviously, these a just snippets of how to achieve good search engine rankings however every good digital marketing agency in Cyprus should have a SEO and content expert who can examine your site and give a detailed guideline of how they will improve your rankings.

Creating High Quality Content

A major part of SEO and what helps your business with gaining good online presence is the quality of content you post. There are 3 key factors in content, keyword research, copywriting and structure.
Every expert will start with keyword research; this is where you need to study what key terms people use in search engines related to your services. Now there is a lot more detail to this, however I doubt you really have the time to run a business and be a SEO and content expert, so leave it to a digital marketing agency in Cyprus.

Anyway, on to copywriting. This aspect needs to be carefully though through as it needs to be attractive for the reader and Google. You need to think about sentence length, writing clear paragraphs and text structure. If Google is clear on your subject matter than it’s a green light for their algorithm as well as giving you a happy and satisfied page visitor or penitential client.

The last step is to structure the content so that Google can understand it and so that it’s UX friendly. A table of content is a must! As previously mentioned, people trust sites that load quickly because it’s worthy of their time, this is the same for finding the right content. If they can click on the section they want to read from the table of content and the page automatically takes them to that section, then perfect! No time wasted!

Video Content as A Trend

Did you know that by 2021 80% of online traffic will be due to video content? So, you can see why it is so important and if your site is lacking video content, then you need to start creating and posting it now!

Video content is extremely important to Google, so your site will begin to climb the ranks of search engines as well as making it much more memorable to your audience as you’re engaging their visual senses. With all this being said, don’t forget that Google needs clear sections to understand the content, you cannot simply record any subject and upload it. It needs to be planned and executed perfectly in order to be effective.

Now once you have your video content ready you need to optimize it for SEO; this includes using keywords in the title, having a good description and using tags. But it doesn’t finish there, you also need a blog post on the same subject as your video, this will then improve your bounce rate.

As we’ve mentioned why you need video content and some statistics on its importance, it’s time to explain why you should partner up with an agency in Cyprus.

A digital marketing agency can provide high quality video production and create some epic content for your website. This quality is not something you can gather from your phone camera! Furthermore, the videoing, the editing and then posting on social media is only part of the job, as mentioned you need to make it SEO friendly so again you need a professional.

Social Media Presence

What is the second biggest search engine? It’s YouTube! Therefore, you need to make sure it is optimized with great content (video content as mentioned above).

As well as a strong YouTube presence, you also need to be active on sites such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. This is simply because social media is part of our daily life and this is where you get shares on quality content and follows on your page and website.

Remember that during this crisis the use of social media has risen, with some site usage increasing by 75% therefore it only makes sense to optimize your social media pages now.

However, if you’re unsure about tactics to optimize your social media pages then contact a digital marketing agency. Most agencies have someone who is specialized in creating and maintaining a strong social media presence so ask for a plan of action and KPIs.

Finally, stay safe during this period of uncertainty!

Sundance Institute: How They Are Fighting The Covid-19 Crisis

March 29, 2020

by Emilie Miller with No Comment Cyprus

Like many creative industries, the independent film industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, but Sundance Institute are fighting a creative battle for all those likeminded.

There has been preparation regarding economic impact and the reorganization of events for many creative minds but after witnessing people using this time to create new ideas, poems, images and music without the pressure of time limits, Sundance Institute became inspired.

They have decided to reimagine the future!

Reimagining The 58 Live Programs

Sundance Institute has begun its battle verses the Covid-19 crisis by reimaging the 58 live programs planned for August 2020; these programs include the 2020 summer labs as well as the Sundance Film Festivals in London and Hong Kong being postponed. While these programs will no long be in-person events, Sundance is adamant to uplift artists.

Adapting Sundance Co//ab

Like many industries, Sundance made the move to gather its creative minds through a digital platform. Sundance co//ab has now been adapted to an online live program which is especially exciting to see! The program, making and launching a short film, was originally created for an audience of 120, however last Friday they saw 1,600 people worldwide register to participate. That is truly a sign of artists sticking together and we all thank Sundance for this.

Changing Q&As, Masterclasses and Webinars

The third approach Sundance Institute is taking to fight the Covid-19 emergency is by opening Q&As, masterclasses and Co//ab webinars to anyone and everyone. These were previously for paid members, but Sundance are uniting creatives for free in order to help. According to the Sundance website, artists are taking advantage of this helpline with 250,000 creators across over 150 countries have used their resources.

Creating Ways to Support Artists

The breakout of Covid-19 has left many creatives needing advice, support and someone to talk to. Sundance Institute have acknowledged this and stated they will need advice and direct financial support. Furthermore, they have set aside a fund in order to support independent artists.

Introducing Field Sustainability

The Sundance Institute is in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts in order to hasten a field of sustainability to meet needs raised by artists. We witness the imagination through the launch of a biweekly virtual field meeting; this platform will enable filmmakers to connect with organizations and resources to be shared.

The 2021 Film Festivals

Preparation for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival has begun and due to the nature of the creative industry right now, Sundance have decided to communicate with other film festivals in order to share ideas and work efficiently together during the fight against the Covid-19 crisis. The community is discussing how to support filmmakers whose releases didn’t make it this year as well as productions that are currently halted.

The Sundance Institute Covid-19 full article can be found on their website.

The Film Festival Industry and The Covid-19 Pandemic

March 29, 2020

by Emilie Miller with No Comment Cyprus

Due to the escalating nature of the Covid-19 crisis many Film Festivals have been postponed or cancelled. Among this group are festivals such as the Tribeca Film Festival, Greenwich International Film Festival and SXSW 2020.However, several festivals and art-house distributors have tried to soften the blow by offering online substitutes.

While filmmakers mourn the fact their film, which they worked so hard to complete, won’t be screened, the creative world is showing its strength through a digital platform. We’ve compiled a list of organizations that are helping you through this quarantine.

SXSW

Can we give Oscilloscope and Mailchimp a big round of applause! They have partnered with SXSW to create a webpage where viewers can watch 75 shorts for free. An audience has the pleasure of enjoying all types of genres, from documentaries and animated shorts to narrative. All you need is a stable internet connection and then you are ready to go! Remember self-isolation is tough so keep yourself safe and occupied.

Tribeca Film Festival

This festival was scheduled for April but has since been postponed. How is this organization coping with the pandemic? Well they have gathered select works from their alumni to create a website that releases one short a day. The selection of genres is wide, with comedy, documentary films, animation and more.

Film Movements Virtual Cinema

How is the film industry managing to support itself during the Covid-19 crisis? This is where you come in! All you need to do is visit filmmovement.com, browse the unlimited choices of films and select one to watch. You then pick a theatre you want to benefit, and they will receive a percentage of the ticket price. Pretty nifty idea!

Oscilloscope

This organization is yet to add its new releases (“Saint Frances” and “The Infiltrators”) on a digital platform however, it is offering 10 digital downloads for $49.99, of which $10 is donated to the Cinema Worker Solidarity Fund.

ReelAbilities Film Festival

Finally, how is this organization coping during the Covid-19 crisis? Well the festival that raises awareness of the perspective of the disabled through films was planned for March 31 until April 6. These dates still match however, the festival has been transformed into a digital gathering. The films will be available to users who have signed up and there will be an interactive live-streamed Q&A with the filmmakers directly after the screening. This idea allows filmmakers and their audience to still communicate during this quarantine period.

The film industry really is trying to keep spirits alive during this pandemic, whether it’s through live streaming or other digital versions. Let’s be thankful that the film community is coming together digitally when in-person social gathering are amiss.

Cyprus Digital Agencies Market: Our First 6 Impressions

March 19, 2020

by Admin with No Comment Cyprus

I got to start this post by saying that Cyprus Digital Agencies market is one of the most interesting, “gap-full” and unique markets we have ever seen and entered until today. In this blog post I’m going to point out some of the highlights of our experience entering this market and I’m sure that you, my dear reader, no matter what type of business you have (or no business at all), have seen or experienced yourself working within this market.

Before getting to it, you might wonder why we have even decided to choose Cypriot digital agencies market to enter and operate in. The decision was tough at the beginning due to the market size, but as we looked into the market further, we got convinced that there are many opportunities here in this beautiful island. Opportunities and positive points like:

Low competition with few quality-rich agencies in the market.
Limassol! The city of multi-national companies headquarters. Lots of fish out there!
Plentiful market gaps and marketing methods that haven’t been tested in Cyprus yet.
New industries popping up in the island, e.g. upcoming possible marijuana market, cryptocurrency, etc.
Fruitful young talents with cheaper labor costs.
Climate, beach, food and the laid-back lifestyle (this was also in our cons list!)

However, let’s get back to the point. Having started working in the market and continuously doing the research, we tried to summarize our up-to-date experience and highlighted the following six impressions.

1. Many Unhappy Clients, Lots of Unpleasant Stories, I Mean…A LOT!

At first we thought, “How could this be?” that clients we’ve been getting have more or less similar experiences with one or another digital agency or a “tech guy”. They got charged a fortune and received a poor quality work or even no work at all! At first, we thought that similar stories should be coincidental; I mean how it is possible that the very first three clients we got all shared the same disappointment. However, after a while, we’ve noticed that this is a pattern somehow and it happens a lot in Cyprus digital agencies market. I believe the reasons are what I have mentioned before – low competition and the high cost of good-quality agencies in Cyprus that can’t be afforded by small businesses.

2. Many High Quality Underground Agencies are IN Cyprus but work NOT FOR Cyprus!

It’s amazing how many underground digital agencies are in Cyprus that produce amazing quality creative content but all of their clients are outside Cyprus! I can name more than a dozen of agencies that we discovered within a month and they all work with small to medium size companies outside Cyprus. I got curious and asked the founders about their motives and they all say that this is happening due to the ubiquitous undervaluation of creative work in Cyprus! In fact, most of the brands who are willing and able to pay for quality and creative content have already been taken by one of the well-known larger agencies. This actually brings me to my next point of…

Some of our agency friends: SeriesEight, Pink Panster

3. Large and Old Agency Doesn’t Always Mean Great and Quality Products

Brand name, size of the company and their popularity amongst locals are the main factors that play a HUGE role in decision making here in Cyprus. And the interesting fact is – those large Cypriot digital agencies were founded back in 90’s and 00’s and due to the low competition in the market were never pushed to innovate, change their methodologies and technologies used so to be compatible with 2019 standards (Some still use Joomla believe or not). However, I believe that in few years, most of these agencies will experience major fluctuations if they don’t adapt to the world’s standards now.

4. The New Generation Sheds Light to the Cyprus Digital Agencies Market

Just spend a day in universities and societies where the new generation of Cypriots hang out and you will realize how many Generation Z’ers there are who are extremely passionate and talented in many aspects of the digital world. One day their pure innovative and creative attitude will change the entire Cyprus digital agencies market. Also, there are many Cypriot Generation Z’ers who are coming back from studying abroad and bringing those innovations and latest knowledge goodies with them. This is really promising!

5. Direct Advertising Still Works in Cyprus

Unlike the global trend of the direct advertising losing its effectiveness, in Cyprus, social and display ads still work! You can still buy sponsored content from different mediums and have leads phoning or messaging you in a zippy! However, I would give it another year or two until direct advertisement will surrender to the digital and inbound.

6. The Delayed Rise of Influencer & Community-Based Marketing

As expected, what happened with Kardashians back in 2007-10 in U.S. is happening right now in Cyprus. Influencer and community-based marketing is slowly taking over direct marketing in many industries such as fashion, cosmetics, food and beverages, fitness centers (shout out to all the fitness influencers and gym owners for their great effort!) and etc. So you’d better be prepared for this huge change!

We could continue this list much further since the Cyprus digital agencies market is so uniquely odd but at the same time interesting to operate in; however, my plan is to keep these blog posts as short and fruitful as possible. And to end this, I invite you to read my last takeaway point and share it with your friends and family:

If you are planning to choose a digital agency to work with, do NOT consider their size, or how old they are or how many well-known clients they have. Consider how creative their teams are and usually the smaller and younger the team, the more creative they get! Trust me, we know!

Startup Pitch Presentation, What Should Be Included?

March 19, 2020

by Admin with No Comment Startups

I am sure every single of you out there want to make the best Pitch Presentation for your startup aren’t you? You want to impress your audience and you want to hear the word BRAVO when you finish presenting your idea isn’t? I understand and that’s why below you can find the DO’S in order to have the best of the best presentation.

1. A story behind your startup idea

It’s so excited when a person tells us a story about how he/she achieved a particular thing in life. This is what you should do! If you can tell a personal story about your start up idea then your customers may become so inspired and in the end they may want to work with you.

2. Use few bullet points per slide

Many bullet points in just one slide may lose the concentration of your audience (I’m talking by experience). Keep it simple like 3-4 points per slide and do not forget to have enough gap between your points. Avoid having different colors,fonts per point because it’s not so professional.

3. Use high definition pictures

We all agree that a big, high definition picture is always better that a small blurry picture. Do not forget that your pictures must be for free usage otherwise you may have some trouble with copyrights. You can use pixabay, pexels and freepik !

4. Learn most of the pitch presentation by heart

In my opinion it’s not correct to read each word from your startup pitch script. If you can learn some part, then you will give the feeling that you know your stuff very well and your audience will think that you have much confidence!

5. Be prepared for questions

It’s a sure thing to be asked questions from your potential customers. For this reason, try to think of standard questions that customers can ask like ‘Why should I choose to buy your products/services?’. If you can answer quickly then you will show them how confident you are with your startups.

3 Tips That New Entrepreneurs Must Know

March 19, 2020

by Admin with No Comment Startups

Every new beginning is difficult for entrepreneurs unless you have the necessary tips and knowledge next to you! (Read: The Hard Truth of Entrepreneurship: You Will Suffer). The 2 most important topics for discussion when you are about to start your own company are money and customers. That’s why we provide you with 3 must know tips which every new entrepreneur should follow.

Must Know Tip #1. Make valid forecasting assumptions for your business market value

Do not try to impress customers by promising them a huge amount of dollar market value because if in the end your business is not able to achieve such a big amount, you will lose your investors and you will receive zero amount of money. Hire people that have knowledge on business forecasting so as to help you predict a market value that is based on your business’ true cost, price, market, competitors, product. You must know, by doing this, your investors will understand that this market value is an honest value without exaggerating.

Must Know Tip #2. Provide paychecks that grow as your business grows

Like entrepreneurs, you are faced with two options. One option is to pay your employees a market salary with the hope that in the near future the company will grow so as to justify this high salary. The other option is to pay well below the market salary since it is a startup company. In this way the risk is shared between the employees and employers. One way to share the risk with your employees is to pay them a salary that is increasing as your company is growing. The decision is up to you! However, do not forget that risk is not something we should play with!

Must Know Tip #3. Dear Entrepreneurs! Make your customers be the first!

If you can make your customers feel that if they are your first customers, they will be given the feeling of exclusivity then this will attract a lot of people. If they are the first customers then this means they will help you launch the business too. Not only this, your first customers can take beta tests of your products and talk with them about your future plans. If you can test your product first, then there is no need to exaggerate the perfection of your product with the aim to attract more customers. This is it for the entrepreneurs must know tip #3!

Networking Like the Pros for Startups

March 19, 2020

by Admin with No Comment Startups

The ability to network is an important skill set for startups. In fact, Forbes relayed the results of a survey, which revealed that networking is still the best way to land a job. Besides employment, it also helps people get service providers for their business, find mentors who can help them in the industry, and even generate resources.

However, venture capitalist and entrepreneur Rich Stormback revealed to Harvard Business Review that 99 percent of networking is actually a waste of time. His controversial statement relies on the fact that a lot of people waste their time and effort attending networking events that don’t bear fruit. Instead, his advice is to focus on what is essential. Otherwise, they won’t get anything out of their efforts.

How can you build a network that would actually be beneficial for startups?

Build relationships

Networking for startups is more than just making acquaintances; it is about building relationships with other people. No one likes the feeling of being used in any relationship. Furthermore, no one will bring business to anyone who they feel they can’t trust.
It is therefore important that you take the time to invest in the people within your network. It’s not just you who should be benefiting from the connection; you should also see what you can do to help the other person out. Doing so helps build trust and strengthens ties.

Learn to listen

In networking events, it can be tempting to drone on and on about yourself and your startups. However, doing this can be detrimental for you, because it may give the impression that you’re self-absorbed. It is important for you to listen as well, not just with your ears, but with your eyes, given that body language provides a hint about the other person’s reception of what you are saying. You can sell your business to others at another event later on; the important thing is that you present yourself as someone who is worth knowing.

Never forget faces and names

Remembering someone’s name makes that person feel that you value the connection you share. Admittedly, it can be difficult if you’re meeting a lot of people at the same time, as in the case of networking events. Menlo Coaching recommends jotting down the names, as well as anything that would help you remember notable people and what you have talked about. You can also use mnemonics or word games to associate names with faces.

Be confident

Acting like a wallflower won’t get you anywhere. Instead, have the confidence to put yourself forward so you can meet people who may be helpful to you in the future. Don’t be afraid to make the first move, because doing so can make you more memorable to the other person. However, do make sure that you don’t cross the line and give off an arrogant vibe instead. Show that you are assertive through your words and actions and you can run a startup!

Make concrete networking plans

Inc. states it’s better to make concrete plans upon meeting someone in a networking event. It improves the likelihood that something will bear fruit, instead of a vague promise of something in the future. For instance, rather than telling someone to call you “some time” when you hand over your business card, be specific about when that will be, such as the day after the event.