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Digital accessibility is designing your business’s websites, tools, and technologies to allow everyone, including people with disabilities, to use them as easily as possible.  

Some of the disability types to consider when designing accessible websites and digital media include: 

• Blindness and low vision 
• Hearing loss and deafness
• Limited movement 
• Those with a speech disability
• Neurological limitations like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, etc.

An accessible website must use different designs and web development practices that make it possible for people with disabilities to navigate the site. For instance, when the website has sufficient color contrast between the text and background colors, it becomes easier for those with low vision to read the text. 

How People with Disabilities Affect Your Business 

Worldwide, people with disabilities make a large and under-served minority group. Many brands continue falling short of expectations for a digitally accessible user experience and, in effect, leaving out an enormous market segment. 

Here are a few facts about people with disabilities: 

• Around 15% of the global population has some disability 
• The global spending power for this population is more than $6 trillion 

In simple terms, if you have a website that is not accessible, you’re excluding a big percentage of the global population and losing potential sales.

Digital Content those Marketers should be Concerned About

Any content you decide to put out for public consumption must be checked for accessibility. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) maintains that public content falls under the ADA – Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Therefore, whatever you put out there must be ADA compliant to ensure everyone has access. If your website is inaccessible according to ADA standards, you will face digital accessibility lawsuits, so why take the risk? 

Accepted Guidelines for Digital Accessibility

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the international group that governs web standards- prescribed guidelines on how to deliver a consistent web experience for every user across all platforms and devices. W3C educates people on ensuring all individuals, regardless of ability, have a compatible experience with digital accessibility.

The W3C came up with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a resource for digital content creators. The guidelines have criteria for accessible digital assets. Your content must align with the WCAG techniques, and you must do user testing to ensure the user experience is acceptable for most users for you to host an accessible website.

Where To Start

If you are finding digital accessibility overwhelming, you can start by getting a free website accessibility checker to check whether your website meets the standards or if there’s room for improvement.

Conclusion

Inaccessibility of information to the disables has been a growing problem and marketers need to be sensitive to this. They have to create and design their websites with accessibility for all as a priority. When you improve the accessibility of your content, you will ensure that it reaches the maximum number of people, you’ll decrease the digital divide and might tap into a whole new market.

Businesses are set up for different goals and objectives but one common denominator is the desire to make profits. But how can profits be made without sales? And how can sales happen if marketing isn’t done and rightly so? While these concepts may seem identical and closely related, there’s a bit of difference between them, and here’s an attempt at helping you differentiate these terms without ever needing to rack your brain whenever it’s needed.

What is sales?

The term Sales comprises all the activities that lead to the exchange of goods or services for money. Unlike marketing which aims at winning and retaining customers for the long term, sales is more transaction-focused and short-term. 

What’s marketing?

Marketing is all the activities done to spark interest, attract, inform, and convert people into paying customers. At the forefront of these activities is market research, which aims at understanding the market, customers’ pain points, purchasing power, and the best form or type of product customers will be interested in. Marketing doesn’t just end at these, it moves further to creating measures to ensure customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and a high rate of repeat customers. It also consists of business functions such as advertising, logistics, and selling.

What are the differences between sales and marketing?

In detail, sales and marketing differ in the following ways:

1. Target market: marketing functions to bring brand awareness to the entire public or selected demographic where products are needed. Whereas, sales targets subsets or smaller groups of people. 

2. Process: The marketing team process will include activities that focus on product, price, place, and promotion which are called the 4Ps of marketing. They are responsible for setting product goals and objectives, campaign budget, and determining the marketing channels. 

On the other hand, the Sales process will include a detailed breakdown of the target market, action plans, goals to be achieved, tools, team structure, and resources needed to achieve the set goals.

3. Roles: the sales team is responsible for managing the relationships created by the marketing team ( through Ads, Social media campaigns, etc). They nurture the leads until a purchase is made and the marketing team takes over from there to ensure future purchases, brand loyalty, and referrals. 

4. Strategies: sales and marketing differ in the strategies used in meeting their goals. Sales strategy can include: SPIN Selling, inbound selling, Solution selling, Conceptual selling, The Challenger sale strategy, etc. While marketing strategies will include: content marketing( blogs, articles, infographics, videos, etc), print marketing, social media marketing, SEO, and internet marketing. 

5. Cost: Marketing is more expensive than sales because it is all-encompassing sales, advertising, logistics, etc., and runs longer than sales.

6. Ultimate goal: sales’ ultimate goal is profit maximization through sales maximization( via price promotion, special offers, discount sales, referral bonuses, etc). While marketing looks to achieve profit maximization through increased consumer satisfaction and larger market share.

Every business comes into existence to make some profit, and this is achieved through selling. Thus, the importance of selling in any business success. But sales can’t happen without proper marketing that concentrates on the customer demands and needs. When done right, marketing yields good results, and sales is one of them. 

Leaders play a vital role in building a strong organizational culture, they are simply sowing the seeds of a strong culture, and employees are spreading the organizational culture through their beliefs and actions. Top leaders are leading the people with strong thoughts and actions with a core belief that creates a strong connection with the organization and employees by uniting them in a culture of mutual resolution that leads the people to organizational rivalry over profit. The culture creates the connection between employees and the organization, and this connection can be built through the safety and quality of employees, their life cycle and work balance, retention frequency, superior facilities, and profitability. The expressive effort, employee appreciation, well-being, mutual relation, and leadership can contribute to the organization to develop a strong culture. After all, in order to monitor these impacts head-on, a well-organized leadership culture can help shape organizational culture.

The culture developed on the responsibility of the leaders where they reveal the company’s philosophies and strengthen the actions that replicate the values. They reveal the philosophies and replicate the values with their actions where their communication, actions, and confidence influence the culture. In fact, they create a link between the organization’s beliefs with employees’ actions that certainly increase employee engagement. This strong bond creates a culture of mutual learning, where employees at all levels have something to share, and leaders are eager to assimilate this culture. The learning opportunity enriches what they know and experiences in dealing with the employees. Sometimes, the simplest modifications can bring huge surprises to customers and organizations that can secure a social product. Hence, a learning culture enables leaders to build a strong organizational culture to ensure that social products benefit both employees and customers. The leaders construct the culture of employees’ well-being in some aspects such as social, financial, physical, community, and purpose that directly impact their engagements and performances.

The leaders set the framework of the organization’s culture where the employees can relate their values and feels important. In a cultural framework, employees engage in social patterns, attitudes, and implicit performance in the way that leaders guide them. When employees receive the care they deserve, a strong leadership culture develops, a strong work environment ensures their well-being and health concerns, and they feel encouraged and inspired to succeed. Their ultimate focus is becoming obsessive and occupying a team who are obsessive with the organization’s mission. Leaders set their focus on the organization’s culture by becoming a role models to the employees, observing their insights, developing a platform for open communication, taking action on the employee’s feedback, and empowering them with recognition and motivation. It will create a link between leadership belief, organizational culture, and employees’ job satisfaction that will certainly strengthen the organizational culture.

The emergence of meter verse and Web 3.0 has made it crucial for every business to take go for digital transformation. Companies, including large and small, are doing their best to embrace digital marketing transformation. So, according to the current statistics, the spending on digital transformation by companies worldwide is expected to be more than $1.8 trillion by the year 2025. The success of a business in the modern age requires a complete restructuring of the internal processes and strategies.

Regardless of the above claims, there still exist oodles of roadblocks hindering digital marketing transformation in companies. Let us dive into the possible hindrances to digital marketing transformations in an organization and proffer workable solutions to them all.

Not willing to effect drastic  organizational change

To effectively embrace digital marketing transformation, there is a need for a drastic organizational cultural change. So, the marketing moves crucial to benefit effectively from digital marketing is far from mere exploration of novel promotional channels and new marketing technologies. Most companies have strict orders from the top management, and if they are adamant about changes, it will be difficult for digital transformation to take its course in their business.

Companies not ready to update their operational model will not take full advantage of digital marketing transformation. The solution to these hindrances lies in creating an impressive and persuasive strategy for digital marketing. Many online contents can help your business benefit from the latest trends without hassle.

Issues centered regarding data management

The benefits of effective data management to businesses cannot be overemphasized. It is vital utilizing the potential errors via the establishment of policies and processes for data usage. Also, building trust in data required to make insightful decisions in an organization is another need for effective data management. 

Companies find it easy to respond efficiently to changes in the market as well as the needs of customers with the help of effective data management.

Moreover,  digital marketing transformation strategies find it challenging to thrive in an organization without enough intelligence, insight, and strategic thinking. These things are only possible through effective data management. Several factors are essential to the success of any organization in digital marketing transformations. Some of these vital factors include:

• Clear understanding and indication of  business objectives
• Absolute understanding of the needs of customers
• Excellent budget and plans projections
• Good understanding of the procedures and underpinnings of the channels you decided to use

The solution to these and more challenges for an organization lies in the effective management of data. 

Businesses experience an uphill struggle in their bid to utilize digital marketing transformation when there are issues with data management.

Limitations in budgeting

Budgetary planning is the main hindrance to digital marketing transformation. Achieving marketing goals through digital marketing transformation is capital intensive and requires investing a lump sum to achieve a result. IT legacy, staff training, and other miscellaneous expenses are not recognized when accounting for digital marketing, which leads to over-spending. No account of these things can affect a business negatively. More so, investing in new technologies, channels, and platforms to boost sales is great, but there is a need never to forget the place of staff education. Investment into digital marketing transformation always yields positive results, as it helps to boost the return on investment (ROI) of a business.  

The solution to this main hindrance of digital marketing transformation is a good understanding of fiscal detail management. Look away from the amount involved in digital marketing and focus on the possible result you stand to get.

Little or no digital skills

Lack of digital skills is obviously the main hindrances businesses face today. The gap in digital skills costs the United Kingdom a whopping sum of £63 million per annum. This staggering sum shows the damages the lack of digital skills is cost the world.  The efforts towards digital marketing transformation can be repetitious when you lack the required skills. You need the required skill in digital marketing to transform theory into action. 

There is a need for internal talent and skills needed to enhance your new digital marketing platform and solutions. Digital marketing talents are also necessary for an engaging audience in the entire digital channels and obtaining the required results.

Your digital marketing can only hit the mark when there are required digital skills. So, there is a need to invest more into staff training on the latest digital marketing strategies.  

Conclusion 

Businesses interested in growing their return on investment via digital marketing require skills and talents. Also, the cost of promoting digital marketing is another thing one should not forget to consider. Budgetary can be the main limitation to digital marketing transformation, and the solution is to consider it a necessity for the growth of your organization.

In the present computerized age, marks that disregard the compass and impact of social media marketing showcasing are passing up a critical advanced channel for client commitment. As a matter of fact, 80% of advertisers see esteem in virtual entertainment and are sure about a Return on Investment (ROI) as it can assist with acquiring important client experiences and lift other showcasing exercises as per Hootsuite’s 2022 Social Trends Report.

 Advertisers can appreciate upgraded lead age benefits with web-based entertainment while an appropriately executed virtual social media strategy can further develop search rankings, drive more site traffic, and increment transformation rates.

In any case, how might you make a powerful virtual entertainment technique when you don’t realize which channels to pick? With so numerous choices, it can appear to be overpowering to sort out whether your business needs to assemble an internet-grounded presence exercising Snapchat or Instagram, LinkedIn or TikTok.

Beneath, we’ve framed a straightforward bit by bit process you can follow to assist with choosing your social channels and pursue the most ideal choice in view of the main variables.

What are your social media strategy objectives?

Having the option to interface your web-based entertainment channels to your technique’s undeniable level goals is fundamental. In the event that you can’t make sense of by what means a specific channel will assist you with accomplishing your objectives, then, at that point, it’s without a doubt you shouldn’t take on it.

Use social media to increase brand awareness:

As an initial step, you ought to consider choosing deeply grounded stages with an enormous crowd as this will assist you with focusing on a great many possibilities. It’s likewise worth remembering well known and specialty stages assuming you comprehend your personas and find that advertising on a network such as TikTok for instance would assist you with reverberating with a more youthful and visual segment.

One of the best strategies for raising brand mindfulness and expanding reach is through paid advancement (this is a prudent choice, whatever your spending plan). Thus, get some margin to explore the web-based entertainment promoting choices accessible to you. Facebook’s advertising platform, for instance, has gained notoriety for creating noteworthy ROI.

Use social media to enhance lead generation:

Web-based entertainment is a critical device for advertisers hoping to produce top notch leads. By utilizing designated crusades, you can draw in applicable possibilities that can be supported in your channel to change over. As per eMarketer research, 59% of advertisers got down via online entertainment promoting as the best lead age apparatus in their munitions stockpile.

According to a B2B point of view, LinkedIn is famous for being a boss in the online entertainment lead age, whether it’s through joining gatherings, creating targeted ads, partaking in conversations, or looking with cutting edge channels. Facebook and Twitter ads are likewise profoundly successful and frequently partake in a cheaper Per Click (CPC) than an AdWords crusade!

What channels is your target audience using?

After you’ve adjusted your objectives to your virtual entertainment channel determination, you really want to consider where your crowd is collaborating on the web. For example, having an Instagram account for your brand could be a squandered exertion on the off chance that your biggest client portion is 70-year elderly people ladies. Essentially, there may not be an enticing contention for advancing your business on Pinterest on the off chance that you’re just focusing on men.

The most secure and best web-based entertainment methodologies are educated by virtual social media demographics. These information driven experiences will guarantee that your procedure, and the channels you pick, work with the most significant, designated approach conceivable, which will build your possibilities of change.

Utilizing a social listening instrument, for example, Sprout Social will assist you with dissecting your ongoing supporters. This will furnish you with orientation, age and area information for your ongoing social crowds, which will assist you with concluding which channels merit keeping up with, and which aren’t.

On the off chance that you haven’t yet picked any channels, or you might want to venture into already neglected stages, the Pew Research Center has led an investigation that frames the critical socio economics for the overwhelming majority web-based entertainment stages.

For instance, did you have at least some idea that on the web, ladies are bound to utilize Instagram more than men (44% versus 36%)? Or on the other hand that 50 percent% of LinkedIn clients procure a compensation more than $75,000?

To put it plainly, while picking your web-based entertainment channels, consistently back up your choices with segment information, as opposed to being driven by latest things.

What channels are your competitors using?

Similarly significant as dissecting the channels your interest group uses is considering what web-based entertainment your rivals are dynamic on. This will give a benchmark against which you can measure industry action, and assist with directing your choices.

Ask yourself, what kind of happiness do they post? Do they stage explicit substance? How consistently do they create platform-specific content? What number of preferences or offers do their posts get? Checking how dynamic your rivals are via online entertainment, as well as how well their supporters draw in with what they post, will furnish you with important experiences you can imitate to ensure a positive outcome for your methodology. Utilize our Competitor Analysis Tracker to perceive how well your rivals are doing with regards to arriving at their main interest group.

Once more, you can utilize social listening apparatuses to discover which brands in your industry have the most broad reach and biggest impact via online entertainment. Buzzsumo, for instance, will allow you to examine your rivals’ top-performing content regarding social offers, as well as which content arrangements and lengths best draw in clients. You will likewise have the option to see the social channels from which they get the most offers.

The most effective system to Choose the Stylish Social Media Channels for Your Business:

Utilizing an audience listening tool can assist you with discovering which brands in your industry have the biggest reach and effect via online entertainment.

Brandwatch Analytics allows you to screen your rival’s online entertainment yield across Facebook and Twitter and empowers you to follow any notices of them across the web. There are several listening tools that you can use to complete such contender investigations, so anything you pick, ensure you research those accessible and know about your choices.

What kind of content do you want to create?

This is a pivotal inquiry as there is a wide range of different content types – some that will supplement your business objectives and brand character, and some that will not. Furthermore, certain substance organizations will be more fit to specific social channels than others.

If you still share industry updates, company news and whitepapers:

These substance designs are generally reasonable for B2B crowds who can be overwhelmingly found on proficient stages like LinkedIn. On the off chance that you have an organization Twitter account or a singular one that you use for proficient purposes, these are likewise ideal stages to draw in individual experts with industry-explicit substance. Look at a few astounding examples of B2B content marketing on the off chance that you’re searching for motivation.

If you want to share video content:

On the off chance that your video content is short-structured and focused on a more youthful crowd, you might need to think about Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat. Assuming that it’s more drawn out and more widespread in its allure, Facebook and Twitter can likewise create elevated degrees of commitment. Also starting a YouTube channel, the world’s second-biggest web search tool which sees north of 3 billion inquiries every month.

If you want to share image-based content:

If you’re a B2C brand with a drawing in item to sell, you should consider promoting your content on Pinterest. As per Shopify, 98% of clients influence the stage to attempt new things in view of what they see. Instagram is great for building an optimistic visual brand story.

If you want to share editorial content:

For organizations hoping to secure themselves as a believed industry suspected pioneer, distributing an article on LinkedIn’s distributing stage can open their image to almost 800 million individuals. Medium is one more well known distributing stage that as per Neil Patel has 153 million clients, 53 percent of which procure more than $100,00 each year.

In the event that you can distinguish the substance configurations to focus on in your web-based entertainment procedure, you’ll find it simpler to settle on your last channel decisions.

How many channels should you manage?

Did you have any idea that many brands utilize a few online entertainment channels? While it’s exceptionally far-fetched that just utilizing one channel to feature your image will do, finding some kind of harmony can be precarious. Assuming you are dynamic on an excessive number of stages, you’ll spread yourself too daintily and weaken the effect of your endeavors. Notwithstanding, assuming that you depend on only one stage, your image perceivability and reach could endure.

A virtual social media calendar and a planning device, for example, Buffer will assist you with saving time and boost your assets by allowing you to plan posts ahead of time. You can likewise cross-post analogous substance across the wholeness of your channels, or developer posts for specific stages. Support likewise allows you to add pictures, which is significant when you consider that substance with important pictures gets a larger number of perspectives than content without symbolism.

This degree of robotization will empower you to integrate more channels into your procedure, however beginning small is generally significant. Whenever you’ve tracked down two or three social channels that work for you, then, at that point, it means to explore different avenues regarding another stage. In the event that you trickle feed new channels into your methodology, you’ll try not to sit around idly and cash.

Achieve social media success for your business:

DMI’s Social Media Marketing course will assist you with understanding the basics and complexities of virtual entertainment advertising. You’ll figure out how to direct friendly exploration, make connections with social substance, foster a web-based entertainment system and plunge into the vital social stages to draw in, support and convert clients. Select today to begin on your virtual entertainment venture.