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Questions To Ask A Potential Local SEO Professional Before Hiring
Being a brick and mortar type of business doesn’t mean you won’t be needing any online marketing strategies. In fact, there’s more reason to do so seeing as social media and connectivity are becoming a habit of the general populace. Opting for Local SEO can be risky for your site’s visibility if you don’t know what you’re doing, however, not doing it at all would be much worse. So how are you going to succeed in your Local SEO strategies without risking any penalties with Google?
The answer’s pretty simple – get someone who knows Local SEO like the back of his hand and have him on your team. There are a lot of Local SEO consultants and companies out there who have dedicated their time in understanding the logic behind Google’s algorithms and hiring them is imperative if you want to rank your site in local SERPs faster.
However, before hiring an SEO consultant, you have to be sure about some things about them first. Many business owners have spent thousands of dollars for some crappy work by some so-called SEO experts that will, if not always, claim that they will take the top spot for relevant search queries – make sure that you won’t become one of them.
Here are some questions that you need to ask a Local SEO consultant before you hire him/her.
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Do you have a list of your current and previous clients?
You can’t call someone a professional if they don’t have any previous working records of them. Asking an a Local SEO consultant a track record of his/her current and past clients will enable you to carefully examine how good his/her performance is. A simple phone call to one of them should tell you if the guy you’re hiring was able to do what he claims to do for you.
How are you going to execute your job?
Your consultant should also be able to give you a detailed layout as to how they’re going to optimize your site. And also, they should be able to discuss it with you on layman’s terms – make them speak english. If you think his/her answers are quite vague or you think that they’re trying to confuse you with all the useless jargon then simply hang up your phone. Local SEO can be quite complicated, but it’s methods and strategies should be explained to make sure you understand what they’re doing.
A professional SEO consultant should also be able to give you an analysis of your site and give you a heads up as to why it doesn’t rank well in the SERPs. And then he/she will give you a list of strategies and methods that you can do to alleviate this problem. Having a general knowledge about Local SEO should make these strategies much easier to understand.
Are you doing it by the book?
By now, you should be familiar with the terms blackhat and whitehat SEO. Simply put, whitehats are people who play the the rules in optimizing the site while blackhats are those who do things via underhanded methods.
These blackhat methods such as link spamming will indeed increase your rankings and traffic for a short period of time, but it can potentially ruin your site for good if it gets penalized by Google. Unless you want to take some unnecessary risks, then I strongly suggest you steer away from people who can illegally raise your ranks and go for people who can properly do it the right way.
What do I have to do/give to make sure you do your job right?
It’s not only about how much you’re paying your consultant – but of course, that topic is also an important issue. There are a lot of things that you need to do so that they, in turn, can do the job with utmost performance. You should be able to know beforehand these things before you sign the contract.
Will you give me constant updates and changes regarding the site? How about my business’ social accounts? Will I still have access to them?
Local SEO requires changing the structure of your site at some point. It also requires some changes on the social pages of your business as well. You have to be sure that you’ll have access to these information once the process starts and that you have to be constantly updated about the new changes being done to it.
How do I know that the strategies are working?
Aside from the changes, your consultant should also be able to keep track of the improvement in your traffic rate. They should be adept at using Google Analytics so updating you shouldn’t be a problem. Ask them how long the intervals between these updates so you’ll be able to expect some changes at certain times.
How do we catch up on one another?
Basically, your consultant should have a viable tool that enables you to communicate with each other with ease. Skype should be a preferable choice, given its efficiency – however, you can still use other methods. These communication tools are important as they can also be used to update you on the changes being done on your site.
What happens when your work is done?
You have to be sure that there aren’t no loose ends and any catches to your deal. Some unethical SEO professionals will either take your earned links hostage and will threaten their clients to remove them unless they keep up their partnership with them. Make sure that the contract you’re signing should be transparent enough.
Reference
http://searchengineland.com/13-questions-to-ask-before-you-hire-a-local-seo-consultant-49855
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227229
http://www.web123.com.au/i/online-marketing Visit ESTRAT.co for more tips and suggestions.
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Top Digital Marketing Experts and Authorities That You Should Follow
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For every great person, a disciple always emerges. The best way to learn is always to learn from the best. Digital marketing probably wouldn’t have been popular if not for the efforts of a number of people. It wouldn’t have been the trend if certain individuals did not make it to be the trend.Just like how Aristotle learned from Plato, his teacher, and became a great philosopher, you can also learn from the digital marketing experts and create a name for your business venture.These people have been in the field of digital marketing for quite long, and they have already familiarized the path of this rocky road. Their experience and achievements earned them the titles of experts and credible authorities to help you learn of their ways.The following list of digital marketing experts are compiled after an amount of tremendous research, taking into consideration expertise in the fields of digital marketing, analytics from social media mentions, relevance of achievements, and knowledge of current trends.Read also:
Digital Marketing Experts to Follow in 2019
The list starts here:
35.) Joe Pulizzi
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Joe Pulizzi is a content marketing leader and evangelist. He is the founder of Content Marketing Institute, a company dedicated to educating and training entrepreneurs in content marketing. Some of his books include Killing Marketing, and Epic Content Marketing. He is also known as an entrepreneur, speaker and podcaster.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
34.) Pamela Lund
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Pamela Lund specializes in ROI based PPC Management Services. She is a Pay-per-click marketing specialist, having an expertise in Google AdWords, Facebook PPC Marketing, LinkedIn Ads, and Bing Ads. She can help you as an e-commerce consultant, business efficiency consultant, and personal efficiency consultant.
Find her at:
Website
|
Twitter
33.) Chris Ducker
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Chris Ducker is best known as a “virtual CEO” and founder of Youpreneur.com, a community of vloggers, speakers, authors, and digital marketers trained to establish a timeless business from the strong foundations of one’s brand. He wrote the best-selling book Virtual Freedom and Rise of the Youpreneur.
Find him at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube
32.) Joe Kerschbaum
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Joe Kerschbaum is the Vice President, Client Services of 3QDigital, an author and speaker. He also wrote the book PPC: An hour a day and shared insights about paid advertising. He is a regular contributor in Search Engine Watch, Website Magazine, and Visibility Magazine.
Find him at: Twitter
31.) Elizabeth Marsten
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Elizabeth Marsten is currently the Senior Director of e-Commerce Growth Services at CommerceHub. She is an expert in paid search, account and client management, marketplaces and catalog management for brands and retailers. She authored the book Lynda and Web Marketing for Dummies.
Find her at: Twitter | LinkedIn
30.) Pam Moore
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Pam Moore is a social media speaker, consultant, coach and trainer. She is the CEO and founder of Marketing Nutz, a consulting agency concentrating on social media, branding, digital marketing, and content marketing programs. She is dedicated to building brands and integrated platforms that deliver measurable results.
Find her at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube | LinkedIn
29.) Tim Ferriss
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Tim Ferriss is a Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller, a technology advisor, and one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Business People. He is best known for his podcasts that garnered over 200 million downloads. He also wrote the books The 4-Hour Workweek, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors to name a few.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Facebook
28.) Gary Vaynerchuk
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Gary Vaynerchuk is the CEO of VaynerMedia, an advertising agency that offers services such as modern video production, media planning and distribution, influencer marketing, and Google and Alexa services. Gary’s team has focused on helping brands tell their stories on social media. Some of their clients include, General Electric and Pepsi-Co.
Find him at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube
 26.) Brian Fanzo
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Brian Fanzo is a millennial keynote speaker, a change evangelist and an expert in digital marketing. He runs a technology-focused video twitter chat show called Cloudtalk and talks about social media, mobility, analytics and cloud. He is also known as a Live Video Industry expert building out and executing 30+ live streaming brand strategies for major brands such as IBM, Dell, SanDisk and HP.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube | LinkedIn
25.) Nick Cicero
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Nick Cicero is an expert in social video analytics. He is the founder and CEO of Delmondo, dedicated to creating digital content and performing cross-channel social video and post analytics. He is a leader in setting up new and innovative social publishing and analytics tools for the world’s largest brands and publishers such as MTV, Univision, and Universal Music Group.
Find him at: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter
24.) John Lee
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John Lee is an international speaker and author. He is also the founder of Wealth Dragons Online, an online learning platform for aspiring business entrepreneurs. A self-made millionaire, John speaks about digital marketing, entrepreneurship and business growth. He is a definition of success because of hardwork and tenacity.
Find him at: Website | Twitter
23.) Andrew Goodman
Andrew Goodman is the founder of Page Zero Media, an agency that specializes in PPC strategy and tactics. His team focuses on Google AdWords management, intuitive reporting, testing, analytics, conversion tracking, and automation. They got everything you need concerning paid search.
Find him at: Website | Twitter
22.) Mari Smith
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Mari Smith has earned titles such as “Small Business and Facebook Marketing Expert” and “Top Social Media Power Influencer”. She is definitely a big name in social media marketing. She focuses on social media training, consulting, and thought-leadership to help businesses increase reach, engagement, and conversions of ideal customers. She is the leading authority in Facebook marketing.
Find her at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube | LinkedIn
21.) Tim Ash
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Tim Ash is a digital marketing and conversion rate optimization expert and speaker. He is the CEO of SiteTuners, an agency that specializes on strategic growth acceleration, and author of Landing Page Optimization. Tim is well-versed in user-centered design, online behavior, neuromarketing and landing page testing. Companies like Google, Facebook, Canon, Nestle and Yahoo! have been beneficiaries of Tim’s web optimization strategies.
Find him at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
20.) Scott Stratten
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Scott Stratten is an author of 5 best-selling business books, and owners of UnMarketing Inc. He and his wife have been speaking all over the world about the secrets to successful marketing. Companies such as PepsiCo, IBM, and Microsoft are among the many companies that have asked them for useful advices. Their books include UnBranding, UnMarketing, UnSelling and The Book of Business.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube | LinkedIn
19.) Justin Cutroni
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Justin Cutroni is a web analytics expert. He is a Google Analytics Certified Partner and works with marketing and IT teams to develop processes needed to generate business insights and data. Justin is respected in the web analytics industry and has earned the title “analytics evangelist” by helping businesses incorporate data in making their decisions.
Find him at: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Google+
18.) Avinash Kaushik
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Avinash is an author of two best-selling books Web Analytics 2.0, and Web Analytics: An Hour A Day. He is also a digital marketing evangelist and co-founder of Market Motive, which provides online marketing education courses. He has also spoken on conferences, universities and large-scale companies. He is most popular in the field of digital marketing, and digital analytics.
Find him at: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
17.) Heidi Cohen
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Heidi Cohen is a marketer, professor, and journalist. She is best known for her work The Actionable Marketing Guide which sums up marketing insights on social media, content marketing and mobile. She also defined the marketing basics including branding and PR definitions.
Find her at: Website | Facebook | Twitter
16.) John Rampton
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John Rampton is a serial entrepreneur and influencer. He is also an active speaker and traveled all over the world to coach aspiring entrepreneurs. John is also passionate about teaching entrepreneurs the best startup guides for their businesses. He is the founder and CEO of Due, a company that provides merchant services and premium invoicing to help business owners get paid.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Youtube
15.) Larry Kim
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Larry Kim is the founder of WordStream, the leading provider of AdWords and CEO of MobileMonkey, Facebook Messenger’s leading marketing platform. Larry is an expert in pay-per-click advertising and has an in depth knowledge of what sells on the Internet. He focuses on advertising and product management.
Find him at: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
14.) Jeff Bullas
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Jeff bullas has been labeled as a content marketing influencer, social media marketing strategist, and a well-known speaker. Jeff helps businesses by digital marketing and the use of social media networks to grow. He knows how to work on social media channels to change the course of businesses leading closer to success.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
13.) Danny Sullivan
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Danny Sullivan was a journalist by heart who inquired of the digital and search marketing place from 1996 to 2017. He has worked with Google and studied about the complexity of searches and provided solutions to issues that arose regarding it. He is an expert in search engines and has written about it in different pages like Search Engine Land, MarTech Today, and Marketing Land.
Find him at: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Youtube
12.) Barry Schwartz
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Barry Schwartz owns a consulting firm Rusty Brick which focuses on identity and branding, website and mobile development, marketing technology and custom web software. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a website dedicated to the most interesting threads that take place in Search Engine Marketing forums. His team specializes in helping businesses decrease costs and increase sales.
Find him at: Website | Youtube | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
11.) Rand Fishkin
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Rand Fishkin is best known in the field of search-engine optimization tools, resources and community. He was the CEO and co-founder of SEOmoz, a consulting company and software business. Rand focuses on marketing, entrepreneurship, and spread of influence in his new website Sparktoro. His team’s mission is to make websites, blogs, podcasts and social accounts reach its audience better. He also wrote Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World.
Find him at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
10.) Marcus Sheridan
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Marcus Sheridan is an award-winning speaker and labeled as “web marketing guru” by the New York Times. He is the founder and president of The Sales Lion, a consultancy firm dedicated to inbound and content marketing strategies. Marcus and his team is well-known for keynotes, workshops, sales/marketing coaching and HubSpot training. He wrote the books They Ask You Answer and Stop the Yawns.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Youtube
9.) Jay Baer
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Jay Baer is a keynote speaker, author, digital expert, and a trusted advisor to many brands. He is a winner of America’s Best Marketing Podcast and belongs to the Marketing Hall of Fame. He is the founder of Convince & Convert and five multi-million dollar companies. Jay is focused in digital marketing strategies that attract customers and retaining them. His company has great experience with content marketing, social media, digital analytics, email, and organic search. Some of his books include Hug Your Haters, Youtility and The Now Revolution.
Find him at: Website | Podcast | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
8.) Zac Johnson
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Zac Johnson is a well-known entrepreneur, online marketer and blogger. He is the owner and founder of several blog sites such as Blogging.org. and ZacJohnson.com. He teaches his audience how to make money online through affiliate marketing, blogging, lead generation and sale of expertise. He has online courses and website tutorials to help you earn millions of dollars while connecting to businesses and brands across the world.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+
7.) Pat Flynn
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Pat Flynn is a blogger and podcaster that takes entrepreneurship in a whole new level. He makes income experiments and shares the results with his audience. Flynn popularized the idea of “income reports” and detailed how much his business makes every month. He is committed to educate readers about the importance of such reports in their businesses and teach proven strategies to optimize online businesses for passive income. His expertise includes online entrepreneurship, digital marketing and lifestyle businesses. He also authored the books Let Go, and Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don’t Waste Your Time and Money.
Find him at: Website | Youtube | Twitter | Facebook
6.) Ramit Sethi
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Ramit Sethi is an American finance advisor and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Growthlab.com, an end-to-end online marketing resource, and IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com. He is also best known for his finance book I Will Teach You To Be Rich which became a New York Times bestseller. As an entrepreneur, he has taught thousands to manage their personal finances and to become rich. Ramit has also released multiple courses online such as, Earn 1k, Zero to Launch, Call to Action and Accelerator.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram
5.) Darren Rowse
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Darren Rowse is renowned in the field of blogging. He is a blogger, speaker, consultant and founder of several blogs and blog networks including b5media, ProBlogger, Digital Photography School, and SnapnDeals. His website, ProBlogger, concentrates on helping bloggers add income streams to their blogs. He is the man you should come running to if you have questions about blogging. Darren has also authored a book called ProBlogger the Book which contains an ordered version of his blog specifically written for new bloggers.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Podcast
4.) Brian Clark
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Brian Clark is the expert you’ll need in content marketing. He is the founder of Copyblogger, CEO of Rainmaker Digital, host of Unemployable, and curator of Further. Brian is focused with creating valuable information that attracts attention, drives traffic and builds businesses. His digital commerce company, Rainmaker Digital, helps more than 200,000 customers by using useful content, smart copywriting and exceptional products and services. Brian Clark guarantees his customers the kind of audience-focused content that will help them achieve their business goals.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook
3.) Neil Patel
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Neil Patel is a New York Times bestselling author, a top marketer, and a brilliant entrepreneur recognized by President Obama and the United Nations. He is the founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, and KISSmetrics. His website focuses on helping clients grow traffic on their websites by using different tools. His blog covers entrepreneurship, conversion optimization, marketing and sales. He also helps companies like Amazon, NBC, GM, HP and Viacom grow their revenue. He authored the book Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Youtube
2.) Guy Kawasaki
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Guy Kawasaki is an American marketing specialist, evangelist, author and speaker. He has spoken to clients such as Apple, Nike, Google, Microsoft, Audi and countless number of associations. He was one of the people behind the marketing of the Macintosh computer line and popularized “evangelism marketing” or an advanced type of word-of-mouth marketing. Currently, Guy is the chief evangelist of Canva, an online graphic designing tool, and a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz. Some of his books include The Art of the Start 2.0,The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and nine other books.
Find him at: Website | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Google+
1.) Seth Godin
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Seth Godin is a world-renowned author, blogger, and entrepreneur who always creatively come up with marketing ideas. He is best known for his speakership in seminars and more than 60,000 people have taken his online marketing courses. A teacher at heart and a writer, he has more than 18 worldwide best sellers books in the course of his career. His blog, which is updated daily, talks about his life experiences that may help aspiring entrepreneurs.
Find him at: Blog | Podcast | Website | Twitter | Facebook
Earning the title of an expert is not easy. These people went through all sorts of circumstances to get to where they are right now. The road was definitely rocky and curvy, but they managed to conquer it all- and has grown familiar with it.
Read also:
Why Hire Digital Marketing Agency vs Traditional Digital Marketing Agency
If there’s one thing to learn from them, that is dedication and commitment. Success doesn’t happen overnight. You have to work for it steadily.
Your time to shine might not be now, but for sure the light is at the end of the tunnel. The people above will help you in your journey to success. Follow their footsteps and soon you will be standing in their place too.
The best way to learn is to learn from the best. More informative articles like this at ESTRAT website.
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Digital and Social Media Marketing Courses to Improve Your Skills Today
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A brilliant entrepreneur and digital marketer does not settle for less, for better – or for mediocrity.
A brilliant entrepreneur is not perfect, but always a work in progress. To reach the top, a lot of learning has to take place, and a lot of lesson has to be learned.
The Internet, in its wondrous and infinite realm, offers a wide array of digital marketing courses to help neophytes and the seasoned ones as well in the industry. These courses are offered by online academies, personalities and universities specializing in digital marketing, who are in their best interests, look forward to educate others who wish to be successful in the field.
Read also: Social Media Marketing Strategies That You Should consider in 2019
Among these courses are free and paid, and with an amount of dedication, motivation and passion – to learn is definitely a wise decision and a valuable investment.
Free Digital Marketing Courses
1.) Marketing in a Digital World
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This course, offered by the University of Illinois, is a part of the 7-course Digital Marketing Specialization. It examines the role of the Internet, and digital tools such as smartphones and computers in changing the shift and trend in marketing.
Throughout the course, you will learn about how new digital tools are emerging to be useful for branding and how various digital tools are available to persuade customers, to effectively distribute products, and to set the right price of products of services.
2.) Quicksprout University
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Quicksprout University is offered by bestselling author and renowned online marketer, Neil Patel. The course focuses on traffic generation strategies, and is definitely the only online traffic school you need to enroll in.
Among the many things you will learn include SEO, link building, content marketing, paid advertising, conversion optimization and reputation management. With this free course, you will have access to 30+ videos, 30+ transcripts and 3 ebooks. The course caters to all business needs, particularly unlimited traffic generation and conversion tutorials for newbies and professionals alike.
3.) Inbound Marketing Certification
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In this free course, one will learn how to attract website traffic and convert them into leads through the effective use of inbound marketing. The course is one of the highly recommended courses in HubSpot Academy, with lessons covering the basics of inbound methodology from marketing to sales to service.
Lectures include fundamentals of inbound marketing, and strategies in attracting strangers, converting visitors, closing leads and delighting customers. The course also comes with free marketing tools to help you practice your inbound knowledge.
4.)
Pay Per Click University
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Pay Per Click University, which is offered by WordStream is definitely the one-stop school you have to go to if you want to learn about PPC or paid search marketing. Given the complex nature of PPC, this course offers you organized and manageable classes of PPC to teach both basic and advanced PPC strategies, all in easy formats.
PPC University also offers you tools and resources that can be of useful help such as search marketing webinars, PPC analysis, free guides, e-books and white papers all about PPC and other web marketing topics.
5.) Google Digital Marketing Course
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Google has a free digital garage aimed to help aspiring entrepreneurs and students comprehend the complexity of digital marketing. Upon signing up, you will receive an online learning plan of 26 digital marketing topics. At the end of the course, you will obtain your Google certification.
Some of the things to look forward are comprehensive overview of digital marketing, AdWords fundamentals, display advertising, search advertising, mobile advertising, video advertising, shopping advertising, analytics, tools and practices, and Google My Business.
6.) Google Analytics Academy
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Google’s Analytics Academy will help students learn about Google’s measurement tools to grow one’s business using intelligent data collection and analysis.
The courses included are basic features of Google Analytics for beginners such as creating an account, implementing tracking codes, and analyzing reports, advanced Google Analytics such as data collection, processing and configuration, Google Analytics 360, and E-Commerce Analytics.
7.) Diploma in E-Business
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This free course offered by Alison, will help entrepreneurs gain knowledge of what online marketing is and how to implement successful online marketing strategies. At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to build an online marketing plan, promote one’s business online, and improve website landing pages to increase conversion rates.
It also teaches in detail how to use Google tools such as Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Google AdSense, and Google Webmaster. Campaign tracking, writing great content, revenue metrics analysis, choosing the right keywords, and digital measurement are among the many things that will be learned as well.
Free Social Media Marketing Courses
1.) What is Social?
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This course is for marketing professionals and entrepreneurs who want to grow their revenue by improving their social media strategy through the use of strategies that are proven to be effective. The course, which is a part of a six-course specialization, Social Media Marketing: How to Profit in a Digital World, is offered by Northwestern University.
The course will give you an insight to social marketing, social trends, the social in real-time and consumer focused perspective, and the difference among social networks. The course works like an interactive textbook, where you can also access help from peers and brainstorm ideas together.
You can get some audio materials and course content for free, but a course certificate is only available if you purchase the entire course and enjoy all the content.
2.) Social Media Quickstarter
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This online course puts things simply. It offers to help newbies and professionals in attracting and retaining customers in social media. The Social Media Quickstarter gives a step-by-step instruction on how one’s social media presence can be made known all over the Internet and eventually gain something from it.
The course, offered by Constant Contact Inc., allows you to choose which social media network you wish to learn about and is definitely the 101 guide to your social media marketing inquiries.
3.) Introduction to Social Media Strategy
This 45-minute class aims to help you create the perfect social media strategy suitable for your business. It focuses on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and how to improve brand awareness and site traffic to these networks through the use of social media tools, like Buffer.
The course is offered by Brian Peters, a digital marketing strategist at Buffer – a leading social media analytics tool.
At the end of the class, you are expected to be able to choose the right social media platforms, create effective content, use tools like Buffer to analyze posts, and execute a Facebook advertising plan.
4.) Social Media Monitoring
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This course, consisting of 46 lectures, will take you to the world of social media networks exactly where your potential customers are. Offered by Udemy, this course will help you learn to construct the right keywords, validate keyword phrases, curate content, find online influencers, and learn the different monitoring strategies in sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
This free course, which targets marketers, sale professionals and business entrepreneurs, also offers a lifetime full access, a certificate of completion, and social media monitoring tools and services.
5.) Social Media Ethics
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This course, still offered by Udemy, is not just important but necessary for digital and social media marketers. More than social media marketing strategies, it emphasizes through 11 lectures the importance of using social networks in the right and ethical way.
Some lessons to be learned from the course include good netiquette, understanding defamation, discrimination and harassment, what ethical use of social media is as defined by the law, and the risks associated with confidential information.
6.) Advanced Social Media Marketing for Picking Up Clients
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Aside from providing the effective strategies for social media marketing, this course will help you learn how to acquire clients and customers through effective social media marketing.
The main aim of the course is for you to successfully utilize Facebook groups, Niche forums, Forums, and Youtube to pick up clients in no less than 48 hours. It teaches you how to market yourself with a minimum amount of pitches and without looking so pushy and annoying. It also gives you the idea that you don’t need to have thousands of subscribers, followers, or friends to acquire a client.
7.) [BONUS] 30-day Writing Challenge
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This is not an online course but many digital marketing experts suggest taking this challenge to improve one’s content writing skills. This challenge will basically help you work with anything that’s bothering you and get favorable results.
In the case of digital marketing, you can use the 30-day Writing Challenge to study, learn, and practice writing about more effective headlines, attractive first sentences, engaging dialogues, captivating salescopy, and maybe brainstorm about possible eye-catching blog topics.
The rules are yours for this challenge. The only exception is that you should consistently do it every day.
Paid Digital Marketing Courses
1.) Distilled U
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With over 133 hours of advanced HD video content and interactive modules, this online university is your must-go to if you want to learn everything about search marketing.
Beginners can start with Search Engine Basics and work their way on to different modules. Professionals may take the courses in any order they like. Some courses are Interactive Search Operator Basics, On-Page Optimization, Technical SEO, Keyword Research, Link Analysis and Competitor Research.
As you move on, you will tackle topics like outreach, linkbait, content strategy, and video and SEO tools that will surely take your SEO skills to the next level.
Enroll now for just $40 with monthly plan and $33 with annual plan.
2.) Market Motive
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Market Motive is a leading online Internet marketing training for people who want to learn more about the current and latest digital strategies.
Upon signing up, you will get access to downloadable workbooks, webinars, and other resources. You will also have hands-on experience with case studies and projects, and have a chance to interact with faculty experts through exclusive forums.
Some courses include web analytics, social media marketing, conversion optimization, pay per click advertising, search engine optimization, mobile marketing, email marketing, content marketing and Google AdWords.
Enroll now for the Foundation Program for $499 or the Advanced Program for $1,999.
3.) B2B LinkedIn Launchpad Training Series
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This training series utilizes the power of LinkedIn as an effective social network for delivering B2B content. It will teach you the strategies for finding your audience and starting a conversation to nurture new leads.
Using LinkedIn tools, features and applications, and with lead generation strategies, this social network will give you benefits more than you can imagine.
A series of 5 pre-recorded webinars will teach students how to attract leads, convert leads into clients, generate brand awareness, and engage referral partners and candidates.
Buy the entire training course for $247.
4.) Conversion Optimization Training Program
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This course, offered by CXL, gives you every little thing you need to know about successful conversion strategies. It presents methodology, tools, and mindset to anyone aspiring to be a certified conversion optimizer, and make any website prosper.
The course is designed to be completed in 12 weeks, but if you don’t have the time, you can also take 12 months to finish it. The course is divided into 5 tracks with 35+ courses all together. The topics include the fundamentals of conversion, conversion research, testing strategies, optimization strategies, and conversion optimization program management.
Enroll now for $299 monthly, or $2,500 annually.
5.) ClickMinded
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Used by more than 8,702 digital agencies, marketers and entrepreneurs, this course teaches students how to drive more traffic from search engines like Google, Amazon, Pinterest, and Youtube.
It is divided into 8 sections, with multiple lessons each. The lessons include an introduction to SEO environment and organic search, keyword research, document relevancy, technical optimization, link building and authority, and steps in starting a new site that is SEO-friendly.
For $497, you will have access to videos, slides, resources, links, worksheets and quizzes throughout the course.
Paid Social Media Marketing Courses
1.) Social Media Marketing Mastery
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This course is one the many courses designed especially for social media marketing and advertising. It allows students to master online marketing on different social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google and many others.
At the end of the course, students are expected to create high quality paid ads on all social media platforms, use web 2.0 blogs to increase traffic, optimize LinkedIn profile to grow business, and to effectively use Google Business to boost search engine optimization.
For $199.99, you can have access to a 9-hour lecture video, 18 articles and 4 supplemental resources.
2.) Instagram Marketing 2018
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This course will exclusively teach students how to attract followers, convert followers to buying customers, and expand brand awareness through the social media platform, Instagram.
Updated with the latest Instagram features, the team behind this course will guide you in utilizing these functions to improve your account and your business.
By the end of this Instagram management and marketing course, one should be able to know the most effective strategies to grow real followers and convert them into successful buyers and loyal fans of the brand.
Get this course for $199.99 and have access to 5-hours lecture videos, 2 articles, and 20 supplemental resources.
3.) Facebook Ads and Facebook Marketing Mastery 2018
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In this 11 hour course, students will learn a considerable amount of information regarding Facebook marketing.
It starts with the basics of Facebook Ads, and instructions on how to create a sales funnel on the social media site. As you move along, you will learn in-depth knowledge about Facebook pages, pixel, engagement, reporting, and insights.
The instructor also updates the course regularly to respond to queries posed by students. By the end, one is expected to lower ad costs on Facebook, but at the same time master Facebook Marketing all at once.
Get this course for $199.99.
4.) Youtube Ads: Step by Step Guide to Youtube Ads that Convert
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If you want to learn effective Youtube marketing, you have to get yourself enrolled in this course.
The course introduces you to everything about Youtube Ads and Google Adwords. It also guides you in creating a successful Youtube campaign and maneuver advanced settings to get the most clicks to your video.
For $199.99, you will have access to 1.5 hour on-demand video tackling about setting up a Youtube ad, and building it to gain more clicks and exposure than in radio, print or TV ads.
Read also:
Top Social Media Marketing Trends that Local Businesses Should Not Ignore in 2019
The list of digital and social media marketing courses might go on, but it’s up to you to decide which one to take. In deciding, always consider things carefully and determine what aspect of marketing your business strongly needs.
As an entrepreneur, never take for granted the benefits that can be gained through learning. Instill in yourself the love for continuous learning, and you will see good results.
Don’t consider yourself to be a pro, because by doing so you just prove yourself to be lacking in so many ways. Find time to widen your knowledge. Trust me, it’s not gonna hurt.
There’s still a lot to learn. Visit ESTRAT page for more information about this article.
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Social Media Marketing Strategies That You Should consider in 2019
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Have you ever asked your marketing team why you’re social media marketing have lower engagements last year?
Don’t go and do the things that never worked for you.
This 2019, it is a year of looking forward to implementing and starting anew.
How about you try now to explore on the things that can help you and your business grow with the help of social media marketing?
Read also: Digital and Social Media Marketing Courses to Improve Your Skills Today
In case you haven’t known yet, the latest 2019 Global Digital Report is already out. Guess what? There are new data and facts to consider for your social media marketing strategies.
Ready for the discussion? Begin with getting to know the social media statistics for 2019.
 Social Media Statistics for 2019
The report, which was earlier launched this month, noted a significant increase of social media users from January 2018 to January 2019.
Almost half of the world’s populations are now active users on social media.
This means 3.484 billion people are on social media compared to the 3.196 billion active social media users in 2018. 
This could only mean one thing. Social media is undeniably the best platform to market your business in this digital era.
What are other facts in the report that you needed to know? Here’s a list for you.
There are 3.256 billion social media users using their mobile phones.
Top five regions in the world on social media use include Eastern Asia, Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Southern America, and Northern America.
Most of the active users on social media are mostly male with ages 25 to 34 years old recording the highest numbers at 19 percent. The 18 to 24 years old age group is in second and then the 35 to 44 years old age group follows.
Females on the other hand have similar ranking. Most of those who are active are the 25 to 34 years old. The 18 to 24 years old and the 35 to 44 years old age groups then follow.
Average amount of time per day spent on using social media is now at 2 hours and 16 minutes.
Facebook still remains the top social platform for this report with a registered 2.271 billion active users. Of that number, Facebook reported that 2.121 billion could be reached by advertisements.
There are 1.47 billion people that are logged in daily on Facebook. 
About 88 percent of Facebook users are accessing social platform using mobile.
Currently, there are 80 million small- and medium-sized business Pages on Facebook. Of that number, there 6 million who advertises using this social platform.
Youtube is second in rank with 1.9 billion active users. 
These users watch a billion of hours of video.
It works for 80 different languages worldwide.
Most of these active users use mobile with a 70 percent figure on views.
In 2018, it was the top mobile app on Apple based on the number of downloads for last year. On Android, it ranked third, according to Statista.
Instagram has already 1 billion active users. Of that number, 894.9 million can be reached by advertisements. 
Of that number, there are 500 million who are using the app every day.
Ages 13 to 17 years old use Instagram daily at 63 percent.
Users “like” 4.2 billion posts per day, which makes it the happiest place on the internet.
What does this say about 2019? It says that you already need to be on social media lest you get way behind the other businesses that are already there.
What possible social media marketing strategies should you come up with the new statistics in front of you?
Here’s another list that you may consider.
Social Media Marketing Strategies for 2019
1.) Listen
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In communication, there’s always the sender and the receiver. In a conversation, there’s someone who will tell the story and there’s the other one who listens.
When you do marketing on social media, you don’t only give information or promote something but you also listen to your audience. 
Have you tried searching the name of your product or your brand on a social platform? Have you read the comments that they have been telling about your brand? What do they say? The important thing to ask is, “What did you do to those conversations?”
According to Forbes, you can jump into that conversation. If it’s about a concern over your product, you can address it by dropping a comment on the conversation.
Social media users really appreciate brands that extend help or address their needs and concerns in one way or another.
It’s the responsive ones who get the more returning clients. Plus, they also appreciate personalize responses. What clients hate is scripted response as if you are talking to a robot.
Make the connection with your clients as personal and emotional as possible.
2.) Video marketing
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Have you noticed big brands really spending an ample amount of their budget just so they could advertise on national television?
The putting up of the ad on TV is only a part of the cost. This still excludes the actual production of the video.
But, no matter how short, it still catches people’s attention and it makes them remember their products.
How much more if you put it on social platforms with lesser ad costs or maybe even for free?
That’s how powerful a video material could be.
It’s no wonder why Jollibee Food Corporation, the company that owns several fast food restaurants in the Philippines around the world including Jollibee, made their video content more personalized and appealing to its Filipino market with their Kwentong Jollibee (Jollibee Story). It appeals to the emotions of their customers and is relatable because it features stories that almost everyone can relate to. They have this series of stories released in February this year during the Valentine’s Day that got millions of views on Facebook and even on Youtube.
With videos, you can go as creative as possible.
You can also explore compared to the limitations that the traditional text format can give you.
3.) Turn your employees as your brand ambassadors.
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What better way to promote your product but through your own employees themselves?
Let them talk about your product more on social media and your social media marketing strategies.
People believe more on products and services if they have friends or relatives who have already used it and can attest to its effect.
According to Forbes, you need to find ways to motivate them. How can you make your brand grow if even the people working for you do not believe on it?
You can tell them to share content from your Page to their own individual accounts.
Also, create clear guidelines. Share what is only shareable for that week or that day. You don’t want them sharing the incorrect information.
4.) Static and video ad combined
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According to Facebook, the alternate usage of a video and a static photo drives the most online conversions. 
Even as early as 2014, some marketers have been using this type of strategy on Facebook.
But even up until now, this is still applicable and even continues to dominate among the social platforms.
This is why social media apps like Instagram and Youtube have increasing numbers of active users because they capitalize on the need of users for visual content.
5.) Going mobile
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Forrester Research shared with Mobile Marketer a result of their study and it showed that mobile is accounted for 72 percent of the growth in spending on online video advertising.
By 2023, it is forecasted that there will be 9 percent growth in terms of share on online video ad market.
The same study was also quoted in saying that the trends of those who are streaming ad-supported content have grown upward over the last three years.
Even the number of users who are currently active on social media through their mobile phones has increased too.
The 2019 Global Digital Report revealed that there are 3.256 billion active users on social media via mobile devices compared to the 2.958 billion recorded in January 2017 to January 2018.
You can’t just simply ignore the recent statistics and not go for mobile friendly versions of your ads and other social media campaigns.
It’s just at the tip of a user’s finger. One click or tap on their mobile phone would now make a really big difference.
6.) Short-lived Content
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Its popularity can’t also be ignored.
Face the fact that stories, in order to be appealing, has to be human and authentic.
In fact in 2017, a global study found that 86 percent of consumers say, “Authenticity is the key when deciding which brands to like and support.”
Since stories like this only last 24 hours, there’s that craving from the audience to show more about the content that was shared.
Both Facebook and Instagram have “Stories”.
One tricky part is you need to attract the audience quickly.
Also, your content should consider that these stories are available for mobile versions.
7.) Online Reviews
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Obviously, if you are selling something, you really want to know how customers think about your product.
Also, people would really love to make reviews as their preference whenever they book a hotel, visit a tourist destination, or even when making purchases online.
Those who get the highest reviews have that edge over the others in terms of buyer’s preference.
It’s best that you also encourage your clients especially those who have been with you for a long-time to make reviews about your brand or about your products online.
You can even give out incentives to them like a discount coupon or a voucher.
In this way, you can encourage them to continuously help you improve your products and services while also promoting your brand at the same time.
8.) Influencer Marketing
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Nowadays, it’s no longer brands that are tapping this marketing strategy.
This has proven of how great they’re potential and effect to the social media users.
Some social media users think that they can trust this person because he or she has been an expert in this type of niche.
In doing make-ups, Michelle Phan is a name that you ring when it comes to make-up tutorials.
Alexis Reed or also known as @fatgirlfedup on Instagram is another influencer and a fitspiration when it comes to losing weight and how you can do it. She also started the campaign on diet bet. This is an online bet you make for yourself. All you need to do is lose at least 4 percent of your weight in order to win.
A perfect example is Maine Mendoza, an actress but was famous for her dubbed videos that she posted online.
Now, she has launched her own lippie from cosmetic company MAC and has just recently flown home from New York for a new collaboration there.
She currently has 3.2 million followers on Instagram and 5 million followers on Twitter.
But make sure you pair with the right influencer.
There were reports last year that there were some influencers who had to buy their following.
Always exercise caution in dealing with one or better yet asked around those who have previously worked before them in order to gauge if they are fit for your ad campaign or not.
9.) Doing live videos
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This is different from the pre-produced content.
Live videos have been very widespread on social media since last year.
With news outlets going live, people have the idea of doing live videos whenever a big happening or a special occasion is taking place.
However, for brands, the live video, like any other videos, have to grab the attention of viewers or followers.
If it does not click, you’d know that people would easily move on and go to other contents.
Attention span of a single human being has reduced to 8 seconds, if you can’t catch their attention by that time, they’ll likely abandon your live video.
Give them a compelling reason to watch and stay on with you.
10.) Personalize your messaging
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As what was mentioned earlier in this article, people nowadays especially on social media look for more authentic and relatable content.
It increases conversions since you tailor fit your messages based on your audiences.
Timing and topic are also keys if you’ll employ this strategy.
It’s one way of building an audience since your discussion will be focused on specific topics that will interest them.
Through this, you can invite new customers to follow you on their social media accounts.
For ideas on trending topics, you can check out Instagram search panel in order to also help you out in your campaign. They have organized their posts based on the preferences and topic that interests their users.
They have contents for food, style, fitness, shopping, DIY, TV & movies, beauty, décor, travel and a lot more.
Also, when you do this type of strategy in messaging, you have to show them that you care.
Listen to what your audience is saying online. Through this, you can see which information can be helpful to them. Once they see it and you’ve made a very good content, they’ll likely share it too with their network of friends and followers in their own social media account.
Now that you have this list, pretty sure you are quite excited to employ all of this with your own brand.
But before you do anything in a hurry and regret it, you must first consider some things.
What is my audience like on my social media accounts?
What are their profiles?
What are people usually talking or raving about online that can benefit my brand?
Do I have the right people with me now in case I’ll work with these social media marketing strategies for my brand?
If I don’t have the team to work on it, can I find a social media marketing agency that can help me out?
How can I look for help?
Should I go for solo professionals or work with a social media marketing agency?
Do I have the budget and funding to outsource if I wanted to?
Am I comfortable in working with an agency?
Can I employ all of these strategies for my social media accounts or select only the ones that work?
Always ask yourself on whether how beneficial are the social media marketing strategies you employ for your business.
It is best to exercise caution. Marketing alone is a difficult task. What more if you need to deal with social media where you need to understand also its dynamic and system?
Read also:
Top Social Media Marketing Trends that Local Businesses Should Not Ignore in 2019
You need to do a lot of reading and exploring on new trends especially on social media.
You can’t just do generic or general messaging. You have to be more specific.
You have to listen too from feedbacks and comments. You need to do a lot of work.
But work doesn’t mean you have to burn out yourself.
Do you need help in your social media marketing strategies? You can look around and you can find one.
Visit ESTRAT website for further information about this article.
References:
wearesocial.com/global-digital-report-2019 wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018 blog.hootsuite.com/youtube-stats-marketers blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-statistics blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics www.forbes.com/sites/lilachbullock/2018/12/20/5-social-media-strategies-that-will-grow-your-business-in-2019 www.facebook.com/business/news/insights/creative-combinations-that-work www.mobilemarketer.com/news/forrester-mobile-will-drive-72-of-growth-in-online-video-ad-spend/525203/ stackla.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Stackla-Data-Report-FINAL.compressed.pdf
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Rico’s Lechon wins 3 International Awards
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CEO George Nocom Pua Wins GOLD Entrepreneur of The Year; Rico’s Lechon wins GOLD Company of The Year and BRONZE PR Campaign of The Year
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Rico’s Lechon President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) George Nocom Pua (GNP) is this year’s winner of the International Business Awards Stevie® for Company of the Year, PR Campaign of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year for Food & Beverage – Medium Size categories.
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Mr. Ruben Licera, CEO of ESTRAT Digital Marketing (left), Mr. George Pua, CEO of Meat Concepts (center), and Meat Concepts Corp.’s Marie-Jo Barles (right).
The Stevie® Awards is the world’s premier avenue for business award competitions. It was created in 2002 to garner the public’s recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and individual professionals. The competition is known to hold one of the world’s most coveted prizes for businesses and organizations worldwide.
The Stevie Award winners are determined by 250 professionals. The Stevie® Awards reviewed a record of more than 4,000 nominations this year. However, only about 35% of those nominations were considered to have received high-enough average scores to win the Gold, Silver or Bronze Levels.
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The new RICO’S LECHON team, led by its President/CEO George Nocom Pua received their awards at the International Business Awards Gala Event at Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere Hotel last 19 October 2019,  in Vienna, Austria.
George Nocom Pua: Entrepreneur of The Year 
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Mr. George Nocom Pua giving his message after receiving the most coveted Stevie Awards for the Medium Size categories 2019.
GNP started his entrepreneurial journey at a very young age. Facing challenges in family bonds has pushed Mr. Pua to provide for himself and his family to make ends meet.
Known to his close associates as GNP, Mr. Pua dealt with hardships and challenges in his journey towards his current success. His passion and perseverance to succeed led him to become a seasoned entrepreneur, a respected global distributor, and a world-class restaurateur.
Aside from serving as President/CEO of GNP Trading, where he distributes international brands to world-acclaimed malls like SM malls and Hypermarkets; Pua is also currently at the helm of two corporations: No Limits Food Corporation and Meat Concepts Corporation, the company behind RICO’S LECHON.
Under the following corporations, Pua has also extended his love and passion for food by owning and managing the following multi-awarded brands: KPub BBQ, Thai BBQ Original Restaurant, OPPA Chicken, Modern China, OGAWA Traditional Japanese Restaurant, and Rico’s Lechon.
Under these companies, GNP has provided jobs to more than 1,400 employees and counting.
For his multiple achievements in managing world-class restaurant brands and for successfully turning the tide for the Rico’s Lechon brand, the IBA  2019 judges grant the highest plum to GNP; the coveted “Entrepreneur of Year” GOLD Stevie® Award.
“It is inspiring to see someone raise their lifestyle by serving their community through entrepreneurialism. GNP’s success is motivational since he gives value to the people and extends his care to his employees,” one of IBA judges critiqued.
Rico’s Lechon Wins Company of the Year
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RICO’S LECHON aims to provide the best dining experience to its customers through its “Da Best Gyud” culture. More than their service, each Rico’s Lechon’s branch aims to introduce their culture of making every gathering a memorable occasion for the diners.
The innovative approach and appeal of the “Da Best Gyud” culture to the public generated an increase in awareness and customer retention which paved the way for the brand to grow from a company of 50 strong employees to more than 500 employees when they opened 6 more additional branches in just 8 months. For these accomplishments, RICO’S LECHON has been conferred with the highest commendation, the “Company of the Year” GOLD Stevie® Award.
“Daghang Salamat Cebuano’s Campaign” wins BRONZE “PR Campaign of the Year”
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On another note, the IBA also recognizes Rico’s Lechon for their “Daghang Salamat, Cebuano!” campaign as the “PR Campaign of the Year” Bronze Level Stevie® Award.
The said campaign is an innovative mix of traditional and new media approach in bringing Rico’s Lechon closer to the hearts and minds of its target diners in Metro Manila. Aside from this, its offline approach includes a festive unlimited buffet of Filipino dishes with the highlight of offering their freshly cooked lechon to all of the dining public for free.
The campaign heralds the wide acceptance of the well-loved Cebu Lechon brand in Metro Manila.
The campaign received plenty of positive and supportive feedback from their customers and established Rico’s Lechon brand as the top choice for authentic Cebuano Lechon and Filipino cuisine.
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Rico’s Lechon Thanks International Community
Rico’s Lechon is the only internationally-recognized and multi-awarded lechon brand from Cebu, Philippines and is known to be the lechon of choice of celebrities and well-known public figures.
“We welcome these awards as the international community’s response to our commitment to quality food and momentous dining experience,” shares President/CEO George Nocom Pua.
“Rico’s Lechon will always continue to strive to be Da Best Gyud!, always in what we do,” GNP added.
With its 22 years, Rico’s Lechon continues to exemplify the true-Cebu value of “Da Best Gyud” [The Best Indeed]. Its values focus on giving only the best and most memorable food and dining experience to its beloved customers.
Editor’s Note: RICO’s LECHON is a long-time client of ESTRAT Digital. ESTRAT Digital Marketing facilitated the process of winning these awards.
For further details about Rico’s Lechon, visit ESTRAT website.
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