Social Media and Customer Service [Infographic]
Did you know? As many as 78% of customers do not make an intended purchase because the customer service was subpar. Now, more than ever, businesses large and small are expected to handle all customer service complaints that come through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the likes. Social has become a key tool for many companies and enables business owners to provide quick responses and boost brand awareness. There’s so much to gain from using social media as a customer service tool, so you’d be crazy to not do so in 2018. [Read more…]
How Businesses Use Instagram Stories [Infographic]
Since Instagram launched Stories in August 2018, the platform has truly taken off–some even argue that its launch caused the decline of Snapchat. Regardless of where you stand in that debate, there’s no denying the power of this platform for socially-engaged businesses and brands. Instagram Stories provides a fresh vehicle for your content, offering a new way to tell stories and share an inside look at your company’s internal happenings.
Creating the Perfect Video Ads on Social Media [Infographic]
From massive companies to smaller firms, it seems like everyone and their mother has their eye on video marketing! Of course, it’s not without reason–time and time again, experts have found that video content reigns supreme in the digital marketing world. Unfortunately, that means there is a lot of competition out there. In order to create a successful video marketing campaign, you’re going to have to be smart and mindful.
The Current State of Social Media Algorithms [Infographic]
The Rise of the Story Format [Infographic]
First introduced by Snapchat in 2013, the story format has truly been a game changer for individuals and social savvy businesses alike. If you’ve spent any time on Instagram or Snapchat, you have probably already noticed the popularity around it. Brands, public figures, and everyday people use this posting format to share a look into their daily lives. This virtual storytelling has been adopted and transformed by Instagram and WhatsApp, who some experts believe have even risen in popularity above Snapchat.
Should You Advertise With Yelp?
There are several ways to advertise your business online. Facebook, Google, and Yelp continue to develop cutting edge ways to deliver your ads to tailored audiences, yet the method that produces the best results largely depends on each individual business. Yelp Ads can prove to be the step that gains you loyal customers, or it could turn out to be a wasted long-term investment, yielding few results. Here are some points to consider when determining whether or not you should use Yelp Advertising.
Optimizing Your Emails for Short Attention Spans [Infographic]
While many believe that shrinking attention spans are caused by social media, texting, video games, and television, it’s becoming apparent that emails are NOT to blame. In a recent study, it was found that the average time spent reading an email increased by nearly 7% between 2011 and 2016, to 11.1 seconds. This increase is impressive, but it’s still short!
16 SEO FAQs We Still Struggle With [Infographic]
As the importance of web presence becomes more and more prevalent, companies large and small are relying on SEO to boost brand awareness and stay on top of competition. This practice improves search engine rankings and helps make your website more user-friendly, something you need if you want to increase web traffic. However, as we’ve spoken about before, it’s easy to make mistakes when fine tuning your brand’s SEO and it’s often necessary to hire an expert to do it for you.
Should You Hire An SEO Expert?
SEO (or search engine optimization) took the internet by storm over a decade ago, changing the way writers wrote copy and focusing on keywords above all. Since then, the game has changed – the quality of your content is more important than the keyword count. But, does that mean search engine optimization is no longer important? Not at all. [Read more…]
Facebook Remains the Dominant Social Platform [Infographic]
In case you missed it, social networks saw a massive jump in active users, as 8.6 million Baby Boomers joined social media between July 2015 and December 2016. Facebook in particular has seen continued growth over the years; the social network had 1.86 billion monthly active users as of the end of 2016, up from 1.79 billion the previous quarter and 1.59 billion a year earlier. This is despite claims by Princeton researchers that Facebook would lose up to 80% of their users by 2017. Needless to say, rumors of Facebook’s death have been hugely exaggerated
Top Five Content Marketing Tips
Content marketing is a vital part of business, particularly small and medium-sized businesses. This is because smaller companies can’t rely on their reputations alone. Why? They don’t have one yet! Getting yourself out there is the only way to get noticed. [Read more…]
The Essentials for a Killer Newsletter Marketing Campaign
Per Livewire, 54% of the globe uses email – by the end of 2017, there will be 3.7 billion people who log on to get news, communicate with loved ones, and do business. This is important for companies to realize: if you’re not using email, you’re living in the dark ages. [Read more…]
Why Advertising Money Must Be Spent on Social Media, Regardless of Your Business
According to Pew Research Center, 70 percent of the nation uses social media to engage with people they know, read content, share information, and – certainly – procrastinate from work. It’s a major avenue for advertising – logging off is missing out. [Read more…]
7 Questions to Answer to Get The Right Facebook Fans [Infographic]
In the beginning stages of building your Facebook presence, the numbers can be a little bit discouraging. It may seem difficult to compete with huge pages that have hundreds of thousands of likes, and with very few followers and almost no likes or comments on your content, you will probably begin to wonder where you went wrong. However, you’ll be relieved to know that this is normal, and it’s a hurdle every new page has to overcome. [Read more…]
Company Recon: How to Conduct Research on Instagram
Some of us, admittedly, use social media to look up people from our past – ex flames or our high school peers. But this ability isn’t limited to individuals; it works for companies, too. Platforms like Instagram are great ways to see what your competitors are doing. Once you know that, it’s easier to keep up. [Read more…]
The Importance of Social Media and Online Reputation Management
No matter where you stand with regards to computers – you long for the days of handwritten letters or you can’t wait for our society to go full-on Jetsons – there’s one thing that’s certain: technology is here to stay. [Read more…]
Why Twitter Matters to Marketing [Infographic]
Twitter is an excellent place for your company to raise brand awareness, increase conversions, and build relationships with your customers. Not only is it beneficial for big name companies, but it has also become a necessity for building your personal brand and growing your professional network. Ultimately, it is a powerful tool that any company and entrepreneur should be utilizing!
How to Use Social Media Ads and Paid Search to Increase Sales and Awareness
What is more effective for your next online advertising campaign? Social media or traditional paid search? Read on to learn more about how each strategy works, the benefits of each, and how they can work together to help you achieve your marketing goals. [Read more…]
How to Use Custom Snapchat Geofilters For Your Next Event
Make your next event memorable with a high-tech personal touch. A great way to personalize your upcoming wedding or holiday party is with a custom Snapchat Geofilter. [Read more…]
Essential Social Media Advertising Tips for eCommerce Businesses
Is your eCommerce business advertising on social media? If your answer is no, then you’re missing out on a prime opportunity to showcase products, build your brand, gain new customers, and engage in communities that are full of people who are interested in your products or services. Businesses who have fallen behind marketing trends shouldn’t worry; it’s never too late to begin. This guide will help you get started building a presence on social media in no time. [Read more…]
Why Your Business Should Consider Using Promoted Video Pins on Pinterest
The photo and idea-sharing platform, Pinterest, has recently launched promoted video pins in order to stay relevant in the eyes of businesses that have joined in social media’s shift towards video marketing. While the platform’s video ads are only available to businesses working with a Pinterest account team, recent success has the platform’s newest ad unit primed for an eventual push into the small business sector. If promoted video pins sound like an attractive advertising option for your business, here are a few key points to keep in mind before you begin. [Read more…]
How Instagram Stories Can Promote Brand Engagement
The Ultimate Guide to Using Emojis in Email Marketing [Infographic]
If you’re on the internet or send text messages regularly, you’ve probably noticed that emojis are incredibly popular among people, young and old. Ever since Apple’s decision to add emoji support to the iPhone in 2011, these little faces and symbols have quickly embedded themselves in mainstream culture all over the world. Needless to say, many brands have taken notice and have started using emojis in their marketing campaigns.
The Most Important Video Marketing Trends For 2016 [Infographic]
If you haven’t noticed by now, 2016 is most certainly the year of video! As communicators and business owners, it’s important that you take note of the upcoming trends in the many facets of marketing. Video is taking the world by storm and it’s becoming hard to ignore. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: it’s going to take much more than an active Facebook page to really stand out in the competitive nature of social media.
Tips for Getting Your YouTube Video Ranked in Google
With Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and the like having taken off in terms of social media marketing, everyone seems to have their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. In fact, running a business without the status quo Facebook page is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, as millennials seem to be turning ever more to social media when researching a product or service. All in all, social media is becoming less of a way to stand out and more of an expected avenue of marketing. So, you’ll need to go above and beyond the usual daily posts if you want to be sure your message reaches your potential customers. Video is a great way to accomplish that, and for optimal search engine traffic, we’re recommending YouTube. After all, the video-sharing powerhouse is owned by the world’s most powerful search engine. [Read more…]
Email Marketing: 21 Ways to Quickly Grow Your List [Infographic]
The world of marketing has come a long way in the last several years, but one thing remains true: email marketing has always been and still is an effective medium! It can be a primary driver of traffic to your website if you know how to maximize the potential. Not only does email marketing have high conversion rates, but as you grow your contact list, you can continue to monetize it by promoting several of your products and services.
The Importance of Google Webmaster Tools
Web presence is a huge part of running a successful business. People no longer use a phone book to find businesses; instead they do a simple Google search. Ensuring your company ranks high on search engines can turn a moderate success into an astounding one. If you’ve come to our website, chances are you already know this, and are ready to make your mark on the web. A step in the right direction to a strong web presence is Google’s Search Console (most commonly known as Google Webmaster Tools). [Read more…]
Can Social Recruiting Work for Your Office Space? [Infographic]
If you aren’t familiar with the term, social recruiting is the practice of recruiting candidates by using social media platforms as talent databases or for advertising job positions. One popular platform you might be familiar with for social recruiting is LinkedIn, but there are recruiting opportunities on many other social networks as well. This strategy has grown to be more common among small businesses and large corporations alike, and with the extent to which social media has grown, this should come as no surprise.
Why You Need to Start Using Facebook’s Lead Ads Feature
The key to successful advertising is reaching your audience, and not many platforms provide a larger audience than Facebook. Every day 1.09 billion users log into Facebook, making it the 3rd most viewed website in the world, and the perfect advertising platform. Last year the company took notice and launched Facebook lead ads. If you haven’t started already, utilizing lead ads can significantly improve your business. [Read more…]
Instagram Analytics for Businesses That Want to Improve Their Social Listening
As a business owner, you understand that most aspects of your company require careful monitoring. When something is not performing the way it should, you want to make whatever adjustments that are necessary to improve your ROI. This is the kind of engagement that allows our businesses to grow and thrive, even in a saturated marketplace. Whether you’re counting the number of likes you earn on a post or actual inventory turnover, it all comes down to the need for listening and responding to what your current and future customers want or need. Here are three Instagram analytics services that will help you be a better listener: [Read more…]
The Rise of Social Media in Online Retail [Infographic]
As we’ve stated before, social media has a huge impact on customers’ buying and shopping habits. While it only accounts for a small part of retail sales, business owners are starting to realize how crucial it is to maintain a social media presence. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have taken an active role in e-commerce, so if you aren’t taking advantage of these features, now’s the time to do so.
Facebook Canvas: A Game-Changer for Small Business
If you’re looking for a way to make a big first impression with your audience, Facebook Canvas is something you definitely want to look into. This is a new way of serving ads that has been designed entirely for use on mobile devices, and its designers promise higher click-through rates and more conversions. If this sounds exactly like what you’ve been looking for, you’re not alone. Canvas is Facebook’s response to everything that businesses have been saying about the hurdles they face in reaching their current and prospective customers. Don’t miss out on this exciting new way of communicating with all of your favorite people. Here’s everything you need to know about Facebook Canvas: [Read more…]
Top 5 Video Marketing Trends for 2016 [Infographic]
As we’ve stated before, 2015 was a pivotal year for digital marketing. With the way things are going, it’s safe to say that 2016 (and beyond) will be huge for video marketing. The increase in connected customers has led to innovations in platforms and a growing preference for video marketing.
Between April 2015 and September 2015 alone, daily Facebook video views increased by a staggering 4 million views, and it hasn’t slowed down one bit. It might just be time for you to focus a little bit of your attention to creating videos and sharing them on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, and similar platforms. In the infographic below, you can see just how important it is to get started on your video marketing strategy.
Early 2016 Predictions in Digital Marketing [Infographic]
One of the greatest, and arguably most challenging aspects of social media is that it’s constantly evolving. In 2015, we saw a huge leap from desktop to mobile, the rise of Instagram, and so much more. Based on the growth last year, one thing we can say for certain is that mobile use, and in turn mobile advertising, will explode in 2016.
If you plan to grow your social media presence, you should be paying attention to past, current, and predicted future trends. In the infographic below, you’ll see the trends that have shaped social media at the end of 2015 and the start of 2016. If you have any questions or would like to get started on your social media marketing strategy, contact one of our team members to schedule a consultation!
How Social Media Impacts Shopper Decision-Making [Infographic]
Most business owners have started to realize just how important it is to maintain their reputation on social media. However, it’s easy to lose sight of how valuable it can be for creating sales and reaching new potential customers. [Read more…]
Your Own Social Media Checklist [Infographic]
If you’re new to using social media for business, it can definitely be overwhelming. With so many platforms and a constantly evolving industry, you will quickly find that it’s difficult for a new social media manager to keep up and balance their workload in a way that is effective and efficient. [Read more…]
Three Reasons Why the Facebook Local Insights Tool is Seriously Cool
Do you ever wonder if your Facebook ads are reaching the right people? You spend so much time researching your customers and trying to craft just the right message for your advertisements. With the aim that business will soon be booming, you finally start a campaign, then hope for the best. “Maybe I’ll get some likes,” you think to yourself. You assume that the ad will drive the right visitors to your business; maybe they will even buy your products. Unfortunately, in spite of all the in-depth analytic tools that Facebook has given us over the years, it has been difficult to evaluate whether or not your ads were actually delivering those desired results. However, all of that is about to change. [Read more…]
How Your Sales Messaging Affects Conversion Rates [Infographic]
As you have probably guessed by now, a great sales message can lead to a tremendous increase in your conversion rates. It’s vital for your business to recognize and address how you can improve upon it.
Four Quick Tips for Improving SEO Through the Use of Keywords
A well laid-out digital strategy is important for any organization looking to appear on the first page of results for online search engines. Without a plan of action, many businesses fall to the wayside as well-optimized ones begin to take up the top spots in search rankings. While it may seem difficult at first, there’s actually a lot you can do as a business owner to improve the exposure your website has on sites like Google and Bing. It all begins with a solid keyword strategy. [Read more…]
How to Create Instagram Ads
Now that Instagram ads are available to businesses, you’ve probably considered getting in on the action and creating your own. Instagram has over 300 million users and is backed by Facebook, so now is as good a time as any to see how your business can benefit from them. Getting started can be tricky to navigate, so we’ve laid out the process. All you have to do is take some ad-worthy photos! [Read more…]
Why Content Marketing? [Infographic]
The traditional world of marketing has changed immensely, thanks to today’s average consumer. Your customers are becoming increasingly skilled at surfing the web and are more likely than ever to overlook classic advertisements. Because of this, marketers are finding more efficient ways of communicating with potential clients – through content marketing. [Read more…]
3 Reasons Why You Should Always Keep SEO In Mind
With the digital age in full swing, the importance of building a website with SEO in mind can’t be understated. The internet is getting crowded with business sites, and standing out to a potential customer has never been this competitive. [Read more…]
Facebook Advertising Demographics: How Well do You Know Your Customer? [Infographic]
All successful Facebook ads start the same way: with a thorough understanding of the customer. Targeting the right people can save you money and get you the best performance possible for each advertisement. Successful targeting can also help keep cost per click low, conversion rates high, and relevance scores higher than ever. Essentially, targeting the right people can give your marketing campaign the boost you’ve been waiting for. [Read more…]
The 5 Best Sites to Help You Design Your Own Graphics
If you’re a small business owner, you know how important stylish and effective digital and/or print graphics can be in marketing. Luckily, it is possible to work on the look of your website or make your own eye-catching images without having to spend a lot of money on a professional designer. Here are the top five online resources that can help you with your graphic design needs: [Read more…]
11 Essential Ingredients Every Blog Post Needs
You want every blog post that you write to be a masterpiece, but what makes an article brilliant and memorable? Right from the start, you must capture your readers’ attention and keep it through the entire piece. Make a great impression in the first paragraph of your post, or they may not stick around to the end. In addition to keeping them on the page, it’s important that you’re giving them relevant information or a captivating story. Ask yourself, “Will my viewers appreciate this content?” [Read more…]
Bluetooth Beacon: Facebook’s New Tool for Businesses
Earlier this year, Facebook introduced Place Tips as a fresh way for companies to reach out to customers. The program connects brick and mortar businesses to visiting Facebook users in real time, while clients are physically in the store. [Read more…]
The 5 Steps to Handling Negative Criticism Online
One of the challenging side effects to having an online presence for your business is dealing with negative feedback, especially since the Internet provides many open and accessible forums for customers to review or comment on your products or services. On websites like Yelp, or social media outlets like Facebook, dissatisfied folks have the opportunity to vent their frustrations even before contacting your company. While you can’t satisfy everyone or fix every problem, you can respond to public complaints in a professional matter. Here are five steps to follow when handling negative comments online: [Read more…]
10 Benefits of Digital Marketing [Infographic]
Digital marketing has become the best advertising investment for businesses; traditional advertising pales in comparison to the opportunities digital marketing brings your company. Consumers are more connected through the internet now than ever, and it’s important that you keep up with the constantly evolving world of social media and online sharing.
Going digital doesn’t just connect you with your customers – it gives you the chance to interact with them in real time. A lot of large corporations have already gone digital, so building up your brand’s online presence will help you compete with these competitors. If you still have any doubt, the following infographic gives you the top 10 benefits of using digital marketing. [Read more…]
The Ultimate Guide to Hashtags [Infographic]
Hashtags…what are they? How many are you supposed to use? Where should you be using them?! Using hashtags is a great way to attract the right followers to your business. Your social media posts are shown to your current followers, but if you use hashtags correctly, they could be seen by the right people who could turn into your future customers! This infographic explains how you should be using hashtags to increase followers, views, and business! [Read more…]