Crafting a message that truly resonates with your audience can be tricky, but with the right approach, it’s possible to ensure your message lands perfectly every time. From surveying your community to creating a content marketing plan, there are several steps you can take to make sure it hits the right note and drives the desired action.
[Read more…]How to Use User-Generated Content Effectively
User-generated content (UGC) is exactly what it sounds like: it’s content generated by consumers who use your product or service. This content can take many forms, including images, podcasts, testimonials, videos, and reviews.
[Read more…]2023 LinkedIn Company Page Best Practices [Infographic]
Richard van der Blom’s 4th annual LinkedIn algorithm report has been published, and some fascinating data has come out of it! The report discusses the steps business owners can take to maximize LinkedIn performance, based on the analysis of over 10,000 LinkedIn posts.
[Read more…]TikTok Voted ‘Most Innovative’ Ad Platform [Infographic]
With over 1 billion people now using TikTok monthly, it’s no surprise that a recent survey by Kantar found that the platform has garnered a great deal of advertiser interest. TikTok is now considered to be the most innovative global media brand among media buyers. The survey also determined that consumers view TikTok ads as the most entertaining compared to other platforms.
[Read more…]9 Best Practices for Creating Handles and Usernames [infographic]
Imagine this: You’re building your business’s online presence from scratch, creating your social media accounts, and managing to get the perfect usernames and handles. This is the dream, but it’s not always possible to get the exact handle you’re hoping for. On social media, your handle is the public-facing name that your followers will come to associate with your brand. Needless to say, it’s an important (though often overlooked) element of brand awareness.
[Read more…]Ongoing SEO and Why it’s a Must-Have for Your Site
SEO is not an optional perk when it comes to business; it’s a necessity. It optimizes your website so that it ranks on search engines, allowing people to find you, turning website visitors into company customers.
[Read more…]How Social Media Users Respond to eCommerce Integrations [Infographic]
eCommerce has been steadily growing over the past several years, but the COVID-19 pandemic elevated this growth as many businesses focused on their digital presence to stay afloat. Additionally, many marketplace websites, such as Etsy, have reported year-over-year revenue growth since the start of the pandemic. On the consumer end, shoppers have adapted quite well to this shift towards online goods and services. With the average user spending over two hours per day on social media, it makes perfect sense that platforms like Facebook and Instagram impact purchasing habits.
[Read more…]Best Practices For Using Instagram Hashtags
Whether your business already has a flourishing Instagram presence or you’re planning to get started, it’s imperative to use hashtags correctly to get the results you’re looking for. You probably already know that Instagram is a massive platform, with over a billion monthly users. Approximately 81% of users browse the platform to research products and services, making this app a great choice for marketing. Interested in leveraging Instagram knowledge to your benefit? Here, we share more about hashtag best practices to help you get started. If you’re ever in doubt or want to fine tune your strategy, team up with a digital advertising consultant.
[Read more…]What is Influencer Marketing and When Should You Use It? [Infographic]
We’ve spoken before about the importance of influencer marketing, and in 2019, one fact remains true: influencers are an integral part of the digital marketing realm. It’s up to marketers and business owners to maintain a positive brand image, but a little bit of help from a third party can take you to the next level! With influencer marketing, brands are able to reach more people than ever before, forging relationships with consumers through a credible, authentic voice.
Social Media Calls to Action [Infographic]
A strategically framed social media post consists of a few different elements. Of them, one of the most important is the call to action. Used in the right way and in the right context, calls to action can lead to quality conversions from potential customers. In addition to bringing new people to your website, an effective call to action can help generate engagements on and off your social media posts. Needless to say, this is an incredibly powerful tool, not to be missed as you craft your marketing strategy. [Read more…]
Social Media Trends to Watch For in 2019
The social media landscape is ever-changing, and each year brings a new set of trends to watch for. To keep your content fresh and engaging, you must be aware of emerging social media shifts. If you’re curious about upcoming changes this year, consider the insight we share here: [Read more…]
How To Optimize Your Content for Every Age Group [Infographic]
If you’re hoping to optimize your content marketing strategy, one of the key pieces of information you should start with is who your audience is. Where do they live? What are their hobbies? Perhaps the most important question of all is, “How old is my audience?” If you aren’t sure what the answer is, there are a few ways to find out: look at your current customer base, check out your competition, and analyze your product. Once you have this information, it’s time to begin tailoring your content to appeal to that generation!
YouTube Viewer Trends in 2018
YouTube generates billions of views each day, and many businesses are increasingly relying on this platform to connect with customers. If you’d like to boost your channel’s performance or begin using YouTube as a marketing strategy, it’s crucial to have a feel for what viewers are looking for. YouTube trends change each year, so here, we share the top YouTube viewer trends of 2018.
What You Need to Know about LinkedIn Dynamic Ads
Social media marketing platforms and strategies are constantly changing. It’s time consuming to keep up with the most efficient way to reach your target audience, especially when your target audience is widespread and varied. LinkedIn offers a way to personalize advertisements for each user – increasing your odds that your ad will stand out amongst the rest. To ensure your ad is seen, utilize LinkedIn Dynamic Ads to make your marketing strategy user specific. Here’s what you need to know.
Small Business Guide to YouTube Marketing [Infographic]
When someone mentions using social media as a tool for marketing your small business, the first things that come to mind are probably Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, but YouTube should definitely be on your radar. Because it’s a video platform and is known for huge names and influencers, smaller brands often underestimate its usefulness for their marketing efforts.
The Social Media Habits Of Each Generation [Infographic]
Improve Your Marketing Campaign With Facebook’s Attribution Tool
Facebook is one of the most powerful platforms available for reaching and connecting with customers. Its popularity with all age groups makes it a must-have for all businesses, but many entrepreneurs aren’t taking its sophisticated advertising algorithms into account. If you’d like to gain deeper insight into the habits and mindset of your target audience, consider tuning into the Facebook attribution tool. Not sure what this is, or how to use it? Here, we share the basics on Facebook’s attribution tracking.
How to Choose and Optimize Images
You may have heard that the key to building a loyal online audience is producing consistent, high-quality content. While this still rings true, you should keep in mind that content without the perfect image(s) will probably go unnoticed. In our visual world, it’s essential to know how to choose the most effective images and understand the basics of presentation and tagging. Here, we share guidelines for selecting the best photos for the job and tips how to optimize images for search engines.
The Impact of Video Marketing
Digital marketing is ever-evolving, so it can be challenging to keep up with the fast-paced changes. Recent studies have shown that if you’re not using video marketing, you may be missing out on a large part of your target audience. People of all ages and backgrounds tend to gravitate toward videos, but not all video content will have the desired effect. If you’d like to learn the newest trends in marketing with video, we share the details here:
Blogging For Business: Why It’s Important
You’ve probably heard that starting and maintaining a blog for your business is a must. However, many business owners are unsure about the reasons behind this sage advice. If you’re already communicating with customers through social media and other means, you may be hesitant to add another strategy into the mix. A well-maintained, informative blog has the power to revolutionize the success of your company, so it’s crucial to start writing one. Here, we share why blogging for business is a must-have component of any marketing campaign.
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Pinterest Insights Marketers Should Know About [Infographic]
As of 2018, Pinterest has more than 200 million monthly active users, making it one of the key content discovery platforms. Needless to say, it has become a powerful tool for businesses large and small. Pinterest reportedly has 2 billion search queries each month, which has led the platform to roll out various advertising options and tools for brands to succeed. If you’re still hesitant or unsure if Pinterest is right for your brand, there are a few insights and stats you should be aware of.
What You Need to Know About IGTV
Instagram recently launched a new feature, IGTV, to work in conjunction with its immensely popular photo-sharing platform. Instagram is currently one billion users strong, and can have a powerful effect on your marketing strategy. Interested in incorporating IGTV into your marketing campaign? Here’s what you need to know about the new platform:
How to Improve Your Email Marketing Campaign
There’s a lot that goes into a thriving marketing campaign. SEO, social media, and email marketing should all be part of your strategy for maximum impact and lead generation. If you’re experiencing solid results with social media and SEO but your email marketing campaign isn’t as successful as you’d like, there are steps you can take to improve its effectiveness. Consider the following tips:
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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.
Instagram’s Impact on E-Commerce
Facebook may get more press, but Instagram is no one’s second fiddle. Sure, it’s not testifying before congress, but that isn’t a bad thing. Instead, Instagram is busy helping your e-commerce flourish.
Protect Yourself and Your Business from Social Phishing
Whenever we take part in social media, we must be aware of social phishing. Social phishing occurs when people use social media accounts – such as Facebook– to obtain sensitive personal information. If you own a business, phishers can go after your customer information by pretending to be you. They may also attempt to get your clients to click on malicious links. In fact, it is the latter that makes social media particularly attractive to those up to no good: people are much more likely to click a link that appears on social media than they are one sent via email.
How to Determine Which Ads to Use for Your Business on Facebook and Instagram
With over 2.2 billion active monthly users on Facebook and 800 million on Instagram, these platforms are among the easiest ways to increase visibility and generate leads for your business. However, it can be difficult to know what the most effective advertisement is. Here are the variables to consider before launching a campaign on either platform:
Social Media Trends and Demographics in 2018
When you’re planning and implementing your marketing strategy, it’s helpful to have a deep knowledge of current social media trends. As the popularity of networking platforms continues to fluctuate, you may need to adjust your plan of action accordingly. Here, we share the latest trends in social media demographics.
Facebook Zero and Businesses
If you use Facebook, you’ve most likely heard about the changes the social media giant has made to its News Feed algorithm, which has sent publishers and small businesses scrambling to navigate the new dangerous waters of engagement bait and decreasing business page visibility. Here are some guidelines to keep your Facebook marketing strategy relevant:
SEO vs PPC Marketing
When focusing on growing your brand, having a visible online presence is essential to success. As online marketing has grown and evolved over the years, two methods have emerged as the go-to strategies for reaching new customers: search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC).
Here are the pros and cons for both advertising tools:
What You Need To Know About The Facebook Algorithm Changes
As the audience, reputation, and perception of Facebook grows and changes, so must our methods of audience involvement and marketing. Users are calling for more meaningful content from friends and family, while disparaging published posts that feel impersonal, “spammy,” and inaccurate. In order to keep up with the demands of its users and fight its downward trend in traffic, the team at Facebook has rolled out new changes to the algorithm that determines which content appears in your News Feed.
5 Signs You’re In Desperate Need Of A Social Media Professional
Once upon a time, companies did business solely offline. Brick and mortar? Check. Word of mouth advertising? Check. A radio ad when you felt like splurging? Check.
The Importance of Influencers
“Influencer” is among the buzzwords we marketing professionals like to throw around. But what exactly is an influencer? And, more importantly, why are they so vital to business?
How Long Does it Take to Rank in Google? [Infographic]
You work hard to boost your organic SEO, making changes across your website and social media profiles, but just how quickly will these changes affect your rank in Google? There are many factors involved and there is no simple answer to this question, but you can be confident that your (or your SEO specialist’s) efforts are not all for naught.
Live Streaming for Business [Infographic]
Since the release of Facebook Live and Instagram Live, more and more business owners are utilizing this feature to build their online reputation and connect with their target market. Live streaming is not only cost effective compared to traditional live outlets, but it’s considered to be a more authentic way to engage with an audience. With live streaming being so accessible for the everyday internet user, it only makes sense to use live platforms to improve exposure, boost sales, and build relationships.
Why Reputation Management is Important and How to Handle Negative Complaints
No one, from companies to individuals, likes their flaws pointed out. No one likes to be viewed in an unfair light, either. But any online presence opens the door for such criticism, some warranted and some not. So, what happens when your business is on the end of a less than flattering review or comment? How can you handle the situation with tact?
10 Essential Holiday Marketing Strategies for 2017 [Infographic]
Holiday-related sales in the United States are expected to surpass $923 billion in 2017, up 3% from last season. Yes, that’s billion. Needless to say, this time of year can be quite intense for marketers trying to stand out among the endless competition. More customers are spending their money, so more companies are coming out with innovative and viral content that seems to overtake newsfeeds. For smaller brands, this fact is discouraging. Fortunately, there are fail safe holiday marketing tactics that you can implement to stand above the competition.
Choosing the Right Keywords for Your Website
The tech-savvy entrepreneur knows that the best ways to increase organic traffic to her website are content marketing and SEO. But even with plenty of site traffic, how can a small- or medium-sized business possibly hope to compete with Internet giants in search engine visibility rankings? [Read more…]
8 Best Social Media Posting Practices [Infographic]
In a perfect world, every Facebook post you made would be liked and shared and receive plenty of comments. However, this isn’t always the case, especially for a growing brand. Millions of social media posts are created every single minute, so to say the competition is tough would be an understatement. Don’t let this discourage you, though. With a few tweaks and tricks, you’ll find yourself moving on up and standing high above your competitors. [Read more…]
What You Need To Know About Facebook Groups for Businesses
Facebook continues to evolve, perhaps as a nod to the leadership in the field of social media or as a way to set itself apart from the competition. Whatever the reason, the expansion is often beneficial to small businesses. The latest announcement is no exception; it involves a new feature that lets brands create their own Facebook groups. [Read more…]
How to Ask For Feedback from Your Customers [Infographic]
Ratings, reviews, and feedback are essential to the online reputation of your business, and we’re lucky to live in an age where social media makes the entire process easier for both parties. The era of technology and the never-ending rise of the internet has made it possible for you to monitor, track, and respond to feedback, which is beneficial to both you and the customer. In fact, it’s now recommended that you ask your customers for feedback and provide a survey for their convenience. This is a powerful tool for companies large and small, but proper execution is key.
Search Engine Optimization or Social Media Marketing?
First, search engine optimization (SEO) can be understood as “the process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural search results on search engines.” This includes things on your webpage such as substantial, fresh and engaging content that includes specific keywords likely to be Googled often. The architecture of your webpage is another important SEO factor: how quickly does your site load? Is your site secure (think: HTTPS); can various search engines “crawl” your site easily? Lastly, does you site utilize HTML efficiently? For example, HTML title tags should contain keywords related to page topics. Is your meta-description tag descriptive of the page it’s associated with? Even the color and design of your page matters for SEO – if your color and design template hide the words you want pages to be found for, your ranking on Google and other search engines is sure to fall. [Read more…]
Case Study: Why Are Brands Like Freshly Picked And Glossier Killing It At Social Media?
Glossier and Freshly Picked are two start-ups with completely different products but very similar, and very effective, social media techniques. Those social media techniques have launched both brands to awesome heights, with loyal fan bases second to none. To understand how these companies achieved such success, we have to look at where they started. [Read more…]
What You Need to Know About the New Google Posts
Google Posts is a new feature that lets people and businesses create content directly on Google (Google Posts is just what people call it; Google hasn’t actually given it a name). It has some perks similar to Google+, but there’s two key differences: it’s developed for better search engine optimization and it’s designed to benefit Google My Business profiles. [Read more…]
How Shoppers use Pinterest to Guide their Decisions [Infographic]
Instagram vs Snapchat Stories: What Do Influencers Prefer? [Infographic]
Why Google Plus is an Essential Part of Your Business
Google Plus isn’t the most popular social media platform in the room – it’s definitely not at the cool table with Instagram and Snapchat. Yet, despite its lack of popularity, it refuses to go down without a fight. According to Mashable, it still has plenty of devoted followers. [Read more…]
7 Tricks to a Solid Brand Identity
Brand identity is all about how a consumer perceives you. It involves a few different components, elements like logos, taglines, and the personality you emit. It’s created to convey a message, the value of a company, and what it can do for its customers. [Read more…]
Social Media Marketing Cheat Sheet [Infographic]
The impact of social media marketing on your company’s overall reputation can’t be overstated. However, as we have mentioned before, not every social media channel will give you the same results. For example, the most effective times to advertise on Instagram are certainly not the same as those for Pinterest. It only makes sense to cover all bases! This will help you achieve the best results, gain the most conversions, and reach as many potential customers as possible. [Read more…]
Facebook Messenger Day: How it Can Help Your Business
It’s fair to say that Facebook has impacted many of our lives. It’s kept us in touch with friends and family, it’s allowed us to discuss topical issues, it’s given us a forum for self-expression. It’s even acted as a news station, informing us of everything going on in the world. Thanks to Facebook, we all know more than we’ve ever wanted to know about pregnant giraffes. [Read more…]