Popular Articles on Business 2 Community |
- Generating Leads With Twitter Using Lead Generation Cards
- 5 New Marketing Trends Small Businesses Should Be Aware Of In 2014
- Why Your Facebook Organic Reach is Declining? And What You Can Do About It!
- 8 FAQs About Social Media in Travel
- How Did Pinterest Get So Big So Quickly?
- CMO 2014: Brand Experience Will Matter First Before Content Marketing
- Social Media Strategy 101: The Value of Platform-Exclusive Content
- The Importance Of A Mobile Marketing Strategy
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| Generating Leads With Twitter Using Lead Generation Cards Posted: 14 Dec 2013 03:37 PM PST How to Use Twitter's Lead Generation Cards to Actually Generate Leads On August 28, 2013, Twitter officially rolled out their new Lead Generation Card. This card is available to any company with a Twitter Ads account. For example, a coffee shop can promote giveaways and specials through a sign-up link embedded within the tweet. If you click the link, you will subscribe to their mailing list. This is a quick and easy way to promote your business and it ushers in a new era of digital marketing with Twitter. Here are a few ways to maximize the enormous potential of these lead generation cards. Keep Using Twitter Outside of Your Lead Generation Card Twitter rewards innovation and creativity because it is easy to get lost in the crowd. Just look at these statistics. There are over 50 million tweets per day and roughly 9,100 tweets per second. With these staggering numbers, your lead generation card could potentially disappear in the shuffle. To ensure your lead generation card is seen by potential customers, first establish a rapport with the public. Send informative, funny, and witty tweets daily. Retweet relevant news stories to your business. Interact with people, comment on other business's tweets, retweet information that pertains to you customers. When your account has clout and followers, people will actually read your tweets instead of scrolling right over them with the slightest of glances. Be a Twitter Personality, Not an Organization If your business account has some personality, people will be more inclined to clicking on the sign-up link in your promotional tweet. People like to think they are communicating with an actual human with actual feelings rather than a corporate drone. Realistic interactions with potential customers makes you seem more trustworthy. They will feel good about subscribing to your website if there is some semblance of a relationship. Also, be sure to mention people; Twitter users can form a bond with companies that mention them in their tweets. A good way to accomplish this is retweeting positive feedback from customers, which is organic, free marketing. Make Your Promotional Tweets Count Research is essential. For example, timing on Twitter is extremely important. This study from 2010 has some useful details about Twitter's relationship to time. The most important takeaway is that 92% of retweets occur in the first hour after the initial tweet. Peak hours for Twitter usage is between 11 AM and 3 PM EST. You can do the math, send your lead generation cards out during peak hours. Even the day of the week matters, as Tuesday's and Wednesday's are proven to be the most successful days for promotional tweets. Monday's people catch up on the news and their favorite websites, and Friday's people play around on the internet and are distracted with the weekend. The seamless blend of old and new Twitter techniques is the future of B2B social media marketing. Twitter's lead generation cards provide you with an avenue to connect with more new customers than ever. Through analytics and research, you can reach the full potential of this newfound gift from Twitter and watch your business explode.  |
| 5 New Marketing Trends Small Businesses Should Be Aware Of In 2014 Posted: 14 Dec 2013 03:07 PM PST
No one knows what the future holds, but if we look at trends that are in motion today, we can often get a bit of a preview. Many times, people will discuss trends one at a time, but for this post, we thought it would be interesting to discuss opposing trends two at a time. Each of the forces described below are part of the push and pull that will influence small business marketing significantly in the coming year. New: Live-streaming remotely New technology has made it incredibly convenient to live-stream events to your target market. This lets people become a part of your events in real time no matter where they are. But at the same time, people are also reacting to an increasingly technological, impersonal world by wanting to have more authentic, in-person experiences without the intermediation of technology. When it comes to marketing, the answer will be to cater to both groups. Don't use technology to screen yourself off from customers and pursue online-only marketing. Offer the personal touch where possible to keep the human element intact. Nowadays, people want things instantaneously. Unfortunately, if your company expects patience from its customers, you soon won't have any. This doesn't apply universally, however. Many consumers are willing to embrace delayed gratification when the quality of the ultimate product or service is high, or is from a small, local provider. The key, essentially, is to deliver an added benefit if you're going to do things in a consciously slow manner. If you choose this approach to your business, you may want to experiment with including that fact in your marketing materials. In an era where everyone is touting how fast they can get things done, the slow, traditional company sometimes can still win out. It's possible to capture more information about your business than ever before. But getting too caught up in making all decisions by data analysis can be harmful to your business. Sometimes, data is misleading. And computers don't always have the feel for a situation that a person does. While you're exploring all that becomes possible with innovative marketing data analysis in 2014, don't forget that an algorithm can't tell you everything. It's a tool, just like any other, and should be used wisely. New: Mobile Nothing is restraining the mobile trend right now – people are increasing their usage of mobile devices every day as limitations are eliminated and obstacles are removed. They're spending more time browsing, shopping, socializing, and doing everything that can be done with a computer, on their mobile devices. As this trend continues to expand in 2014, focus your marketing efforts on the mobile web and mobile apps, and you'll be riding a rising tide.  |
| Why Your Facebook Organic Reach is Declining? And What You Can Do About It! Posted: 14 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST "Why is My Reach going down?" says a Client and you have no answer as to why is this actually happening!. Facebook on Thursday admitted in it's new blog post that the Organic Reach of Facebook pages is on the decline (and will continue to decrease further!). Marketers are already burdened as the Fan acquisition activities for any Brand pages would not mean a thing if the Page is not reaching out to them at all. As Facebook puts it: Because the content in News Feed is always changing, and we're seeing more people sharing more content, Pages will likely see changes in distribution. For many Pages, this includes a decline in organic reach. We expect this trend to continue as the competition for each story remains strong and we focus on quality. It is no more a hidden secret that the larger your Fan base, the less Reach penetration your page is going to have (Unless it is a very popular and talked about Brand). So does that mean, Facebook acquisition of Fans is a waste of time? Answer: Certainly Not! Fans are not the only thing on Facebook to have. In this ever changing platform, Marketers tend to put more focus on the creatives and the platforms than the messaging theme itself. These may get them countless likes but a very little recall value (return on investment). So how can Brands get their relevant reach back? Here are some pointers to try out:
According to Facebook, People are sharing and connecting more than before and the content sharing happening on the platform has increased the competition in the NewsFeed (According to Facebook, there is an average of 1,500 possible stories to show in a News Feed at a time). In this scenario, Facebook is doing it's best to increase relevancy on Facebook and cutting down on unwanted posts from your Newsfeed (which is resulting in dwindling your Organic Reach). The best way to go about it is have a content marketing plan in place. Your owned content resonating with your target audience can go well if they find it really helpful. This includes what your Fans are talking about your Brand and also the broader category of it. Use your customer's perspective and transform it in to helpful content for your fans. Your owned content resonating with your target audience can go well if they find it really helpful.
Would you use Facebook and find ads only about Brands throwing products at you to buy? People come to Facebook for conversations and to know what's happening around them. Showcasing your Top fans and letting them speak on behalf of you is the best type of Brand advocacy you can ask for. Take advantage of that! The 'Friend' mode on Facebook works as a Brand but it takes time to achieve it. Be Patient and be conversational
I know Studies have shown that Photos work best for Engagement and blah blah! But hey, Don't let your every status update be a Photo based one. Mix and Match your content and experiment to see what works best for you. In my own experience of managing Facebook Brands, I have come across as Status Updates (Plain Text ones) are the ones having the highest Organic reach attained (Not Photos, not Videos but Text Updates). .You don't have to post a Photo to ask questions to your Fans when a simple text update is sufficient. Don't go with the Herd,always experiment with what works across with your brand and then devise your content plan accordingly. The blog post on KissMetrics confirms it! Below is a post example from Flipkart which occasionally do post questions related to their industry and prefer it the simple way
Facebook for a long time did not allow to run contests on Page's Timeline and directed third party applications to do the job. However, the trend has changed and Facebook now allows Brands to run contests on Facebook Timelines and thus increase engagement and reach for the pages. Make sure you utilize these changes and plan your contests accordingly which can reflect your Brand's theme whenever you feel that your reach is on the decline. It can surely spur up your viral reach and make sure you have a consistent Fan base (well, atleast a part of it) always listening to you As many marketers believe, spending on Facebook will increase as Facebook keeps tweaking it's algorithm and you will have to start paying more (Facebook Ads) to reach out to your own Fans even though they have shown the intent to 'Like' you. However, i do hope the word 'organic' does no die on Facebook and we still have some hop for the SMB's trying to connect to their customer base on Facebook. What do you think of the recent changes in the Facebook NewsFeed? Drop in your thoughts in the comments below.  |
| 8 FAQs About Social Media in Travel Posted: 14 Dec 2013 11:30 AM PST Online marketing and social media in particular have changed how the travel decision-making process takes place, forcing travel brands to adapt their marketing accordingly. Yet, not everyone adapts at the same rate, and there are still many who question the worthiness of efforts in this sphere. Among frequently asked questions (FAQ) I often get on my blog or during and after conferences or workshops I give, I thought I would share a few of my favorites ones. In no particular order, here we go! 1. Which social media should I prioritize?
Different travel brands will have different priorities. For example, a hotel brand ought to focus on TripAdvisor and Facebook, then perhaps on Twitter and other social media, depending where the bulk of their audience is active and wants to engage with the brand. A summer festival, on the other hand, will focus more on Facebook and YouTube (perhaps also Instagram and Vine), since video comes in handy to highlight bands or artists that are part of their program. 2. Should I respond to every comment posted on TripAdvisor?Yes. Any other question? OK, fine, if you insist… Truth be told, you really should try to respond to as many comments as possible on TripAdvisor, Yelp and other review sites. Doing so, you not only answer to the review itself and the person who wrote it, but more importantly to all other folks viewing the comment and answer. With millions of monthly visitors – Yelp for example has 40 million unique visitors per month, mostly focused on restaurant reviews – it is therefore crucial to respond to show you care, and that you are addressing the facts exposed, whether they are positive or negative.  TripAdvisor TripBarometer, March 2013 But, knowing many small and medium organizations have very limited time and resources to handle marketing and sales, the important thing is to ensure you respond with a given frequency or rule of thumb. For example, some hotels decide to respond to all negative comments, and respond to one out of every three positive comments. There's no right or wrong here: the important thing is to have a system in place, stick to it, and respond. Regularly. 3. Is there a best time to post?Yes, and it's on Tuesday afternoon, at 4:01pm. (Heck, I remember reading a study that seriously claimed that was the best moment to get a retweet. Whatever) Seriously, only you can figure this one out. This past summer Facebook improved its page analytics, allowing to see when your fans are most active per time of day, and per day of the week. Same goes with sending out newsletters, tweeting news or publishing a new blog post: brands who achieve best results are those who test, segment and tweak according to results.  Gap between brand postings and when people are active online. Source: Buddy Media, Fall 2012. One thing is for sure: you can't stick with cookie-cutter approaches, such as posting from Monday to Friday, between regular working hours (9am to 5pm). Affluent travelers may consume your content at work, but many do so from their mobile devices, including tablets at home during evening time. Thus many travel brands find that posting during the evening or early in the morning on weekend yields better results than during regular weekly hours. 4. How often should we post?That's a tougher nut to crack, as the answer will vary depending on the social media being used. On Facebook, per example, the average life expectancy of a post is 2.5 hours while a tweet without hashtag will last a couple of minutes, at most. So posting 1-3 times per day on Facebook will do the trick, while you can tweet 15 times a day and won't offend anyone… At the end of the day, it all boils down to what you have to say and more importantly, what customers want to hear. Travel brands savvy on social media tend to vary the types of content, i.e. text, photos, videos, contests, questions, etc. in order to keep content always fresh and relevant. In fact, whether you post once per day or thrice per day, the key thing is to be consistent. Nothing worse than brands who stay silent for a couple of days or weeks, and then wake-up with a string of drive-by tweeting or posting like there's no tomorrow… 5. Which is more important: email or social media?This one is easy: you should use both, since they are equally important. Sending newsletters via email may not be as sexy as new shiny toys like social media, but it serves a different purpose and remains what is considered 'owned media' while social media is 'shared media'. Instead of choosing between the two, travel marketers ought to combine the strengths of both. Not to mention that often enough, it won't be the same people following you on either channel and even when some folks subscribe to your newsletter AND like your Facebook page, they may not see the same information twice simply because of the noise level out there (or because EdgeRank may have blocked the post on Facebook, anyway… see question #8 for that one) 6. Should we bother with Google+?Google+ is certainly talked about a lot, and marketers seem to understand the advantages of sharing content on this platform for search engine optimization purposes. It is said that Google+ is now the second biggest social media after Facebook in terms of active users, with over 600 million users, yet whenever I ask audiences "who uses Google+", it seems like a minority of people actively engage on this platform. But since Google+ is at the heart of Google's new search paradigm, where every '+1′ signal is taken into consideration, brands should secure a minimal presence there, assuming they have their priorities straight (see question #1). 7. Can we calculate the ROI of social media initiatives?There's been countless research and articles on this topic, and I even gave it a shot back in 2011 with What is the ROI of Social Media in Travel, and Does it Matter? The biggest misconception here is that ROI is often used for sales-driven tactics while social media encompasses a lot more than sales. In fact, social media in travel is most effective at the inspiration stage and during the travel experience itself, as people share their stories with their network. That's not to say that social media can not and should not be measured. It simply means brands need to clearly outline what it is they want to measure, define what success looks like, and track accordingly. 8. How can we get better Facebook engagement?By blending organic content and paid content with occasional contests and offers. In fact, these are considered the 4 key elements of your Facebook marketing. That's right, long gone are the days when a brand page could strive on organic content alone, with dynamic community managers asking questions, posting pictures or crafting contests to increase fan engagement. These tactics still work, but unfortunately less, as this recent AdAge article clearly stated. Understanding Facebook's EdgeRank certainly helps to gain better knowledge in using the platform, even with recent enhancement such as Story Bump and Last Actor, or recent tweaks favoring links to quality articles instead of visuals and memes that are perceived as more 'flaky' content. But at the end of the day, it is now a given that in order to have a highly engaged community on Facebook, you will need to boost some posts, sponsored stories or have some paid content make its way into users' newsfeed to maintain a high level of efficiency on Facebook. Any other questions you wish had been answered in this post? Please let me know in the comment section below and hey, who knows, I may come around with a sequel… :-)  |
| How Did Pinterest Get So Big So Quickly? Posted: 14 Dec 2013 08:30 AM PST Pinterest, the content sharing site that allows users to "pin" images and videos to their digital "pinboard," is currently one of the most popular social media websites on the Internet. As of October 2013, just three years after the launch of the site, Pinterest had over 70 million users, including 500,000 business accounts. The site currently attracts nearly 2.5 billion monthly page views and about five million daily article pins. How in the world did it get so popular so quickly? The story behind Pinterest's growth is a fascinating one, mainly because it is one of the most brilliant and successful examples of growth hacking ever used by a social media company. The idea behind Pinterest was conceived around 2008 by Ben Silbermann, a young, soft-spoken 20-something from Des Moines, Iowa. Silbermann always wanted to be an entrepreneur and growing up, his role models were innovators like Walt Disney and Steve Jobs. Out of college, Silbermann became a consultant in the tech division of a company, and he found himself fascinated by websites like TechCrunch, which contained technology news and numbers. Silerbmann moved to Silicon Valley and took a job at Google. Being surrounded by other tech inventors, he was inspired to come up with an idea for a technology company of his own. His first company was called Tote, a catalog app for the iPhone that he invented with a fellow tech friend based in New York. However, this app came out in 2008 when the economy had collapsed, so Silbermann found it impossible to attract investors. As he struggled to get Tote off the ground, he became distracted by another idea, a sort of online display of a person's favorite items and collections. Silbermann had collected bugs as a child, and he thought that sharing your collections was a great way to get to know another person. He approached his friend Evan Sharp with the idea, who also thought it would be tremendous for a website. Sharp came up with the idea of having a grid-based website (which Pinterest still uses), and in January 2010, Sharp and Silbermann pinned the first pin onto the first Pinterest board. Some might be tempted to say that the rest is history, since Pinterest had an immensely successful reception across the board (no pun intended). And, indeed, Pinterest became popular with users right away. For example, a woman named Victoria helped Silbermann and Sharp organize a program called "Pin it Forward," which was like a chain letter where users circulated different pinboards about what their homes meant to them. By August 2010, Pinterest had attracted 40,000 unique visitors. However, what led to the immense success that Pinterest has found today is not simply the appeal of its site, although it is immensely user-friendly, attractive and useful. In reality, Pinterest has reached its current heights because it has implemented some of the very smartest and best growth-hacking techniques, which have allowed it to be shared between users and grow bigger on its own. Unlike some of the other biggest sites on the Internet today, Pinterest did not launch with an immense amount of hype behind it. Instead, it was a homegrown program launched by some passionate thinkers who ultimately had to go back and incorporate some smart growth-hacking methods into the program once it had already been set free. One of the most important ways Pinterest incorporated growth hacking into its marketing scheme is its signup process. In order to join Pinterest, users can't just visit the website and join. Instead, they have to request an invitation to the site, making it feel like an exclusive club to which you actually want to belong. People always want to be a part of something that they're not initially included in, right? After new users request an invitation, they receive one by email a few days later, making it feel like they have been approved for a special offer or accepted into an exclusive group. This makes Pinterest seem like a privilege to use right off the bat, enhancing its reputation as a site that people covet. The invitation email uses strategic wording and content, as well, to help bolster its image, calling Pinterest a small community and offering rules about how to behave while there. In addition to its joining process, one of the Pinterest's other most successful growth-hacking techniques is its initial automatic link with Facebook. Once users join the community, Pinterest instantly gives them the option to sign up with their Facebook account, making it easy for users to start using the site without jumping through a million hoops and more likely that they'll start using the site right away as opposed to putting off use because of all the bureaucratic stuff. This also connects users to their Facebook friends immediately, so that they don't start with an empty social media profile page. Rather, Pinterest's Facebook connection allows new users to see a page full of people they know, which is an incentive to keep using and exploring further. Another growth-hacking technique that happens when a user first starts using Pinterest is its interest survey. Pinterest shows users a variety of images and asks which ones appeal to them. Based on a user's responses, it follows some related and popular boards that match the user's choices, automatically generating content and information that makes users feel like they are already part of a community and in turn, encourages them to explore the site further. Pinterest's growth hacks go beyond simply what it requires or offers a user right at the get-go. In fact, one of Pinterest's principal growth hacks is its user interface (UI), which allows a user to perform almost every possible Pinterest function from their one, main page. Not only can users comment, re-pin or check out another board from their main feed, but they can also follow new friends, check out the website from which a pin came, share a pin through other social media networks, or edit their own profile or pinboards. The easy usability of Pinterest makes it extremely popular with users, not only through word of mouth, but also through the direct ability to share the site via simple buttons that connect to email and social media networks. Another element of Pinterest's design that has helped make it so popular is its infinite scrollability. Users can continuously scroll down their feed without ever reaching bottom and having to click a new button to get more information. This allows for ease of use, and even encourages losing track of time while browsing, ultimately upping time spent on the page and in turn, boosting its SEO ranking. The growth hackers behind Pinterest also took advantage of email in order to help it go viral. Every function and action on Pinterest is linked with an email alert, which, when sent to users, keeps them up to date on what's happening on the site and reminds them to go and engage themselves. While emails are optional, the immediate opt-in feature helps keep users engaged and interested with very little effort on the part of either the user or the company. Ultimately, Pinterest is such a success story because it combines two things, a really great product with an equally great scheme for viral marketing. Its growth hackers have done an incredible job of attracting new customers and keeping them engaged, which is important for growing the company and attracting more users. But the product is also one that is extremely well-designed and useful for both individuals and companies. Today, Pinterest is used by companies because it has a 50 percent higher conversion rate than any other site that directs people to products, and Pinterest users regularly spend more money, more often than any of the other top four social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+). In fact, Pinterest currently generates four times more revenue per click than Twitter does and nearly three times more than Facebook. If you're an entrepreneur who believes in your product, and you are looking to grow your business virally online, you should pay heed to the strategy behind Pinterest's growth. Not only has it created a popular site that is entertaining and helpful for promoting social interaction, but one that has also helped changed the way business is conducted online.  |
| CMO 2014: Brand Experience Will Matter First Before Content Marketing Posted: 14 Dec 2013 07:35 AM PST The current logo for We're Experiencing Technical Difficulties (Photo credit: Wikipedia) For many Chief Marketing Officers and marketing leaders, especially in B2B, there is a seismic shift taking place in how marketing is approached and done. A staple in yearly strategic planning is the product or service as the central focus of marketing and sales plans year after year. Product marketing is just as the name implies – all about marketing the product. If this is the central premise of your marketing plan for 2014, time to go back to the drawing board before it is too late. New Differentiation Decade after decade, marketing and sales focused on touting the superiority of a product or service as the main competitive differentiator. Everything from brand naming, marketing communications, events, sales support, and messaging centered on telling this all-important story about the product or service. Despite now operating in a world gone digital, the "product" story continues to be pushed. How can this be? We have seen a dramatic rise in the use of content marketing during the past three years. And more B2B businesses are planning to make use of content marketing in 2014. 78% of CMO's, according to Demand Metric; believe content marketing is the future. Counter this with SiriusDecisions finding 70% of B2B content goes unused. Is content marketing really the future if this much of B2B content will be unusable? What Matters First Although I have written on several occasions about the ineffectiveness dilemma facing content marketing, I do believe it has its place in the future. However, much of content marketing filling the digital airwaves is still rooted in product thinking. It is no wonder 70% of content goes unused. What matters first is the challenge of creating brand experience. Without it, content marketing will be on a continuous treadmill of churning out unusable product-centric content. Achieving brand experience as a difference maker will require more holistic thinking. Not only in a return to the fundamentals of marketing's role to understand customers and create value, but to also understand how to create meaning for customers. Chief Marketing Officers and marketing leaders will need to be careful about tunnel vision with respect to content marketing and the side effect of too much product messaging. Creating Meaning Through Experience Business leaders are living in a much more complex world. Searching for answers to complex problems and achieving challenging goals, which can be characteristic of B2B environments. What will matter in 2014 is the experience of working through complex problems with all facets of an organization and its' brand. And, for CMO's, this is no easy feat when brand experience has to do with the sensory, interactions, visuals, and impressions. In several recent conversations with marketing leaders, developing brand experience is the apparent supreme challenge in B2B. Shaking off the old garment of product thinking is tough to do in B2B. Putting on the new clothing of brand experience will be a new way of thinking. Especially when the call for more leads is breathing down the backs of many CMO's. It is a challenge, which cannot be ignored for this reason – competitive advantage via products or services no longer lasts and is short-lived. Developing Brand Experience Developing brand experience starts with an understanding of the meaningful goals of customers and is ongoing when the brand experience represents the future. How can you make this happen? Here are some suggestions:
Framework These five suggested points help with getting grounded in building a brand experience framework. Content marketing, as it has been before the advent of our new digital world, is one means for supporting and communicating the brand experience. The overwhelming pressure to reach buyers and generate leads can make the brand experience responsibility one which gets a low priority or a forgotten prerequisite for successful content marketing. In 2014, to succeed at content marketing, Chief Marketing Officers and marketing leaders will need to first succeed at building a brand experience framework. Not doing so will mean 70% or more of content produced will go unused.  |
| Social Media Strategy 101: The Value of Platform-Exclusive Content Posted: 14 Dec 2013 07:20 AM PST It's no industry secret that content ultimately reigns supreme in the digital space and is an important component of any social media strategy. Audiences naturally gravitate toward and engage with material they find compelling and relevant. That's why it is paramount that brands produce quality, written social posts. Yet content kings don't want to simply decree one isolated idea, they want to broadcast a bevy of diverse messages upon their subjects. This can best be facilitated with the composition of platform-specific content to take advantage of each social site's respective capabilities in order to leverage them to your advantage. Crafting quality social media content can often be a time consuming and laborious process due to the necessary incorporation of brand-specific voice, promotions, topics and events into the overall subject matter. This approved content is generally disseminated across all of a company's social properties in the name of continuity and consistency. Yet, as brand presence across the digital space increases, it's that very social content unification that can potentially limit your company's effectiveness in social channels. Whether your ultimate goal is to drive engagement or increase social site-to-website conversion rates, it's paramount that marketers offer audiences a compelling reason to actively follow all of your company's social channels. Channel-exclusive content provides audiences a legitimate, tangible incentive to actively monitor all of a company's social properties. Here's a brief social property overview highlighting their individual characteristics and capabilities in relation to channel-specific content creation. Mastering the norms and best-practices of each platform will help elevate your content's visibility and longevity. Users will be more likely to engage with your content, share and like your posts, thus driving the awareness that will eventually lead to increased web traffic and sales.
The world's largest social network places an emphasis on written posts, so it naturally presents a prime opportunity to craft information of substance, whether it's a story, detailed promotion, or sharable item. With that said, it also contains a noteworthy visual component, and accompanying posts with appropriate imagery can help further pique the curiosity of an audience. Brands seeking additional engagement can pose questions to their audiences regarding product/ service preference, customer service assistance, and/or topical subjects in pop culture. Facebook's seamless interface makes it easy for users to interact with a company's posts through Likes and comments, basically transforming it into a conduit for two-way communication.
The epitome of micro-blogging, Twitter's content is dynamic and concise. Digital marketers are only given 140 characters to succinctly convey their brand-specific messages, and therefore they must make the most of the allotted text space. It's ideal for the rapid dissemination of information and providing live updates of events. Due to its micro-blogging structure it's also the social network best suited for spontaneous posting. Brands can also use it to directly respond to inquiries from online audiences.
With Google +, simplicity is the name of the game with a minimalistic interface whose intuitiveness makes for an effortless user experience. It bears many similarities to Facebook in regards to general content characteristics, but its many communities provide an invaluable opportunity for brands to interact with consumers who already share a passion for a particular field or product. Additionally, since it's deeply integrated into the world's premier search engine, a solid presence on Google + can also serve as an effective way to bolster your page rankings. Built upon the principles of professionalism and networking, LinkedIn is easily the most formal major social network. Its immense connectivity capabilities can be harnessed to form B2B relationships or interact with job seekers/ fellow industry professionals. The information typically found gracing its feed is industry-relevant articles, job postings, and high level information. Its discussion boards can also present an invaluable opportunity to increase brand awareness. While undoubtedly the stiffest social platform, LinkedIn can still open up new avenues for your business.
In Summary Ultimately, each social network contains its own unique capabilities, traits, and overall user experience. It's essential brands conceptualize and craft quality content in anticipation of these nuances. Platform-specific content is dynamic, engaging, and the ultimate incentive for online audiences to keep you on their minds. Quality content and social media optimization is only one facet of digital marketing and a comprehensive social media strategy. Coupling it with a comprehensive paid advertising campaign and effective SEO tactics with allow your brand to increase its slice of the online pie.  |
| The Importance Of A Mobile Marketing Strategy Posted: 13 Dec 2013 07:25 PM PST
In an increasingly mobile world, there's more than one reason why it's crucial to keep an eye on your website's mobile traffic. Below, we take a look at some of the most common reasons why this metric is an important piece of your overall analytics efforts — and What you can do to optimize your mobile marketing strategy with this knowledge.There's a Reason "Responsive" Is the Buzzword of 2013 Responsive design is increasingly becoming the go-to solution for businesses seeking site optimization across the mobile board without entering the daunting world of developing a full-fledged app for each device. The need for a responsive site depends upon your specific business or website, as well as budget. It may well be worth it to "go responsive" if your site is heavy on visuals, videos, products or "m-commerce" — and mobile traffic analysis can help you make these tough decisions. On which devices are users accessing your site? Which operating systems are the most common among your site traffic? Are more users visiting your site on smartphones, or on tablets? What is the overall ratio of mobile to desktop traffic? You can glean much of this information through analytics software or programs. "Understanding devices and associated technology features is necessary for design purposes. We determine what our sites and our emails need to be designed for from a size, browser and operating perspective. [Mobile reports] allow us to provide the right experience for our consumers," says Cathy Gribble, associate director of digital analytics for Team One. That being said, responsive isn't always the end all, be all of mobile strategy. In-depth analysis and understanding of customer behavior is another factor to consider. Consumers behave differently on smartphones and tablets, which have differing functionalities and capabilities. Marketers need to analyze behavior and experiences across the entire purchase funnel to understand the best move for web or app design."Responsive design doesn't allow for such deep testing of every single experience within a brand's website or mobile site," says Blumenfeld. "That means marketers must be cognizant of the different layouts and circumstances surrounding consumers' use of websites and mobile sites." In summary: Take a multi-faceted approach to responsive design. Perhaps not all businesses need to invest in a site that flawlessly translates across every device on the market — but with 17.4% of all global web traffic coming through mobile (a 6%+ increase since 2012), it's surely a major consideration. (information from: Mashable) What other benefits can you think of in executing an effective mobile marketing strategy?  |
| Agree or Disagree? Instagram Named Best Network for Brands in 2013 Posted: 13 Dec 2013 06:36 PM PST This week, a new study from the business analytics company SumAll revealed that Instagram was the best platform for brands in 2013. For the study, SumAll looked at data from brands on social media with over 25 fans on four of the major social platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Here's what they discovered:
Bottom Line: While brands on Instagram certainly have a lot to be excited about, it's impossible to say which network is really "the best" for brands. And while some businesses may point to Instagram as being the best thing that's ever happened to their social media efforts, there are others who may credit Facebook or Twitter as being the most important networks for their marketing strategy. So we thought we would leave it up to you. Has Instagram been the rising star for your social media marketing or are there other networks that you just couldn't live without in 2013? Join the conversation in the post below: (Having trouble viewing the Facebook post? View it here.) If you are thinking about giving Instagram a try, we have a few resources to help:
Here are a few of the other hot topics that caught our attention this week: Foursquare rolls out new push notificationsFoursquare recently rolled out a newly redesigned app for iOS, with a new emphasis on location-based alerts and push notifications. Here's how Foursquare explained the new app in a recent post on the company's blog: "When you arrive somewhere new, we tell you what you need to know (like the best thing to order or a money-saving special), even if you don't open the app." Bottom Line: Mobile discovery apps like Foursquare already play an important role in how new customers discover your business. According to Google and Nielsen, 73 percent of mobile searches trigger additional action and conversion while 55 percent of purchase-related conversions occur within one hour of an initial mobile search. This means that it's never been more important to make sure that the information people are finding on Foursquare and other listing platforms are accurate and up-to-date. Here are a few tips to help you take control of your online listings. Twitter now allows images in direct messagesTwitter revealed this week that users will now be able to send photos through its private direct messages feature. Previously, direct messages were limited to text-only messages. Twitter was not the only network that introduced new direct messaging capabilities this week, as Instagram revealed a new feature know as Instagram Direct. This new feature lets users privately send photos or videos to up to 15 followers. Bottom Line: At this point, it is unclear how either of these features will impact businesses using the networks for marketing purposes. But it does seem that direct messaging could play a more prominent role across all of the social networks in the New Year. It will be interesting to see how this trend develops in 2014. What top stories caught your attention this week? Let us know in the comments below.  |
| 36 Powerful Link Building Strategies to Boost SEO, Rankings and Sales Posted: 13 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST
I have recently seen many articles claiming that "SEO is dead." But this is absolute hogwash (this might be the first time I've used that word!). Search engine optimization is as effective as ever. In fact, it may be more so because there are plenty of people that really do think it doesn't work any more. That is why I recently launched the [CSH] SEO service (along with an SEO service for the Cleveland area). The truth is people who claim that SEO is dead, or is no longer effective, don't understand it or how it works. Search engines like Google run on automated spiders (crawlers, robots, whatever you want to call them). These are algorithms. There's very little subjectivity that goes into rankings. So as long as you know what the search spiders want, you can optimize. And you can do so in a way that is going to get you rankings that last. Rankings matters because most purchases begin with research on a search engine. Whether the purchase actually happens online or off, the first stop is often Google (and sometimes Bing :) ). So how do you get rankings for keywords that are going to lead to sales? First you have to figure out what those keywords are so that you can set up your pages to target those keywords. And next…you build backlinks. There is one thing that all SEOs can agree upon: backlinks are the lifeblood of SEO. They always have been. And they always will be. That's just the way search engines work. And until there is a complete overhaul of the system, this will continue to be true. The catch is to get results quickly…and results that stick…you need backlinks that are high-quality and relevant. That is why I put together this SlideShare presentation of link building strategies. There are 36 ways to build backlinks in total. This should be more than enough to get you a ton of quality backlinks that will lead to rankings, and sales. Presentation: 36 Insanely Effective Link Building Strategies to Help You Rank Higher and Profit MoreCleveland SEO Company Presents: 36 Link Building Strategies With just an exception or two, the link building strategies outlined here are certainly much more "white hat" than some alternatives. The presentation was designed that way to make these strategies accessible, safe and effective for anyone to use. Try some of them out or use these as a launching pad for some of your ideas. Remember, just get creative and have.  |
| 4 Brands Already Using Instagram Direct For Marketing Posted: 13 Dec 2013 10:14 AM PST Instagram Direct just arrived, and brands are already seizing the opportunity to create special connections with customers. Just a few hours into Instagram's new version which includes private messages, 4 brands have already managed to catch our attention with it. Hyatt's social media teamToday, we received this Christmas greeting card on our Instagram inbox. Forget the so-called personalized emails sent en masse to clients! Instagram Direct makes for a trulypersonal message. You can be sure that the Nitrogram team saw this message. What's more: the inclusion of Hyatt's holiday hashtag and its official Instagram account in the post got us scrolling though their branded content as well: an invitation for us to come and taste the Holiday spirit with Hyatt on Instagram. GAPGap posted this photo, accompanied with the following caption:
GAP was the first brand to get international coverage in the press for a marketing initiative using Instagram Direct. With this simple call to actions and reward (a free macbook satchel from the brand for the first 15 people who commented), GAP managed to get people excited and got our undivided attention. Fashionista reported on the story's development, showing the photo that was shared with the 15 people. Kardashian Kollection
The Kardashian's fashion brand used the same method to get people excited about #KKDirect: the hashtag was used in 4,400 Instagram posts in the past 19 hours (yes, it means that this number doesn't include the 600+ comments left on the Kollection's original post). An impressive adoption rate and engagement. What differs with GAP, and the genius behind this simple campaign is how Kardashian Kollection turned its most avid followers into insiders by giving them the opportunity to share the freshest news about the brand with their followers. That's how the Kardashians show their Instagram expertise. Being followed by millions of people must be a good way to get marketing ideas with the photo and video sharing app. The brand then delivered on its promise, sending out the picture and Instagramming a glimpse of the Instagram Direct: Michael Kors
Michael Kors is taking it slower, and bets on this extended timeline to let the buzz build itself. By announcing a gift delivery to 50 people tomorrow, they're making sure to get mentioned a lot beforehand. Sending a message only to a few doesn't mean it won't reach many people by getting reposted. It's actually what social media author Gary Vaynerchuk experienced: one day, he shared a Snapchat photo with a handful of his fans. The event was so unusual that many of these receivers shared a screenshot on Twitter, which got Gary trending for the first time, even though he has 1 million followers there. What about you? Have you seen other brands doing one-to-one marketing with Instagram Direct? Let us know in the comments!  |
| Instagram Direct – All You Should Know About Instagram’s Private Messaging Feature Posted: 13 Dec 2013 05:53 AM PST At an event with the Instagram team and members of the press, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom announced the launch of Instagram Direct: A way to share photos and videos privately. Here's everything you should know about it. Instagram Direct key features
Read the official announcement about Instagram Direct on the Instagram blog. What do you think about this new feature?  |
Out with the old, in with the new!
The answer to this question, and pretty much to all other questions in this post, varies according to size of organizations, resources (both financial and human), marketing priorities and, more importantly, level of maturity with social media accounts. Having said that, some social media are a better fit with the travel vertical, in particular those which emphasize visual components and tell a story. Here's a snapshot of key social media and why travel brands use them in general:
Facebook 
Twitter
Google + 
Pinterest Dedicated to imagery, Pinterest is a visual smorgasbord that allows businesses to show rather than tell. Basically a digital pin board, the social platform enables users to pin and categorize relevant pictures to a central page. It's a great way for brands to express their creative sides and engage audiences with pictures. While Pinterest is an effective tool for many businesses, those whose services or products lack a visual component might want to steer clear.
In today's society of instant gratification, people have short attention spans: They want the news in 
There is a lot of debate in the SEO world about the most effective strategies. On the white hat side, SEO amounts to a lot of work similar to PR. On the black hat side, you will find blog networks, automated spam links, and attempted rankings through more technical means.
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