Coping With the Homogenization of Social Media

By | Social Media | No Comments

Smartphone With Social Icons

There was a time when social media was new, innovative and wildly diverse. Digital marketing companies had their pick of dozens of viable platforms that performed different services for different audiences. Consumers segmented themselves into groups depending on their interests. However, that time was long ago—at least in Internet years.

The social media landscape today is becoming increasingly homogenized. Twitter and Facebook are seemingly blurring together. It seems that if they don’t stop imitating each other, soon the only difference between the two will be the shade of blue in their logos.

This presents interesting problems for digital marketing companies. How can they continue to use social media marketing effectively as traditional platforms shift and become increasingly irrelevant? Is it still important to use different techniques across different platforms, or it is possible to use a single strategy across all platforms?

The landscape may have changed, but the fundamentals of social media marketing remain the same. In fact, the imitation game Twitter and Facebook have been playing over the past few years might actually be helpful to digital companies. It allows them to target different demographics using the same basic techniques.

Both Facebook and Twitter rely heavily on multimedia. Videos, GIFs and images yield much higher rates of engagement than simple text updates, so both platforms feature them extensively. However, despite the similarities between the platforms’ functionality, they are used by very different people.

Facebook’s population has grown dramatically older over recent years, while Twitter has become increasingly business-oriented. Young innovators—the ones who used to live on these platforms—have moved to newer platforms like Snapchat and Periscope. It’s important for marketing companies to identify their audience before worrying about how to engage with them. If anything, Facebook and Twitter are easier to use for marketing now than they ever were, simply because their populations are so conveniently segmented.

Why the Holiday Season Doesn’t Hold Any SEO Secrets

By | SEO | No Comments

Tis the season: the season, that is, for giving gifts, visiting loved ones and the widespread appreciation of conifers. The arrival of the holiday season also brings with it the proliferation of holiday-themed listicles exalting everything from exterior decoration to SEO tips for small businesses in Utah.

Holiday SEO guides are as abundant as snowfall in Utah. But as readers leaf through page after page of holiday-themed keyword lists, a sense of déjà vu begins to set in.

If that list of SEO tips set to “The 12 Days of Christmas” seems familiar, it’s probably because it is: the SEO concepts that apply to the lucrative holiday sale season are the same ones that corporations and local businesses alike should be employing all year round.

Need to research relevant holiday keywords? Great! Do that the other 11 months of the year too, just leave out words like ‘Santa’ or ‘Reindeer.’ Striving to publish the kind of useful, high-quality holiday content consumers are searching for? Guess what, you can do that all the time—just drop the holiday part. Building links and polishing your meta descriptions for local Utah shoppers? Still relevant in January.

Like last-minute studying for a test, a timely, concentrated end-of-the-year SEO push can have its benefits, but the real results come from a steady build-up of SEO strategies over time.

While local search, mobile search and website optimization are undoubtedly important during the holiday shopping season, a business that only applies those concepts during the end of the year will miss out on a ton of SEO opportunities.

Like last-minute holiday gift ideas, last-minute SEO efforts tend to fall a little short. Chances are that business competitor that’s been at the top of the search results for months isn’t going to suddenly fall with the arrival of December.

Don’t be left scrambling this hectic holiday season: plan your SEO strategies ahead of time and implement them throughout the year for maximum effectiveness and maximum returns.

A Christmas Gift to You: SEO Tips for Local Success

By | SEO | No Comments

As the end of the year approaches, the time comes to look back on everything you accomplished over the past year. Were your goals for 2015 met, or were there some things you could have done better?

In the world of SEO, success is inherently relative. And it seems like there’s always more to do to stay on top of the SEO game. This end-of-the-year season, follow this list of quick local SEO tricks, and start 2016 off right.

Establish & Verify Your Google My Business Profile

Google’s local platform is the place to start for local SEO. Verify your listing by providing a (local!) phone number or having Google send a postcard to the business address. Update your listing regularly, and don’t forget to incorporate relevant keywords.

Add Contact Info to Every Page

Consider adding a footer or sidebar to your website that includes the name, address and phone number of your business. Not only will consumers know where you are and how to contact you, you’ll also rank higher locally—whether you’re in Utah or the Midwest.

Build a Local Review Base

Reviews are increasingly important for local businesses. Consumer trust in online reviews is growing; hop on that train by asking happy customers to consider leaving a review so that your review base can speak for itself.

Optimize Your Site for Mobile

Mobile search results are increasingly critical for local businesses. Whether your company is based in Utah or on the East Coast, mobile SEO results are the driving force for many local purchases.

Check for Citation Consistency

Check that local citations on online directories such as Yellowpages, Citysearch and Localeze are not only current, but overall consistent. Eliminate duplicate listings where you find them; duplicates can seriously hurt local SEO.

Build Local Links

Build links back to your website wherever and whenever possible. Start by focusing on social platforms, suppliers, citations and even consumers for backlinks, where applicable.

Taking the time to build a strong link base among local Utah businesses will give your website that extra credibility to give your business the local visibility it deserves.

Why Visual Marketing is More Vital Than Ever

By | content marketing, digital marketing | No Comments

With so much information online, it’s vital to know what will make your content marketing stand out in the constant stream of social media feeds. So what are some tips and tricks to step up your game and cut through the clutter?

When it comes down to human biology, a picture really is worth a thousand words. According to various studies, audiences on social media are far more likely to engage with visual content than text alone. And for marketing, visual content can include videos, infographics, photos and more.

Next time you’re writing a social post, don’t forget this lesson in visual biology. Learn more in the infographic below.

Why-Visual-Marketing-is-More-Vital-Than-Ever

Facebook Messages Go ‘Ephemeral’

By | Social Media | No Comments

Facebook notifications

Social media is no longer a one or two horse race. Where giants like Facebook and Twitter used to dominate, new platforms are rising and gaining users. Facebook in particular has struggled as younger users have stopped using the platform while older generations are taking over the social network.

In a bid to hold the attention of marketing companies and younger consumers, Facebook has released multiple smaller apps to try to compete with other platforms. While Facebook Messenger has been successful, most of the others have failed with varying levels of disaster. Snapchat in particular has been difficult for Facebook to match.

Experts suggest that one of the reasons young people are leaving Facebook in droves is that their parents are monitoring their presence on the platform. In contrast, a primary reason that Snapchat is so popular is that its messages are ephemeral, meaning that they disappear after a short time. Teens can say whatever they want, with little fear of being caught or reprimanded.

In an attempt to match this, Facebook recently premiered an ephemeral messaging option on Messenger for French users. Just like Snapchat, messages will disappear after a set amount of time. It’s unclear whether the new feature will be released generally, or if marketing companies will catch hold of the idea, but one thing is certain: Facebook remains committed to staying relevant.