Proliferation

Mar 14
0

How Mobile Marketing Is Capitalizing on Video Content and Geotargeting

By | digital marketing, Mobile marketing | No Comments

Before the Internet existed, news was read via newspapers; after newspapers, television became a supplemental news source. And with the introduction and explosion of everything-online, the Internet has become the newest primary method of news distribution. The catalogue of how news has evolved over the past 100-plus years speaks volumes in terms of how quickly major communication methods are changing.

Presently, digital marketing firms hold the torch in terms of relevant communication methods. And these agencies are spending a bulk of their resources focusing on what will be the future of advertising and communication: mobile.

Videos Have Advertisers Rethinking Mobile Strategy
With mobile communication taking over more rapidly than anyone in the 21st century could have anticipated, digital marketing firms and agencies are quickly adapting to construct advertising campaigns and methods that are congruent with the mobile takeover. One of the biggest advertising platforms that currently exist is video content.

Facebook, YouTube and similar publishers have long pushed video content. The marriage of video content and mobile devices has made digital marketing firms and agencies re-think the way they advertise within videos. The steady growth and eventual explosion of video content popularity has spawned an increase in programmatic technology and an inclination towards storytelling, rather than direct selling approaches.

Mobile GPS Systems Allow for Geotargeting
Advertising has long since jumped into the rabbit hole of personalized ads — and one of the more brilliant changes produced from this has been geotargeting (also referred to as geo-fencing). By using built-in GPS systems to their advantage, ad networks can pick out exactly where you are — which means they can then serve you a geo-specific advert based off of this information.

This is a win-win for consumers and ad agencies alike; mobile users are much more likely to click on an advertisement that offers services in their immediate vicinity. In return, ad agencies can collect more information about their customer base, thus creating campaigns that are geo-specific to not only your demographic, but to your personal preferences and retail history.

Mar 11
0

The Facebook Emojis We Wish We Had

By | content marketing, digital marketing | No Comments

Ever since the introduction of the “like” back in February 2009, Facebook users have been clamoring for a new way to react to friends’ posts, photos and status updates. For seven years, the Facebook “like” was the only way to react to someone’s post (without actually writing a comment), which left many users conflicted over the ethics of “liking” that status about grandma’s death or little Timmy’s broken arm.

That all changed on Feb. 24, 2016 when Facebook rolled out with a slew of new emoji digital reactions. The five new emojis — “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “sad” and “angry” — give Facebook users and digital marketing companies alike something to celebrate; in addition to giving users more freedom of expression, the emojis give Facebook & affiliates rather detailed information about user likes and dislikes.

Not everyone is happy about Facebook’s new emojis, however. The very day the update went live, comic artist Matthew Inman — better known for his page The Oatmeal — had already come up with a list of satirical new emojis for the social network, with reactions ranging from “meh” to “I just threw up in my mouth” and “I read this while pooping.”

In an interesting turn of events — or clever marketing ploy — anonymous programmers have come up with browser extensions intended to change the innocuous emojis into Pokémon or various images of spray-tanned American tycoon Donald Trump.

These so-called Reaction Packs open the lid to a Pandora’s box full of possibilities: from Studio Ghibli’s Soot Sprite reactions (which are already available) to Disney characters or SpongeBob reactions, the opportunities are endless.

This is good news for both digital marketing companies and trademarked character enthusiasts alike; not only can marketing companies gather data from the use of Facebook’s existing emojis, they may be able to incorporate brand-specific Facebook emojis to accompany a movie or product campaign, a la Twitter’s current hashtag emoji options.

Facebook’s new emoji reactions have only been live for a couple of weeks, and their future is as of yet uncertain. One thing’s for sure, though: there will never, ever be a Facebook “dislike” button. Sorry guys.

Mar 11
0

Choosing the Right KPIs for Your Content Marketing Strategy

By | content marketing | No Comments

For content marketing professionals from Utah to New England, being able to accurately measure your marketing performance is absolutely essential. Many marketers have a tendency to focus too much on buzzworthy keywords and conversion rate optimization (CRO) and could potentially miss out on other key performance indicators, or KPIs.

According to a survey from the 2016 Content Marketing Benchmark Study, only 30 percent of marketers find their content marketing programs effective, down from 38 percent last year. While organizations from the East Coast to Utah are spending more on content marketing than ever, they aren’t finding the campaigns as effective.

Content marketers’ campaigns may seem less effective because they’re using the wrong KPIs to rate performance. Typical effective KPIs include return on investment (ROI), profit margin, sales figures, website visitors, conversions and customer complaints.

Content marketing professionals are in a unique position to track some of these key metrics — in particular website visitors, engagement and conversions — merely by nature of the industry. Social media makes tracking consumer engagement easy, and Google Analytics can tell you everything you need to know about traffic to your website.

For content marketers, though, it’s important not to miss the forest for the trees. Just because you can measure everything doesn’t mean you should. For example, if a lot of people visit your website but not very many are converting, you should focus less on the Web traffic and more on how visitors are actually interacting with the website.

Big data is high for content marketing, but marketers should be sure to use both quantitative and qualitative KPIs. While quantitative KPIs can tell you how prevalent something is, quantitative KPIs can tell you why.

For content marketers and other business owners alike, KPIs should accurately represent the overall goals of the company. Whether your business is located in the Big Apple or in sunny Utah, you should pick an attainable, measurable goal and focus on the indicators that will lead you directly to that goal.

Mar 09
0

The Most Iconic Brand Logos in History

By | advertising, Design | No Comments

Nothing helps to solidify a brand’s place in history like a great logo. A great logo is clean, simple, and above all instantly recognizable. Any marketing agencies and designers can easily create a flat-color logo with a simple shape and clean lines, but what contributes to a brand logo’s overall staying power? A good logo should not only be aesthetically appealing and universally applicable, it should also accurately represent the company mission.

Logo design has changed significantly over the years, yet only a select few logos have stood the test of time. From legendary 20th Century designers such as Paul Rand, Milton Glasser & Saul Bass to up-and-coming graphic design firms, here are the most iconic logos in history.

Iconic-Brand-Logos

Mar 09
0

There’s More to Content Than Just Text

By | content marketing | No Comments

In the world of content marketing, the saying goes, “content is king.” However, there are many different kinds of content, and a number of different ways to produce it. Marketers from the Midwest to Utah employ writers and aspiring journalists alike to pen everything from blogs and whitepapers, but while written works can be powerful tools, don’t forget about video and visual content.

Visual Content

While the average person retains only 20 percent of what they read, consumers retain nearly 80 percent of what they see. In addition, 40 percent of people respond better to visual content than plain text alone — and that goes for consumers from the East Coast to Utah.

Not only is visual content more likely to make an impression on consumers, visual media is more likely to be shared on social media channels. According to Social Media Today, social media users are 40 percent more likely to share visual content than written works.

Video Content

For content marketing companies in Utah and elsewhere, video productions can be a great way to boost engagement and help get your search results to the top of the first page. Videos are 50 times easier to get to the front page of search results than other kinds of content. Video work doesn’t have to be 100 percent original — you can use video to recycle old content and put a fresh spin on things.

By 2014, half of all Internet content existed in video form; by the end of the decade that number of expected to top 90 percent. Content marketing specialists who have yet to jump on the video bandwagon are potentially missing out on some serious marketing opportunities.

What Medium Fits the Audience Best?

In the end, content marketing professionals should pick the medium that fits the target audience the best. Whether it’s written works, static visual mediums or video, content that resonates best with viewers is content that drives conversions.

Mar 08
0

The Psychology Behind Clean Website Design

By | web development, website design | No Comments

Say two websites are selling the exact same service at the same rate. One website is a messy, difficult-to-navigate maze and features what appears to be a side navigation bar that hasn’t been updated since 1998. The other site — which again, sells the exact same service for the same price — has a clean website design, simple navigation and an appealing layout.

Upon which site will most people bestow their favor? Without a doubt, most end users will opt for the clean website design. Here’s a breakdown of the psychology behind why clean, simple site designs resonate more with end users.

The Science Behind Simplicity

A clean website design serves several purposes outside of its intended aesthetic appeal. An optimized micro white space (the minuscule area between letters and lines) not only looks better, but it also makes text easier for website users to read. Elegant simplicity also creates a positive, lasting first impression; this is critical for several reasons. Not only does a favorable first impression contribute to a lower bounce rate, it also creates a propensity for users to return in the future. A clean, sleek site layout that runs quickly and smoothly instills trust with the end user — coupled with a sense of luxury and efficiency.

Clean Navigation Increases Traffic and Revenue

In addition to creating a lasting impression on end users — specifically users who are visiting your site for the first time — a simple site layout with easy-to-use navigation increases onsite traffic and thus revenue. A site may sell a product or service for a lower price than a competitor; however, if end users can’t access a product, shopping cart or checkout due to a busy and confusing layout, the purpose of the site is ultimately defeated. Alternately, a site that’s easy to find, navigate and use will yield much higher statistics in terms of incoming traffic, revenue and positive consumer feedback.

Mar 08
0

Communicating Brand Message Via Influencer Marketing

By | advertising, marketing | No Comments

In a nutshell, influencer marketing is a specific type of marketing that focuses heavily on utilizing key industry leaders to convey a brand’s message to a sizable market. While traditional companies focus on reaching a target audience through direct means, marketing companies that employ an influencer-based approach either hire, pay or motivate influencers to spread the word about a brand, product or service to the general public — both online and offline.

Influencer Campaigns Thrive with Social Media, Content Marketing

Influencer marketing requires a couple of different types of marketing support to be successful. Almost every influencer campaign employs two additional advertising tactics: social media marketing and content marketing. Because most legitimate marketing companies should already have a solid grasp on both these areas (and if they don’t, you should seriously question their capabilities), incorporating influencer marketing tactics is more of a natural next step than it is a step in a different direction.

Influencer Marketing Isn’t Word-of-Mouth

Don’t be fooled; influencer campaigns are not the same as word-of-mouth campaigns, although the two can be (and are often) used interchangeably. Most marketing companies who employ influencer-heavy tactics almost certainly utilize word-of-mouth communication channels to spread positive information about particular brands, messaging and product popularity. How influencer campaigns differ, however, is that they designate a key person or correspondent to leverage their status, influence and connections to create buzz for a product, service or idea.

Using Influence, Connections and Status to Target Audiences

This type of non-traditional marketing uses a set of unique building blocks to create successful campaigns. Aside from identifying the initial influencers for the designated product, brand or service, influencer marketing goes one step further by creating a campaign that directly and aggressively targets specified audiences within an influencer’s direct reach. It’s essential for influencer campaigns to conclude with thorough, conclusive metrics tallying the reach and sales for the sum of the campaign. Based on how successful or unsuccessful this data may be, future influencer campaigns may change accordingly.

Mar 08
0

The Holy Trinity of Content Marketing: Channels, Strategies and Tactics

By | content marketing | No Comments

It’s well-known that content is an integral part of marketing; however, the million dollar question on every organization’s mind is: how does content marketing fit in? While it’s not exactly its own channel, like, say social media or search engine optimization, marketing companies from Utah through the Midwest are relying heavily upon the incorporation of content marketing into these channels for successful advertising campaigns. So where, exactly, does content marketing fit in?

Perhaps the primary focus of content marketing is to relay a message or story to your target audience. It doesn’t matter if you’re targeting an audience in Utah or a consumer base on the East Coast; content plays the critical role of conveying your brand’s story to your audience. Choosing how the audience receives the content comes second to the primary goal of conveying the brand relevance and personality via well-written content.

Strategic Content Through Brand Stories

In the same way that any type of marketing campaign, whether content-centric or not, needs an outlet to reach new target audiences, it also needs a solid strategy to be successful. And while content can’t be purely categorized into one sole “strategy,” it certainly can be designed to fit an effective marketing strategy.

The theme that your content intends to express to audiences is the core strategy of any marketing campaign, whether you’re targeting an outdoorsy audience in Utah or preppy Ivy League schools on the East Coast. Your content strategy should consist of a successful relationship between the channels that you use and your overarching theme.

Pinpoint Focus, Then Employ Tactics

The tactics behind content marketing consist primarily of how, when and where you choose to broadcast content. For example, a successful content marketing tactic might involve steady, organic link building through 100 percent unique articles, blogs and infographics. Before deciding on a particular tactic, however, analyze what your end goal is. Is it brand awareness, higher SEO rankings or more on-page conversions? Once you’ve pinpointed your primary focus, you can utilize the most resourceful content tactics possible.

Mar 07
0

How to Make a Competitors’ SEO Strategy Your Own

By | digital marketing, SEO | No Comments

Search engine optimization, informally known as SEO, is a complex and multi-faceted field that requires expertise in several different areas in order to be successful. It doesn’t matter if you’re attempting to rank your site among search results in Utah or those on the East Coast — the playing field shows no preference when it comes to quadrants such as keyword competitiveness, inbound site traffic and user-friendly content.

So with SEO being such a competitive field (In Utah and in surrounding areas) how can you successfully (and legally) navigate the task at hand? To be frank, try taking a cue from your competitors. As much as you might view competitors as business rivals, competitors can be your best friends when it comes to search engine optimization.

Re-Spin Your Competitors’ Content

Although the phrase “content is king” still reigns in the digital kingdom of SEO, the phrase itself could benefit from a bit of a facelift. Although content certainly is one of the integral components of search engine optimization (whether you’re ranking for Utah-centric search terms or otherwise), the playing field has added a new referee: ideas. To take search engine optimization seriously means you absolutely must be aware of the content ideas your competitors are spinning, and then execute them with more precision and appeal.

Track Competitor Traffic with Link Mirroring

The advent of easy access to search engine research tools such as Moz’s Open Site Explorer have made it easy to not only track your competitors’ inbound links, but to mirror them. Although you should refrain from completely mimicking the strategy of your competitors, it’s vital that you become privy to where your competitors are getting their information. To beat a competitor, you must first get inside the mind of a competitor. Tracking and analyzing competitor links is the first step in accessing the thought processes of serious, major-league competition.

Mar 07
0

Why Can’t Spotify Win the Advertising Battle?

By | advertising, Audio, commercials | No Comments

It’s not news — or at least new news — that Spotify ads have a relatively solid anti-fan base online. With 20 million paying subscribers in 2015 alone, there are bound to be some rankled or slightly irritated users — but why? Why do Spotify ads in particular seem to have a dedicated hate-following online, versus similar (albeit slightly different) music platforms such as Pandora or Songza?

After briefly browsing through some of the user reviews online, it appears that there are at least a couple of things Spotify is getting wrong in its advertising department. And with more than enough advertising agencies willing to weigh in and fix the problem, there’s no reason why the music platform shouldn’t be stepping up its advertising game.

The Ads Clash with the Listening Experience

Although it’s nice that Spotify offers a free, ad-supported version of its music services, this doesn’t mean there aren’t strings attached to the listening experience. Most advertising agencies attempt to curate their ads to fit the general tastes of the product or services’ target audience; however, it appears (from a user’s perspective) that Spotify attempts none of this. The result? Misplaced, erratic ads that ruin the listener’s vibe. In addition to feeling irritated, most users express vehemence at having their workout routine mix interrupted by an ad for Trojan brand condoms.

There Are Too Many Consecutive Ads

If the ad content wasn’t annoying enough, another factor of the Spotify ad problem involves the amount of ads that are played between songs. While other music platforms such as Pandora may play one or two ads between songs, Spotify will play multiple ads that successively aggravate the listener. Most advertising agencies do not endorse this kind of approach.

Encouraging Listeners to Upgrade to Premium

If Spotify’s intention with its ads is to encourage listeners to upgrade to the ad-free Premium version, it would probably behoove them to start by building a more favorable fan base. The duality of Spotify is that while its services are awesome — and almost a necessity — their ads are isolating listeners and causing what might become an irreversible schism among music enthusiasts everywhere.