Proliferation

Feb 25
0

These Content Marketing Statistics Are Changing the Game

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Content Marketing and SEO

Close to 70 percent of all marketing companies lack a steady, cohesive and effective content marketing plan. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Utah or in the Midwest — not having an effective content marketing strategy dates your company considerably. There is a compelling collection of statistics regarding this field that shed a substantial amount of light on the current state of content within the marketing hemisphere. While navigating the highly competitive nature of this field, here are some of the major stats you should be aware of.

Trade Secrets of Effective Content Marketers

Thinking about skipping that weekly content meeting? You might want to stick around. Approximately 61 percent of the most effective content marketing companies in Utah and around the country meet on either a daily or a weekly basis to brainstorm and collaborate. Additionally, the most successful B2B (business-to-business) content marketers dedicate nearly 42 percent of their entire budget almost exclusively to this area. Statistics don’t lie — the right verbiage is an integral part of any successful advertising strategy.

The Cohabitation of Content and Color

Although black and white color schemes have made a notable comeback in certain modern realms, recent research confirms that a vibrant color scheme can increase consumers’ willingness to engage with a written piece by 80 percent. If adding a little color to your layout can propel someone to read your content by this large of a margin, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be analyzing color schemes for your site right now.

Pairing Images and Content for Long-Term Impressions

If an 80 percent increase in content readership isn’t convincing enough, the next statistic might shock you. On average, people only remember 10 percent of information they hear when asked about it a couple of days later (approximately three days). However, if that same information is presented with a corresponding image, people retain close to 65 percent of the information. Whether you’re targeting audiences in Utah or on the East Coast, don’t underestimate the potential of pairing visuals with your content marketing strategy — it’s a critical combination that can make or break your online presence.

Feb 24
0

Dissecting the User-Generated Content Revolution

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Numerous Hands Using Mobile Devices

User-generated content, or UGC, is the hot new marketing buzzword of the day. Yet what is UGC, and how does it work? And not only that, but how well does it work? Content marketing companies from Utah to the Midwest are using UGC tactics for authentic, effective campaigns.

Research Shows Millennials Favor UGC

UGC is any type of content (such as blogs, videos, tweets and advertisements) that is uniquely created and shared by the end users of an online business or website. On average, 64 percent of millennials everywhere want more choices when it comes to sharing their beliefs regarding their favorite brands. These statistics show an overwhelming partiality towards UGC — so much so that content marketing firms from Utah to the East Coast are readjusting their marketing campaigns to focus specifically on UGC.

Marketing Agencies Increase Digital UGC Campaigns

Research shows that UGC is 35 percent more memorable and 50 percent more trusted than other kinds of content. So what does this look like for digital marketing from a practical standpoint? In lieu of creating content — although content is still as always a critical aspect of digital marketing — agencies are providing more opportunities for outside content development. Content marketing agencies from Utah to the Midwest are actively inviting their audience to participate in digital campaigns by challenging them to document fragments of their lives.

User-Generated Content Improves Marketing Think Tanks

Engaging in a UGC campaign serves a dual purpose: not only does it shed significant light on the thinking patterns, behaviors and preferences of a company’s consumers, it also creates a special interest in the product — usually in the form of a creative challenge. Instead of engaging in traditional “think tanks,” marketing teams are accessing the preferences of their target audiences via UGC campaigns.

Popular social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter are providing a dynamic stage for marketers to curate multi-faceted UGC campaigns. And due to consumers’ overwhelmingly high approval rate for UGC campaigns, it seems this strategy is here to stay.

Feb 20
0

Why Web Development Agencies Supersede Freelancers

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When it comes to Web design and development, you can go one of two ways. You can hire a freelancer to handle your website design, content creation, social media marketing, SEO efforts and any other issue that may come up. Or, you can hire the services of a Web development agency. Although employing the services of a freelancer might be an attractive idea initially, it will always benefit your company in the long run to hire the services of an established agency.

A Web development company can provide you with four beneficial components: client support, communication, expertise and post-launch support. Here’s why each of these areas is so critical to the success of your business.

Agencies Focus on Client Support and Communication

Any professional Web development agency will be adequately staffed with enough customer support employees to immediately address complaints, answer questions and help familiarize your company with developmental projects.

Coupled with effective communication, this creates a pathway for success that a freelancer will have a hard time paralleling — no matter how talented he or she may be. Overall, a marketing agency will employ a more structured, systematic method of organization that ensures you always stay up-to-date with current projects.

Agencies Offer Expertise and Post-Launch Support

While a freelancer may be an expert in a couple of areas — at best — an agency will have a broad spectrum of expertise that extends into dynamic fields that go above and beyond design and content creation. Search engine optimization, social media marketing and online reputation management are just a few areas that can and should be addressed by an advertising agency for any successful online marketing campaign.

Post launch support is also an essential aspect of running a successful campaign online. Inevitably, your site will encounter some issues after it launches, making it essential to have the right team behind you to handle these issues as they arise.

Feb 19
0

How to Get Through a Content Marketing Slump

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So you’ve started using content marketing to advertise your business. Things are going well: you’re producing good, high-quality content and seeing sizeable increases in both traffic and conversions. Then all of a sudden the numbers start to level off — social media interactions stop increasing, traffic stagnates, and returns come to a plateau. What can you do?

Slow growth levels in your content marketing strategy can be more frustrating than trying to get a martini in Utah. If your content marketing plan is no longer bringing in the double-digit results you’d hoped for, it may be time to switch things up.

Increasing the amount of content you produce is probably the easiest way to break out of a content marketing slump; just be sure not to sacrifice quality in the face of quantity. Increase your social media presence by sharing content more than once a day, or bump up blog posts from a weekly affair to a multi-weekly one.

Already producing a fair amount of content? Try introducing more variation in the formats and mediums you use. Invite prominent guest bloggers in your field to contribute a guest post or two. Include news roundups, video roundups and valuable tips from industry insiders. Offer long-form pieces in addition to short-form listicles, and don’t forget to take advantage of visual media.

Give videos a try. While an elaborate video can bring in serious traffic, you don’t have to report live from the top of a mountain in Utah to get views. Even a short video of you speaking in front of a blank backdrop can significantly boost numbers.

If all else fails, you may simply be focusing your content marketing efforts on the wrong audience. If you’re a local business in Utah, reaching out to consumers in the Midwest is probably a waste of time and money. Reevaluate your priorities and make sure your content is successfully reaching the kind of people who will follow through—they’re the customers who matter most.

Feb 18
0

Does Text Message Advertising Work?

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In an age where 90 percent of American adults carry a cell phone, digital advertisers and marketing agencies alike have been reluctant to connect with consumers the way teenagers have for well over a decade — through text messaging.

One reason for this hesitation is straightforward: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has strict guidelines when it comes to text message marketing. Automated dialers used to send unsolicited messages without the express consent of the recipient are illegal, and subject to stiff penalties.

Besides the unlawful aspect, unsolicited text messages have terrible response rates. Opt-in text message advertising, however, tells a different story. According to James Citron, CEO of text messaging service Mogreet, not only do 95 percent of opt-in text message customers open and read the mobile messages they receive, they do so within an average of three minutes.

That response rate trumps even email newsletters, the unsung champion of marketing agencies across the country. But it’s not enough to just text customers your average marketing fluff — opt-in customers want to get something special out of a text marketing service, such as coupons or access to exclusive sales.

Take the Armani Exchange text service, which previously offered a series of sales available only to text message customers — the campaign was so successful, lines formed out the door and down the street at the Manhattan flagship store.

Text message marketing can work especially well for geo-targeting purposes; customers can sign up to receive offers exclusive to their physical location, or coupons that recommend a particular location. Small boutique businesses can also capitalize on geo-targeting, by only messaging customers when they come within a certain range of a store or business.

Since text message marketing is still relatively uncommon among marketing agencies, the efficacy of text advertising remains a topic of future research. However, when done well — and in accordance with FCC guidelines — text message advertising can be a new and innovative way to reach consumers in the 21st century.

Feb 18
0

How Market Research Effectively Enhances SEO Efforts

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Market research is a pivotal aspect of any vibrant search engine optimization campaign. Market research finds relevant data about competitive landscape, customer values, demographics, effective mediums and market trends while providing enrichment across several platforms. By employing current market research, reports and methods, you can substantially enhance your current SEO efforts. Whether you’re in Utah or the Midwest, market research can help you accomplish three major things.

1. Market Research Provides Relevant Keywords

If you aren’t using the right keywords or keyword phrases to optimize your website, then you’re going to have a difficult time getting it to successfully rank within the first three pages of a search engine results page. SEO efforts, whether done in Utah or on a national platform, will need to be custom-tailored to fit your target audience and to retain an edge over your competitors.

Market research exposes you to current industry keyword trends, overall keyword competitiveness and the monthly search volume for each term. Being aware of these factors before you launch a SEO campaign in Utah or elsewhere will help you achieve the most profitable results.

2. Market Research Creates a Competitive Edge

Market research and specific, tailored search phrases will help attract organic traffic to your site while giving you beneficial insight about your competitors. By understanding which keywords and keyword phrases your competitors are targeting, you will simultaneously be able to recognize which keyword topics they are not focusing on. By utilizing market research to cue you in on your competitor’s weak spots, you will be able to substantially increase your overall SEO rankings.

3. Utilizing Research for High Value Content

Last but not least, market research can help you hone in on the specific wants and needs of your consumers. As a result, you will be able to craft more focused, relevant content — which will ultimately do much more for your rankings than mediocre content stuffed with keywords. In the process, you’ll also position yourself as a trusted, veritable industry expert.

Feb 17
0

How the HTTP/2 Updates Will Affect SEO

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HTTP/2 is raising as much excitement within the Web development community as it is raising speculation. As the most recent update to the HTTP protocol by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force), HTTP/2 succeeds the 1999-drafted and painfully out-of-date HTTP/1.1. SEO experts from Utah to the Midwest are preparing for the updates that HTTP/2 will usher in, the most noteworthy of which include increased efficiency, advanced security measures and improved speed.

HTTP/2 Adds Single Connection and Multiple Requests

Based considerably on Google’s protocol SPDY, HTTP/2 boasts an impressive list of improvements. HTTP/2 will utilize a single connection to load a website, which will stay open for the duration of how long the website remains open. Additionally, this updated protocol will allow for multiple requests at the same time and will assert prioritization by assigning requests to dependency levels. But here’s the real question that everybody is asking: How will HTTP/2 affect SEO efforts, whether in Utah or on a national platform?

HTTP/2 Boosts Rankings — If Done Correctly

Because GoogleBot will provide additional support for HTTP/2, any website that endorses the protocol will most likely experience an increased boost in rankings due to HTTP/2’s speed updates. However, SEO experts in Utah and elsewhere caution that there are several technical items that must be completed accurately; otherwise, you may experience a brief drop in rankings.

Protocol Updates Will Provide a Better User Experience

There are no drawbacks to implementing HTTP/2; on the contrary, upgrading to this protocol will substantially enrich your website by providing visitors with a faster user experience. And because Google considers speed as a major ranking component, there is a possibility that HTTP/2 will itself become an additional factor in the process. Regardless of the changes that HTTP/2 will make to search engine optimization, opting to implement the update will provide your site visitors with a better overall experience — resulting in more conversions and increased sales.

Feb 17
0

How Important is Your Website’s Homepage?

By | web development | No Comments

Once upon a time, the homepage was considered the single most important page on a company website. With shifting search algorithms and the continuing rise of social, however, times have changed; according to a New York Times innovation report, homepage traffic has declined by nearly 50 percent in the past two years.

And they’re not the only ones. Across the Internet, home page clicks are increasingly replaced by visits to landing pages, blogs and other more specific website content. For those working in Web development, this poses an issue — how much weight should be placed on the homepage, if any?

The truth is, the importance of the homepage varies depending on the business, as well as the website and how it operates. For clickbait news sites such as Buzzfeed or Gawker, the vast majority of traffic comes from social referrals, which lead viewers to a specific article or story. However, for your standard business specializing in goods and services, the opposite is true.

For the average business, website visitors need to know three things upfront:

Who are you?

What do you do, make or sell?

Why should customers choose your business?

The homepage is often the first impression viewers will have of your website or brand — so it needs to be flawless. Set a clear visual hierarchy behind your Web development and follow through on that hierarchy with the design. Frame information in a way that caters to customers, and be sure to present information in a clear and concise manner.

Not only should a homepage provide adequate information about your product or service, it should include a call to action that makes conversions easy — some clear way to get started. Don’t just bring in new customers, turn them into long-term customers.

While the overall Web development landscape has changed, the homepage remains a quintessential conversion tool for most businesses. Earn your visitors’ attention with a clear, smart homepage that tells your story — and makes visitors want to get involved.

Feb 16
0

Runaway Box Office Hit ‘Deadpool’ Has Its Viral Marketing Campaign to Thank

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For a movie starring a rather unconventional protagonist, a by-the-book traditional marketing strategy is the last thing you need.

At least that’s the approach the marketing agencies behind 20th Century Fox chose to take with Marvel’s raunchy new superhero comedy, the R-rated “Deadpool.” Since the weeks before Christmas, Marvel superfans and plebeians alike have been inundated with every kind of marketing technique imaginable — from billboards and emojis to cheeky email newsletters and even fake Tinder profiles.

Fox’s viral marketing campaign has been an unprecedented success: “Deadpool” obliterated any and all competition over its four-day opening weekend, earning a record-breaking $150 million domestically at the box office. Smashing records for biggest R-rated opening weekend, biggest R-rated Friday, Saturday and Sunday and biggest 20th Century Fox debut ever, Marvel’s sassy, fourth-wall breaking superhero is clearly nothing to be messed with.

While initial reviews of the film have been generally positive, the real success of “Deadpool” can be attributed to its unconventional viral advertising. The marketing agencies behind the film deftly toed the line between cheeky and downright risqué, with everything from a Burt Reynolds-inspired fireplace pinup spread to a blatant TV rip-off of “The Bachelor.”

Despite the film’s R-rating, Fox’s marketing agencies catered to audiences of all ages, with an emoji-only billboard widely misread as “skullpoopl” (an ad featuring the word “skullpoopl” instead of “Deadpool” would soon follow). Speaking of emojis, a whole line of “Deadpool” emojis was released, featuring everything from blood splatters to unicorns.

In addition to a wealth of borderline-NSFW sexual innuendos, the “Deadpool” marketing campaign unabashedly trolled its audience: one ad capitalized on the film’s Valentine’s Day opening with a satirical billboard evocative of a Nicholas Sparks movie (complete with the tagline “True Love Never Dies”), while another advertised Deadpool’s “great ass” by having the character assume a Bettie Page-esque pinup pose.

In a market saturated with your standard superhero flicks, the film’s offbeat approach panders to the less traditional among us. If the numbers are anything to show for it, an unconventional, genuinely creative marketing campaign is the way to go for agencies looking to make an impression.

Feb 16
0

Crafting User-Friendly Titles for Content Marketing

By | content marketing | No Comments

On average, people only read about 50 percent of the content that they encounter while browsing online. Let’s face it — with so much information readily available at our fingertips, it’s inevitable that most people aren’t going to digest the majority of what’s written in a lengthy article, no matter how informative or interesting it is. If you want to increase your presence in content marketing in Utah or elsewhere, this means that you have to create fully-enveloping, diverse and dynamic titles to both capture and maintain your audience.

Online Readers Scan for Prominent Headlines

Readers may not devote their undivided attention to reading an entire article. What they will do, however, is scan. Perhaps the first thing that a reader does while browsing online articles is scan through the prominent headlines before deciding to spend the time and energy to actual read what’s written therein. This means that you only have a limited number of words to capture the attention of your reader. This is where content marketing comes into play — whether you’re in Utah or on the East Coast, it’s critical that you make every word count.

Titles Should Reflect a Consistent Dialogue

Content marketing, whether it’s done in Utah or the Midwest, is only effective if the audience believes that you are a reliable, trustworthy expert in your field. Every title and headline should be specifically reflective of the ideas and verbiage that follow. A reader will feel misled if you propose an unrelated topic or question in your title, and then go on to discuss a completely different topic within the content.

First Appeal to Readers, Then Focus on SEO

Although the use of keywords in titles and headlines is important, readability is more important. Your target audience should be first in mind when crafting the perfect title — and if your preferred keywords fit within this framework, count it as an additional bonus. A few ways to write titles with your target audience in mind can include posing a question, employing humor, commenting (tastefully) on controversial issues and using well-placed power words. First appeal to the reader — and once you’ve done this, focus on the SEO aspects.