Proliferation

Apr 25
0

How Facebook Marketed “Straight Outta Compton” for Crossover Success

By | content marketing, Utah | No Comments

The power of content marketing has never been stronger nor more successful than in the case of Universal’s decision to create customized racial marketing for the film “Straight Outta Compton.” The film tells the story of the rise of the hip-hop group N.W.A. — a group that most white Americans were unfamiliar with. Facebook successfully helped Universal Pictures create custom advertising contingent upon race — whether in Utah or on the West Coast — that proved to be surprisingly successful.

“Straight Outta Compton” Received Wide Crossover Appeal

Universal Pictures’ EVP of digital marketing, Doug Neil, had an initial hunch that the film would be popular with African American audiences; however, he was surprised to discover that “Straight Outta Compton” also received a wide crossover appeal. The film grossed over $160 million at the U.S. box office; a feat that Neil credited in part to Facebook’s specialized content marketing. By creating custom trailers for different demographics of the population — whether in Salt Lake City, Utah or on the East Coast — the film reached a broader audience and experienced a higher success rate at the box office.

Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and N.W.A. Were All Marketed Differently

Part of the marketing challenge that the movie faced was the fact that although many non-African Americans and non-Hispanics knew what N.W.A. was, or knew that Ice Cube and Dr. Dre actually made music, most of this general population identified Ice Cube only as an actor and Dr. Dre as the name behind the unnecessarily expensive line of Beats headphones. The solution to this dilemma was easily solved: the movie was marketed to white audiences on Facebook as a tale of the advancement of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, as opposed to a story about N.W.A. The trailer marketed to African Americans was much different, and capitalized on the population’s familiarity with N.W.A.

The bottom line? Content marketing works, especially when attempting to target a particular demographic — whether in small-town Utah or a large East Coast city. The marketing experiment of “Straight Outta Compton” has paved the way for future successes in the realm of content marketing to different audiences.

Apr 25
0

The Key Components of Mobile SEO

By | SEO, Utah, Utah SEO | No Comments

Google is always working to improve its user search experience — and the company’s latest target is mobile. Google has already made the pushed for app indexing, making it easier for Google users to find a company’s app among their desired search results. Now with SEO incorporating mobile more than ever, here are a few things businesses in Utah and elsewhere need to know about mobile SEO.

Focus on Rankings

Mobile SEO and traditional desktop SEO really aren’t really that different, but it’s important that businesses maintain a focus on rankings for core keywords. Mobile search is growing significantly faster than traditional search; if your company website isn’t mobile-friendly, it’s unlikely your site will rank at the top of the search rankings for your target keywords. As you can see, having a mobile-friendly website is easily the most important component of good mobile SEO.

Fix Any Mobile Errors

Mobile search experts in Utah and elsewhere have looked at various different website designs, from websites with a separate mobile design to sites with multi-modal desktop and mobile designs. According to the research, there isn’t a significant difference between websites that use mobile-specific designs and those that don’t — instead, webmasters should focus on fixing any errors. This will help increase traffic to your website, as the mobile user will feel more comfortable using it.

Get an App

App Store Optimization is another key component of mobile SEO. Making your app stand out in the App Store will not only help your SEO, but boost your app indexing as well. App indexing is basically like SEO for your app content; keeping all pages of the app indexed and incorporating relevant keywords will help increase downloads of your app.

Use AMP

Google has also recently incorporated AMPs (accelerated mobile pages). AMPs are pages that show up on the right side of a Google search, usually with a link to Wikipedia. On your mobile, AMPs are often at the top of search results. Unfortunately for companies in Utah and elsewhere, Google AMPs are currently for publishers only.

Mobile is the new frontier for companies everywhere — with these four key components, anyone can become a mobile SEO professional.

Apr 22
0

Slaying Your Content Marketing Challenges

By | content marketing, marketing, Utah | No Comments

By now, most companies are starting to get the message that content marketing isn’t a fad. In the information age, content marketing is marketing. Even still, businesses in Utah and beyond build long lists of reasons why they can’t make it happen. They make small problems seem like massive dragons ready to burn their careers to the ground. But by adopting some new ways of thinking about content, there are really no dragons you can’t slay.

Here are some of the biggest content challenges we hear about and why they’re not so bad.

I Don’t Have Enough Time

This is one we’re sick of hearing. Anyone can make time for priorities — and if you’re doing marketing at all, content marketing is definitely going to be one of your primary areas of focus. A quick 30 minutes of unfettered typing can lead to a bunch of different content types, whether it’s a blog article, some social media posts or even quick, low-production instructional videos. Not only that, but who’s to say you have to be the one creating the content? Many companies have had success inviting their clients to write blog articles for them, and still more have hired marketing agencies in Utah to fill their content gaps.

I Don’t Have Any Ideas 

Ten minutes with a pen, a pad and a few people is all it takes to get a huge list of ideas ready for local markets like the state of Utah, or bigger markets like the whole country. Ask yourself questions like:

  • What makes our company different from others in Utah or the world?
  • What expert knowledge about our industry can we share?
  • What about our manufacturing or development process might be compelling to talk about?
  • What is happening in our industry now and how can we comment on it intelligently?
  • What are our clients struggling with and how can we ease some of their burdens with content?
  • At what times has the client been satisfied, and what are their stories?

Among the answers to these questions is a huge list of potential videos, articles and more.

My Brand Doesn’t Lend Itself to That Kind of Marketing

Given what we already discussed above, you should begin to see that even a boring product or company has compelling stories, whether they involve internal processes or client success. The home appliance market in particular might seem boring until you think of what Utah-based company Blendtec has done. Just by using one of their blenders to destroy various things, Blendtec has become a YouTube sensation and a household name, all while selling a ton of blenders.

I Can’t Get the Execs to Sign Off

For many, gaining executive approval is the biggest challenge they’ll face. Executives will wonder why their employees are spending time writing a bunch of articles, and making a bunch of videos that might not even discuss their product directly. Those still stuck in the always-be-closing mentality, won’t like the idea of slowly building trust and authority with prospects. Your job will be showing them how much success other companies have had with content marketing. You’ll need to reveal a detailed plan of how content marketing applies to your company, and what gains you can hope to get from it. You strategy might focus on a local market, like Utah in our case, or it could cast a wider net across the country or world. With a compelling plan in place and a clear picture of the potential ROI, most execs will give you a shot.

It’s Too Expensive

This is a pretty common misconception about content marketing. When you see long-form ebooks, highly stylized infographics and videos with stellar production, content marketing starts to look mighty expensive — but it doesn’t have to be. Audiences will forgive lower production values for information that helps them. How many times have you sat through a fuzzy YouTube video because it had the info you need? The real value you provide is in the quality of the information itself. Great packaging helps, but if you have solid information that’s useful for your target audience, your content will succeed — even on a budget.

Conclusion

Content marketers are always going to run into challenges, whether they’re a small Utah-based shop, or a huge national firm, but there are none too big for agile marketers handle. With a little know-how and a firm belief in successful content marketing, there’s no challenge too big for the knights of content to slay.

Apr 11
0

Mobile Content Marketing Mistakes You Might Be Making

By | content marketing, Utah | No Comments

Creating a good mobile content marketing strategy is crucial for any business, whether you’re based in Utah or on the East Coast. People don’t walk around carrying laptops — you see people walking around Utah on their mobile phones. People are glued to their phones twenty-four-seven, so having your website optimized for mobile is essential.

It may seem simple enough to make a mobile site, but crafting a good mobile content strategy requires skill and finesse. Here are some things content marketing agencies should watch out for when implementing a mobile strategy.

Fit the Mobile Marketing Strategy

Your website may already be mobile-friendly, but you can use certain types of graphics and designs to really get the most out of your mobile content marketing game. One popular content phenomenon is the infographic. An infographic is typically designed by a graphic designer, and works as a visual tool to get your message across.

Unfortunately, infographics can often be lacking in the mobile-friendly department. You have to zoom in on them, scroll up and down, etc. It’s a lot easier to view them on a computer, where you can view the entire graphic with one glance. If you are planning to use infographics for your company in Utah or elsewhere, try using a HTML5 landing page that can share the information. This will ensure engagement with consumers remains high in the long run.

A Lack of Typography in Mobility

Don’t be afraid of typography — when it comes to content marketing, typography is something that you’ll want to understand. According to Content Standard, typography “is the art and technique of composing all the visual components that make up the look and feel of your copy.” Yes, your choice of font can make a big difference in your mobile content marketing. Keep in mind that your chosen font, point size, line length and spacing will affect how comfortable your consumer is when using your website.

Too Many Words

In Utah and elsewhere, people are using their phones on the go. People are looking for apps that give them what they want — and quickly. Potential consumers don’t want to have to read through pages and pages of information to find an answer. Make sure that your website is “skimmable,” meaning that your consumers can easily find what they are looking for, all on one page.

Too Slow

How fast your mobile site runs doesn’t really have anything to do with your design — or does it? Make sure that your design can be loaded quickly onto any device. Test your marketing content on different devices, and check to see how long it takes to load on each browser. It’s important to find that middle ground, so that your website can work at its best across all mobile devices.

Too Bad, So Sad

Have you even taken a chance to look at your own mobile website? Do you use it often? Being the owner of a website may make you feel as though you don’t need to see or use it. In fact, using your own mobile site regularly may help you build empathy for your users in Utah. If you can walk in the same shoes as your customers, you’re going to know exactly what they want from your website.

Apr 07
0

Is Pinterest the New Dark Horse of SEO?

By | Mobile marketing, Social Media, Utah, Utah SEO | No Comments

When considering major search engines moguls, such as Google and Yahoo immediately come to mind. However, another major search engine that’s overlooked is Pinterest — yes, that social media platform. With recent updates to the site, including a new Smart Feed algorithm that displays relevant content first, Pinterest is providing a large opportunity for businesses to gain a competitive advantage — whether they’re targeting SEO in Utah or on the East Coast. There are a couple of ways that you can use Pinterest to effectively optimize your SEO efforts. Here’s the breakdown.

Verify Your Site for Optimization

To get the most out of your SEO efforts on Pinterest, verify your website. Doing this directly affects the placement of your site in search engine results pages. Additionally, Pinterest views this favorably in terms of credibility, giving you a competitive edge in overall rankings. It doesn’t matter if your site is based on services rendered in Utah or across the country; verifying your site gives you an additional boost to rank higher in search results.

How to Optimize Your Username and Account Name

After you’ve verified your site, optimize your Pinterest username and account name. You can do this via your account settings, beneath the Profile section. Pinterest automatically creates a URL for your page based off of your account name; from here, you should edit your page’s URL to be more SEO-friendly. Separate words with dashes and carefully select a URL that correctly reflects the content of your page. In doing so, you’ll make your Pinterest page more visible to Google, and thus, more likely to appear on a search engine results page.

Next, optimize your username. Pinterest allows a max of 15 characters per username — so choose carefully. Ideally, you should use your company name or industry-related keywords. Yet in addition to this, you should strive to make your username as memorable as possible. If your company provides services or information specific to Utah, include this geo-qualifier in your username (if possible). The more straightforward and unique your username is, the better.

Apr 07
0

The Alpha and Omega of Web Development

By | Utah, web development, website design | No Comments

Although almost every Website is different (or should be), the basics of the Web development process stays relatively similar. From the beginning phases of planning and gathering information through the end steps of development, testing and delivery, the Web design process involves several integral processes.

Research and Information Precedes Design

An appropriate amount of research must be done before the design process can begin; inadequate background information could result in a haphazard end product. As perhaps the most important aspect of the Web development process, research involves several different tangents. Before design and development can begin, the purpose and goals of the project must be completely designated. Is the purpose of the site to provide information? To sell a project? What are the goals of the site? After these items have been finished, you can identity your target audience and specify the type of content you want on the site.

Create a Design for Your Target Audience

After the initial planning and research phase is complete, it’s time to move onto the design portion of the Web development process. Perhaps the most important aspect of this step involves creating a design for your target audience. A retail site developed for younger audiences will have a much different design approach than a site targeting a financial planning audience. Whatever your target audience may be, your web design process should adequately reflect who you’re targeting.

Develop and Test for Different Browsers

Development immediately follows the design phase. Typically, the home page is designed first, immediately followed by an outline for interior/subpages. This template harbors the main navigational structure for your site — including the site map, page navigation and CTAs. After the development phase is complete, it’s time to move on to the testing and delivery phase. Before a site goes live, your Web designer will test the functionality of the site to ensure that all forms and scrips are functioning correctly, and will also test compatibility issues. This critical testing phase is done to ensure that the site can be viewed properly across a large range of different browsers.