Proliferation

Apr 19
0

The Facebook Metrics You Should Care Most About

By | content marketing, digital marketing, Facebook, marketing agencies, Social Media, web development, website design | No Comments

Facebook boasts just over a billion daily active users, making it a huge storehouse of potential customers that businesses can pursue. Since most businesses and digital marketing firms are on board the Facebook train by now, the next step for them is understanding some of the metrics Facebook provides — and how those metrics can be used to improve posts.

Page Views

Page views refer to how many people have visited your Facebook page. This is useful because it can show you how many people were either curious enough about your brand to look you up, or wanted to interact with more of your posts after seeing them on their news feed.

Reach

For Facebook, reach refers to how many users viewed your post. This helps digital marketing firms because you can see which posts gather the most reach, compared to which aren’t doing so well. While this information is useful, it it’s not nearly as useful as seeing how many people engaged with a particular post.

Impressions

While reach refers to number of people who saw your post, impressions refer to how many times your post was seen. This is different, because the same user can see your post more than once if one of his or her friends shares the post. Impressions are a useful metric because they give you a clearer picture of how many times your message is appearing to your audience — and can be a good indicator of how shareable it is.

Engagement

For digital marketing firms in particular, the keyword for social media is, of course, “social.” Engagement measures the percentage of people who interacted with your posts, either through commenting, liking, sharing, etc. This is one of the most useful metrics — because the best type of content is the kind that’s interesting enough for people to share with their friends. The beauty of Facebook is that if you’re sharing something your audience likes, they will do a lot of the legwork for you.

Videos

A major focus for all digital marketing firms is video. If you’re posting videos to your Facebook page, you’ll want to know how many people are actually watching them, right? What’s more useful, though, is seeing how long people have watched your video. Facebook will provide you with the number of times your video has been viewed for at least ten seconds. If videos consistently under perform and people begin to watch but quickly bounce, that’s a solid indicator that your videos need some improvement.

In Summary

Facebook provides these statistics for a reason, so don’t forget to make studying them a regular part of your social media strategy. Only by analyzing stats and understanding how your posts are performing can you continually improve your digital marketing game.

Apr 18
0

The Importance of a Company-Wide Style Guide

By | web development, website design | No Comments

For any company or brand maintaining consistent style, branding and visuals are absolutely essential. No matter whether you’re working at a small startup company or a multi-national corporation, having a style guide to refer to is invaluable for anyone in the website design profession. Here’s why.

Let’s say you’re working as a Web designer for a small company. As the sole designer, you come up with all the company logos, fonts, colors and other miscellaneous elements yourself. Now say the company is expanding, acquiring new big clients, and now you’re working with a team of website designers and Web development professionals. Do you want to have to personally teach each new employee that comes in the specifics of your company’s style and branding? Of course not!

Enter the company style guide. With a handy style guide that covers everything a Web designer needs to know, from fonts and hex values to logo sizes and placement, you’ve just saved yourself a hell of a lot of time and effort.

So what does a style guide for company website design typically entail? A company style guide can include information regarding brand voice, company colors, brand logo, positioning and terms of use, typography, specific icons or icon sets and much more. You can even include information on brand history & vision, social media guidelines, copywriting guidelines, design layouts, grid standards and examples, depending on your company’s needs.

A comprehensive company-wide style not only ensures everyone at your company knows what they’re doing, it also ensures that some inexperienced designer doesn’t come along and ruin all your hard work. For freelance designers, a style guide can function as a great housekeeping tool, allowing you to return to work with an old client without too much hassle.

Above all, a company-wide style guide ensures your work will stay consistent, and certifies an efficient, high-quality level of production. For website design professionals everywhere, your style guide is your instruction manual — don’t forget it!

Apr 15
0

How to Become a Video Marketing Master

By | advertising, Video | No Comments

In the current digital age, it’s become apparent that content marketing and video play a key role in the work of any advertising agency, from Utah to the East Coast. Video can easily capture someone’s attention — and video makes it increasingly easy to deliver a message. In advertising, things that are visual have been proven to be effective, helping to incorporate and engage your target viewership.

The Stats of Video Marketing

According to comScore, an American Internet analytics company, “just over 45 percent of Internet users viewed at least one video per month, and the average user is exposed to an average of 32 videos a month.” This is quite the amount of videos being watched. Imagine if your own video was being viewed that many times a month — it would make an incredible difference in your website’s traffic. Major retailers report that 90 percent of their shoppers find that video plays a critical role in a shopper’s purchasing experience.

Why Video?

In Utah and around the world, video is becoming a preferred form of marketing among consumers. A video is effective and can make the products or company more visible — rather than just the words on a page. According to a survey conducted by Internet marketing services Demand Metric and Ascend2, video is being used for brand awareness by 52 percent of marketers, and online engagement by 42 percent of marketers. The second largest distribution of channel usage by companies is through video sharing website like YouTube. The marketing services found that this was the second most effective distribution channel, just below the companies’ or brands’ own websites.

How to Make Engaging Videos

Any advertising agency would argue that most people aren’t excited to see the advertisements before their videos, but even so, this is a great way to market. As a Utah-based advertising agency with a video, you only have 10 seconds to grab the viewers’ attention. This is a critical thing to learn, because this will give you an idea of how long you want your video to be. Desktop users only have an attention span of approximately two minutes — so keep your videos short and to the point.

Make sure any video that your advertising agency produces is high quality — nothing makes your company look bad like a low-quality video. Your video should provide information that is both useful and informative. Also, making your videos user friendly can make it more appealing. Make the video interactive: have surveys your Utah consumer can take, make it engaging, but don’t get crazy.

Make sure you’re utilizing your videos for SEO purposes as well — include hashtags and your brand name. As an advertising agency in Utah, this will be critical to helping your client get the best of the best when it comes to their video marketing.

Apr 14
0

How Colors Affect Your Website

By | web development, website design | No Comments

Colors are very curious — they can make you feel something and change your mood. As a web designer, it’s important to pick the right colors for your clients’ websites. You wouldn’t want a yellow website for a funeral home, or a black website for children. As a web developer, it’s important to know what color schemes to use to help set the mood of the website. 

Color Theory

When it comes to picking colors, it’s important to understand three words: contrast, complementation and vibrancy. There are different shades to every color, so knowing what colors are going to contrast the colors you’ll be using will be important to you.

Complementation is similar, but these are colors that will accent each other such as blue and yellow.

Vibrancy is where mood setting comes in; picking a warm color will tend to energize the user, while a cooler color will be more relaxing. Knowing these basics will help you understand how the colors are going to work for you.

Design Principals

One easy design principal to remember in web design when picking colors, is to put a lighter color on your background, so that your text is easy to read. When designing around text, don’t get super creative — you want to keep the area simple.

If a web developer is looking to get a reader’s attention, make sure that you have colors that are contrasting, like using a gray background and lighter foreground. People’s eyes will usually look at the brightest color first — usually white, and that color will grab their attention. Using a variety of contrasting colors will help keep focus on certain page elements.

Color Scheme

Web designers can find a variety of color schemes, and picking that scheme can be a tough decision. Colors can bring out different feelings in people, like cool colors versus warm colors. As a web developer, there are different tools you can use to find schemes such as Adobe and Photoshop. These tools can help you find what color scheme and mood you’re trying to set.

Apr 14
0

How to Tell If Your Website Is Doing Well

By | web development, website design | No Comments

You’ve just completed an amazing website, complete with videos, graphics and intelligent copy. You know you and your family and friends have visited the website, but what about the public? How can you tell if your website design company did a good job? There are different tools you can use to measure the traffic on your website, so you can see just how popular it is compared to your competitors.

Mistakes You Could Be Making

At this point, you’ve probably noted that millionth visit on your page — and that does deserve a pat on the back — but does that really show how popular your website is? Don’t always focus on the upward trends, because you may be missing what’s going down. You may be getting that millionth visit, but how many monthly visits are you getting? This is important to understand, because people may not be returning to your website, due to your website design or some other reason.

Looking At Metrics

Looking at metrics can help you to see what is popular on your website and how many people you are pulling in. Let’s say you’re measuring the time people spend on your website — this can be another way to measure average engagement per visit. When you are able to measure the time on your site, you can see how engaged people are on your website. Say you find that on average someone is on your site for 50 seconds, and that you have an average of four page views a day. You can measure this for weeks, and when hits go up, this will help you notice if changes occur due to your website design, or for another reason.

Be Aware of Conversions

When a customer visits a website but does not interact much with it, such as when browsing Amazon, this does not result in a conversion. The website design itself isn’t the problem, this is actually something called “multi-channel conversion.” This means that you have visitors, but you’re not gaining loyal customers, whether your website exists for purchasing items or not. As a Web designer, it’s important to create something that will help your customers find the answers they are seeking. It may take time to gain loyal customers, but it’s a place to start.

Checking your metrics and other resources to see how popular your website is will help you decide what website design changes you may want to make, or help you find a new way to market. Keeping these in mind will help you to better understand both your website and your visitors.

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 08
0

From Print to Mad Men: How Advertising Became Digital

By | content marketing, digital marketing | No Comments

Cup of Coffee By a Computer

The real point in advertising is to get the name and product out in the public — while simultaneously making it not only look good, but fantastic. With major changes in entertainment and culture, the way that advertisement companies have presented their clients’ products to the community has changed. It’s important to find the right marketing company so that you’re getting up to date strategies on marketing and advertising here in Utah. A lot has changed between the paper era of yesterday to the digital marketing era of today.

The Beginning

Advertising didn’t really show up until the 18th century when the printing press was invented. The first newspaper ad in America came out in 1704. Many of the first advertisements however, were for recruitment. In 1776, during the American Revolution, notices were put out asking for recruitment. It may not be advertising for a product, but it’s advertising nonetheless.

Getting Bigger

Soon events were being advertised, and not just in small print, but on billboards. The first billboard was put up in 1843 advertising the Ringling Brothers. This was a smart way to market, even if it hadn’t hit Utah yet — mainly because Utah hadn’t been established yet. This era was when advertising started to really kick off for companies. Kodak started advertising for their camera in 1891, and this was the beginning of brand identities. Slogans were being thought of and companies were finding target audiences.

The Mad Men

In the 1920’s, soap operas were now appearing on radio and television, creating a whole new market for advertising agencies. This gave companies the opportunity to reach a wide audience, and in 1941, the first television commercial was released by Bulva Watches — it only cost nine dollars. Then the mad men came into play, when advertising agencies hired psychologists to help them understand the nature of people and what was most appealing to different demographics. This would help with focus groups, and help advertising companies really create emotions and thoughts in their television and radio ads. 

The Digital Age

We’ve entered into the digital marketing era, where advertisers now put their names and brands on the internet. This helps digital marketing companies and advertising agencies reach out to more than 5 million people. Now, digital marketers are able to let the consumer see what they want to see. This makes digital marketing a lot easier in Utah and around the world.

Apr 08
0

The Ultimate Guide for Surviving the Ocean of Content Marketing

By | content marketing | No Comments

Yes, content marketing is basically taking over the internet, and many are beginning to believe that it may not be a sustainable solution for marketing for businesses. So how does a company survive with content marketing, and why is it not sustainable? There are several Utah content marketing companies who are looking into different types of content marketing — and they’re here to help you.

Where’s Content Marketing Going?

Content marketing, like any form of economics, has a supply and demand. Of course, content marketing is set at a price of zero, but in order to produce the content, marketing companies need someone to buy it. So in the long run, we are basically paying viewers to see our content. Think about how much time you spend making content for a client, and think about how much time a customer spends looking at it. That time you spend on the content, you are already asking the customer in Utah to view it. In return, you’re getting notice from others, and making connections.

Content Consumption

Customers, including ourselves, really can take in an unlimited amount of content marketing, but with this limitless amount of content marketing, you have to wonder — when is the supply going to run out? Content marketing companies around the world, and here in Utah, will have to find new ways to come up with content marketing, but it looks like new ideas could be slim. According to a different studies about the changes of content marketing, in the 1920’s, consumers were seeing about 11 hours of content marketing per day, today that viewership has only gone up two hours.

The Solution

There’s a lot of demand when it comes to content marketing, and you have to wonder, how much can we actually produce? Will we eventually have a marketing world full of content only? There are new ways coming out of how your content marketing can change, and one of the biggest ways to survive the waves is to put out better content. Write differently, find something that fits for you and do something different then your competitors, this will help you stand out against the sea of content marketing around the world, and here in Utah.

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.