Is Your Content Boring – Change The Way You Write With a New Approach

Do you ever feel like you’re writing and re-writing the same thing – this isn’t good content marketing. No one wants to read uninspired content marketing.

Even the best content marketers can get caught in a rut. When you have to turn out new marketing every week or two, eventually, ideas run short.

If your content lacks excitement or originality, stop. Assess where you’ve gone wrong. If you are not having any fun creating content, you can’t expect your audience to feel any different.

What is the best content marketing approach for engagement?

The best way to write content and create a content marketing campaign is variety. Switch it up. Move from content that’s info-based to opinion. Write out a range of different content types.

When you’re constantly mixing things up with content, you keep your audience guessing. Perspective and tone should stay more or less the same or similar. The content itself though, experiment with it.

 Informational content uses facts. It imparts knowledge. Tips, how-to tutorials, and educational content are in this category.

 Opinion content is light and loose. It can be funny or emotional. An opinion should be personal, expressing thoughts and feelings directly.

There’s a right and wrong way to approach both. As long as it aligns with your brand, exploring content from both categories can keep things interesting for you.

What is a listicle in content marketing?

If your content marketing is boring, switch things up with listicles. This is list-based content marketing. Each entry on a list should be short, easy to read, and to the point.

Lists make for great content because they can be skimmed. It doesn’t take a lot of searching to find the information a reader’s looking for.

How important are how-to guides in content marketing?

How-to guides are very important in content marketing. This is because they don’t sell. They contribute value, immediately and without obligation.

How-to guides are about education and learning. Teach your reader something. It can be how to use your product or service, how to use a feature of a product or service, or how to get the most from a product or service.

 Beginner tips.
 Tutorials.
 In-depth looks.
 Solve a problem.

These are 4 common how-to content marketing types. Don’t forget that content marketing isn’t always about writing blogs and articles. You can use video marketing as well.

How-to guides in video marketing build a strong connection to the audience. They’re considered easier to consume and very engagement-friendly. If your content is boring, consider mixing in more video.

How do I use news and trends in my content marketing?

Every brand has something to say. News and trends have a part to play in that. New tech, influencers, social media trends, and more.

If you have a unique perspective on what’s going on in your industry, say it. The public’s always looking for reliable, fact-driven, current news. Say it with a strong delivery and your content marketing numbers can see an instant jump.

Commenting on newsworthy topics, it can require more time in creating content. The content created is also time-sensitive, with a quicker expiry date on it. Depending on your brand’s voice, you may choose one of these two news and trend content marketing approaches.

 Casual, conversational briefs.
 Formal, in-depth analysis.

Can I create content marketing with other brands or influencers?

Team with others. Talk to experts and influencers. Use your content marketing as a way to showcase dialogue.

 Interview an expert.
 Create content that showcases 3-4 perspectives from a panel of experts.
 Profile the work of a collaborator or influencer.
 Invite an influencer or expert to write a guest post.

If you invite in others to create content with you, ensure it relates to your audience. Select influencers, experts, or brands that match your content intent. Don’t deliver any off-brand messages.

To plan content like this, create a list of questions. Have a discussion with other parties involved. Then craft your strategy for content, based on that.

What is more valuable in content marketing between opinion and information?

Your opinion matters. It’s unique. It’s something no one else has. Social media platforms love opinion content marketing.

Look at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and others. These aren’t sites built off information and education. They run entirely off opinion. Share yours in the most valuable way.

How do I write a review of a product or service in my industry?

One of the most accepted ways to share opinion is with a review. Take a new product. Use it. Does it do everything you expect – write about it.

A review is also an opportunity to build relationships. See you can get your blog sponsored by a brand to review their product.

If you are honest about your experience with a product – but not insulting – you earn respect in the eyes of the reader. Break down the good and bad, ‘pros and cons’ style.

How do you entertain with content marketing?

People love entertainment. They want to be entertained. If you can do that with expressive, opinionated content, that’s a big advantage.

Entertaining the reader is an art form. You don’t want to be offensive, snarky, ranting, or controversial. You don’t want to turn off anybody.

You want to be respectful. You also want to have a point in your content. Aimless meandering doesn’t serve a purpose. Be smart, clever, and be yourself.

Learning how to entertain with content marketing using your voice and not someone else’s can take time. Don’t be discouraged. If you create content that’s entertainment-based and it isn’t good enough, there’s no rule saying you have to post it. Don’t. Leave it. Try again.

What is the right tone to use in content marketing?

Don’t believe a word you read on what ‘the right tone’ is for content marketing. A plumber will not use the same tone to speak to their audience as a clothing brand. There is no ‘right tone’ answer.

The important part about tone in content marketing is that it is consistent. Some will want a professional tone. Others will want a more casual, conversational tone. Some will want to be humorous. Others will want to communicate more authority.

Your tone should reflect your personal style and what you see for your brand. It will mirror the language and tone used by your audience, in most cases.

Is a blog or video more effective content marketing?

We hinted at using video in your content marketing earlier. Video has a huge role to play. This role’s only going to grow in the years to come.

YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram all encourage video content marketing. Video gives you a different angle. It’s a unique way to share your content with users not interested in reading an article.

There are also advantages to written content. They can give you more space to share, argue, and analyze. Articles or blogs help with SEO, social media, email marketing, web design, smartphone marketing, and in so many ways.

Ideally, you want videos and blogs in your content marketing plan. Both have their benefits. Here are some other content marketing ideas.

 Start a short vlog series behind-the-scenes at your brand.
 Starting a podcast based on your articles and blogs.
 Creating a video series on Facebook.
 Live streaming on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other channels.
 Using Instagram Stories.
 Create a Pinterest board with images.

Content shouldn’t be boring. Be exciting. Be wild. Always contribute value. Content marketing isn’t going away. The brands who succeed at it are going to get results. Those who don’t won’t. Use every piece of content to re-establish your brand in tone, message, and meaning. Blogs and articles, images, and video. Mix up your approach. Spread the word.

Source: https://unlimitedexposure.com/basic-digital-marketing/1127-is-your-content-boring-%E2%80%93-change-the-way-you-write-with-a-new-approach.html

How to Write an Email That Gets Replies – The Secrets of Email Marketing

Writing emails is hard. This is why a lot of email marketing campaigns don’t always get results. You don’t want to come off like a spam email. You want to be persuasive, have a message that’s well thought out, and which contribute value to the reader’s life.

If you are not getting replies to your email marketing, this article will help you improve your writing skills. The objective may be to get a click but the underlying purpose of an email marketing message is to start a conversation in the head of a reader. If your response rate is lower than expected, here’s what to do.

Why are my email marketing messages not getting opened?

A low percentage of replies to an email campaign can be a sign of many things. In a split second, you’re trying to get a subscriber to read an email and opt-in. No one should expect every person to do so. Your subscribers may be leading busy lives and aren’t always going to say ‘yes’ to what an email is about. Even so, absurdly low open rates and conversions are worrisome.

 A bad headline is not going to get any clicks. This is obvious. If you determine your headlines to be weak, learning how to write better may immediately change those numbers on open rates and conversions.

 The issue you have with email marketing might be they’re opening the email but not clicking through to the next step. Your email may be too long and wandering. Write straightforward, short emails that take 30 seconds or less to skim through.

 In an email, don’t waste time. State your benefits, value, and offer. Don’t beat around the bush. Give the subscriber your offer up front and then further down in your email, expand and tell them how this offer impacts them.

 Strong conversion rates on email marketing are achieved through personalization. If you’re focused on writing about yourself rather than to the needs of your subscriber, they’re going to lose interest awfully quickly.

 Spelling and grammar mistakes shouldn’t be in an email marketing message. If you’re rushing through writing an email and not paying attention, silly errors are easy to make. Always read your email over again prior to sending and double-check for grammar.

 You may not be getting replies because you’re offending the subscriber. If your email makes a promise it doesn’t deliver on, is implying that the subscriber is inadequate in some way, or spreading divisive socio-political messaging, this could be the reason subscribers aren’t replying to your email.

 Your call-to-action in an email marketing message should feature clearly. It should be straightforward the next step you expect a reader to take. A subscriber should not have to think about it.

What are the basics of an effective email marketing message?

If your email marketing campaign is not working and you don’t know why the worst action to take is to continue repeating the same type of messaging. Here’s a cheat sheet for basic, necessary elements of an email marketing message you want in place.

1. A catchy, action-oriented headline.
2. Exciting, short, and to-the-point text.
3. A personalized greeting to open the email, containing the subscriber’s name.
4. An offer stated, for your beginning.
5. How the offer contributes value to the user, for your middle.
6. A clear call-to-action that comes across as strong and persuasive, for your end.

Is your email marketing personalized and targeted to the right audience?

You won’t walk away with a high conversion rate on emails if you don’t effectively know your audience.

Divide up your subscriber base into targeted groups. At all costs, you want to avoid sending an email to a subscriber that’s not in your targeted demographic. For example, you wouldn’t sell baby diapers to a teenager. This doesn’t make sense. Boost your email marketing success by targeting customers where you’re contributing value to their lives with a product or service.

You may want to divide subscribers up by age, region, or other categories. Create customer personalities. Think of their responsibilities, professional and personal goals, daily priorities, and values.

What’s the best tone to use for an email marketing message?

The tone you use in your writing should match that of the customer. A subscriber may prefer conversational writing as opposed to more technical, formal-sounding words.

While you’re evaluating your tone, think of keywords that are likely to resonate or catch their attention. The more you know who’s receiving your emails, the better you can tailor every conversational aspect to them. If you know their pain points, challenges, or struggles, use the information to deliver quality writing in an email.

How do I write an email marketing headline?

There are 7 sales-friendly approaches to writing an email marketing headline. We suggest experimenting to see which approach best suits your clientele and your brand.

 A sense of urgency. Subscribers who feel like an offer’s time-sensitive or available for a limited time are more likely to opt-in. That said, use sparingly. Too many urgent-style marketing headlines will exhaust this approach.

 An offer that’s at a discount or free. Who doesn’t love getting a good deal? An offer for a free product or at a significant cut in price states value with clarity. There will be no confusion as to what your email message is about.

 Curiosity. This can be a tricky email marketing headline to write. The objective is to generate enough curiosity that the reader has no choice but to click. Think of situations, stories, or something that your client is not going to be able to resist.

 Self-interest. These types of email headlines are direct and mention the benefit to the audience a specific product or service will have. These are often formed in the phrase of a question like, “I have a basement leak. Is it time to call a basement repair specialist?”.

 Tell a story. Start your email headline with a tease to a story. This plays on curiosity once again and encourages one to click into the email to find out the rest. It can be difficult writing a one-line story preview though. That could prove a challenge for many.

 Authority. If you can promise some sort of exclusivity, expert advice, industry trends, or ‘secrets to’, this often works at capturing the interest of a subscriber. The most difficult aspect of writing like this is that you’ve got to pay it off in the end. If you don’t deliver, you’re only going to frustrate or disappoint the reader and they may not click on you again.

 Social proof. These include success stories, testimonials, and/or showing how others are using a product or service. It’s easier to justify a purchasing decision when there’s social evidence.

How do I make my emails visually interesting to look at?

A large area in email marketing where brands lose the interest of a prospect is in including too much text. An email is just as much about what it looks like graphically as to what it says. Animations, images, graphics, and even video. Wrap it together with a little bit of text in an attractive, easy-to-read graphic format and that’s a winning email!

The visual landscape of your email shouldn’t be unexpected or overwhelming. There are a number of email marketing grids and navigation-friendly email templates that can be used as a starting point. For added inspiration, look to emails written by your favourite brands. There are many kinds of very simple mobile-responsive graphic grids that work amazingly well for email marketing.

Write an email that gets replies, conversions, and sales. Unlimited Exposure wants to help. Dive into the deep end with unmatched expertise in digital marketing. Receive a campaign that touches on social media, web design, SEO, content marketing, and more. When it comes to marketing, you can generate strong results with UE. Join us today.

Source: https://unlimitedexposure.com/basic-digital-marketing/1126-how-to-write-an-email-that-gets-replies-%E2%80%93-the-secrets-of-email-marketing.html

How Do I Use Hashtags on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

Communities are born and bred off hashtags. International movements, from #metoo to #blacklivesmatter, all began with a hashtag. They’re the single most influential thing you can type into a social post.

If you want to attain success on social media as a new, unknown brand, or as a company already established, it’s through hashtags that you’re going to reach people. Use hashtags correctly and you can light up social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

What’s great about hashtags is that they don’t cost a thing. It’s all on you to choose social media hashtags, create your own, and use them to entertain, inform, and participate. This article’s to help you get a strong grasp on what’s the right approach to hashtags on a social media campaign.

What is a hashtag?

A hashtag uses a word, phrase, or keyword put together as a single word preceded by the pound sign. An example of this would be taking ‘Instagram marketing’ which would then become #instagrammarketing in hashtag form.

Hashtags were first popularized on Twitter and microblogging platforms in 2007 as a sort of metadata tag for common posts. Hashtags have since spread and been accepted across every major social media platform from Instagram to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, and beyond.

What is the purpose of a hashtag?

The purpose of a hashtag is to be found. It’s essentially a form of user-generated SEO, in the sense that hashtags allow you to rank according to relevance, keyword, date, and other metrics in a worldwide conversation.

Another use is to join a conversation happening around a certain topic, such as a social or political subject. Hashtags can be invented as a means of expressing one’s creativity, used to entertain or for humour purposes, and/or to associate branding or information with a conversation.

What are the basic rules of using a hashtag?

If you are completely new to using hashtags for digital marketing, there are some rules to consider if you don’t want to annoy others.

1. Hashtags should be short and memorable.

2. Use hashtags that people are already searching for. As a brand, if your interest is being clever or unusual, it’s unfortunately not going to win you any clicks or followers.

3. Use hashtags that are specific rather than general ones. Broad terms mean your post is likely to be lost in a sea of thousands, if not millions.

4. Don’t force hashtags. If it doesn’t come naturally, don’t use it. They should stimulate interaction, without feeling desperate.

5. The number of hashtags you use will depend on the platform. In most cases, one or two hashtags are recommended. You don’t want to cloud your post with meaningless hashtags.

6. Search hashtags to uncover content related to your topic. Scout out a competitor’s hashtags and see what they’re using, and the kind of response they’re receiving.

Who decides what hashtags to use?

Hashtags happen organically. No person, corporation, or social media platform decides the hashtags that are going to resonate with an audience.

If you want to know where to look for hashtags though, look to the influencers in your niche. Influencers influence audience. The hashtags they use will generally reverberate throughout an audience. Celebrities, bloggers, YouTubers, and similar voices trusted by the public have a sizeable influence over the creation of new hashtags and the maintenance of those that are trending.

How do I use hashtags on Instagram?

Instagram marketing should use between 10-11 popular hashtags per post. Experiment with it. Instagram has a search box where you can check out influencers and competitors to see hashtags they’re using. Instagram is a huge platform with many hashtags to choose from. Compared to other social platforms, Instagram is the friendliest to using a lot of hashtags. That said, you don’t want to overdo it. Stay within a reasonable amount of no more than a dozen. Use them on posts, photos, comments, and wherever you can.

How do I use hashtags on Facebook marketing?

Hashtags in Facebook social media marketing aren’t as popular but they do exist. It can be annoying to some users to read posts with a lot of hashtags on Facebook so try to stick with a maximum of two. Also, any posts on Facebook should be set to ‘public’ permissions, if you want others to find them.

How do I use hashtags on Twitter marketing?

Twitter marketing only uses one or two hashtags per post. As with on other sites, whenever someone searches for the hashtag on Twitter, your post will appear. Research trending Twitter hashtags to maximize your impact.

What other social media sites can I use hashtags on?

You can use hashtags pretty much anywhere on the Internet. They’re an accepted part of the lexicon. Here are a few more quick guidelines on how to use hashtags on social media.

 Hashtags on LinkedIn aren’t as popular as they are on other sites. They aren’t needed, many would argue. If you do publish long-form articles on LinkedIn, including one or two hashtags in the body is a smart move. No more than three hashtags per post are needed.

 Hashtags on Pinterest are what let others find you. The whole of Pinterest is based on keyword research so hashtags are a must. Don’t use broad terms. Use only hashtags specific to your topic. This is what will get you found.

 Hashtags on YouTube aren’t as popular as they are on other social media platforms. Fortunately, they do work and in our opinion, brands should be using them. They improve searchability and give you more visibility.

What is the best hashtag marketing strategy?

Hashtag marketing is relatively basic. The more you invest in the choice of choosing the right hashtag, the better the result will be. In a nutshell, that’s what it comes down to. We already shared some of the basic rules for getting started with hashtags. Now we outline hashtag marketing strategies that can be used to deliver your best campaign possible. If you are out of ideas or need some inspiration on where to go with your campaign, refer back to here.

 Created branded hashtags, named after your company or a marketing campaign. In business, this is one of the most popular social media marketing strategies used and oftentimes gets paired with a giveaway or user-generated content.

 Promote contests and giveaways with a hashtag. A successful and fun way to get interested parties involved and engaged is to hold a contest under a hashtag. The #icebucketchallenge is one such example.

 Raise awareness about a topic that is near and dear to your heart. If there’s a charity or organization you want to try to raise money for, use your hashtag to build around a particular topic or participate in a conversation already happening.

 Join trending topics. Look at the top conversations being had on social media right now. Assuming you have one that is relevant to your business and which isn’t going to cause controversy, capitalize on it.

Hashtag facts

 More than 85 percent of the top 50 websites by traffic on the Internet use hashtags.

 The demographics most likely to use hashtags are millennials, Generation Z, politicians, influencers, and celebrities.

 Businesses who use hashtags on Twitter and Instagram have been shown to boost engagement on average by 12.6 percent.

 The top three hashtags of all-time on Instagram are #love, #instagood, and #fashion.

 The top B2B hashtags on social media are #quotes, #video, #picture, and #work.

 Instagram posts with the highest engagement, as of January 2020, use 5-7 hashtags.

Hashtags on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are a very effective way of cutting through the noise of all those brands trying to get attention. Choose specific, unique hashtags to reach audience organically and without having to pay-per-click or anything similar. Partner with Unlimited Exposure today for your next results-driven social media campaign. As experts, we can help design hashtags, infographics, photos, video, web design, email, content, and more. Improve your social media on every platform and win clicks!

Source: https://unlimitedexposure.com/basic-digital-marketing/1125-how-do-i-use-hashtags-on-instagram,-facebook,-and-twitter.html

A Guide to Social Media Statistics in 2020 to Help You Decide the Platform Best For Your Brand

Social media marketing is vital to digital branding. Every year though, things change. Updates roll out regularly and consumer demographics are always fluctuating. On a month to month basis, there can be massive changes in how to administrate a social media marketing campaign.

To save your budget, time, and effort only for the platforms that matter, we wanted to accumulate basic social media statistics from 2020 that show you who is using social media and why. After all, if you don’t know who is using a platform, you can’t expect to successfully target the user.

Every platform has user needs and habits. Once we have a grasp on those, it becomes much easier to see whether Twitter or Instagram’s the better social platform for your brand. Culled from sources like Hootsuite, here is the latest data on social media sites and where to focus marketing efforts.

Who is using Facebook – age, needs and habits

Facebook is the largest social media platform there has ever been and will continue to be for a long time to come. It is massively popular in both Canada and the US, with 68 percent of adults registered.

 As of January 2020, Facebook has more than 2.13 billion monthly active users.
 The average age of a Facebook user is 40.5 years old.
 The majority of adults who use Facebook make $75,000/year or above and have a post-secondary degree.
 Facebook is the #1 social media site for targeting Generation X. They spend on average 7 hours a week on the site.
 Facebook has a truly global audience, with users from every country in the world.
 The primary objective of someone on Facebook is to connect with friends.

A lot of controversy has been stirred up around Facebook regarding data collection and privacy. It remains to be seen if the social media site can survive into the future. Not only is Facebook vast but you can launch campaigns that target specific geographic areas and demographics which can be very helpful in winning certain clientele. Facebook marketing struggles with outperforming the competition. Popularity breeds competition.

Who is using LinkedIn – age, needs and habits

LinkedIn is a social media platform designed for professionals, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. A user on LinkedIn can post and seek jobs, share informational content like blogs, connect, and engage.

 The average age of a LinkedIn user is between 25 and 49.
 As of January 2020, there are more than 660 million users and growing on LinkedIn.
 57 percent of LinkedIn users are male and 43 percent are female.
 The primary objective of users on LinkedIn is career success.

If you’re working and selling in professional circles, LinkedIn social media marketing is an excellent place to start. Although LinkedIn has users from more than 200 countries, the vast majority of US-based which means aiming internationally could prove difficult.

Who is using Instagram – age, needs and habits

Instagram is an image-based social media site that’s owned by Facebook but also completely separate. The most common actions a user takes on Instagram is to browse friends’ photos, like pictures, and share one’s own images. Instagram is the best way to target millennials on social media. Instagram digital marketing uses a lot of hashtags and focuses on participating in communities.

 Instagram has 1.1 billion users and is the second most popular social media site, second only to Facebook.
 The average age of an Instagram user is 34 years old, with the vast majority of users being younger compared to other platforms.
 The primary objective of Instagram users is to share photos.

Instagram has a lot of opportunities surrounding it, including a built-in influencer marketing dynamic, ephemeral content options, and is considered the most effective way to build brands that are visual, young, and trendy.

Who is using Twitter – age, needs and habits

Twitter is a social media marketing platform perfect for brands in journalism, politics, and entertainment. Twitter was the original social site that popularized the use of hashtags to communicate and cultivate communities. The big marketing opportunity here is to use these hashtags to reach a wider audience organically than you could through paid campaigns elsewhere.

 Twitter has 330 million users, half of which are active on a daily basis.
 Over 45 percent of North Americans between 18 and 24 use Twitter regularly, skewing demographics towards the younger side.
 The average age of a Twitter user is 40, with the majority of user accounts attributed to persons between 35 and 65.
 The primary objective of the average Twitter account is not to post content. In fact, 54 percent of accounts don’t post anything at all. The aim is to scroll the newsfeed and interact in comments or likes.

Who is using Pinterest – age, needs and habits

Pinterest is a visual-based social media site where users create digital pinboards where images are selected to pin direct to them. It is a sort of online scrapbooking, where a user can have pinboards for celebrities they like, interests, hobbies, and more.

 There are over 320 million people on Pinterest.
 90 percent of users who win something this week will make a purchasing decision solely based on what they’ve seen on Pinterest.
 The average age of a Pinterest user is 40, though the majority of users are below this age.
 Over 50 percent of Pinterest users earn $50,000/year or more.
 Unlike other social sites, Pinterest attracts users almost exclusively in suburban US areas.

eCommerce sites have made a lot of headway on Pinterest where there exist a lot of opportunities to impress users with an image or visual of something cool. If you decide to get involved with Pinterest marketing for eCommerce, always use the highest quality and most engaging images available.

Who is using Snapchat – age, needs and habits

Snapchat’s made time-sensitive ephemeral content popular as well as face filters. Though both features have since been adopted across many other platforms, Snapchat’s the originator. Snapchat’s lost a lot of its luster in the past few years but is still an important social media destination for some.

 Snapchat users are typically between 18 and 34.
 Snapchat has more than 218 million people on its platform regularly.

If you’re looking to attract a younger audience of 25 years old or under, Snapchat marketing works. Many experts have predicted that Snapchat’s user growth is going to level off later this year before beginning to gradually taper off in the years to come. This remains to be seen, however. What’s certain is that it is still a viable marketing channel.

Who is using YouTube – age, needs and habits

Since YouTube launched, it hasn’t really been considered a social media platform but characteristically speaking, it is. In terms of global reach, YouTube has an audience as large as anyone. YouTube is the #1 video marketing platform in the world, delivering high ROI.

 YouTube has more than 2 billion users worldwide, with 79 percent of all Internet users boasting their own channel.
 The average age of a YouTube user is between 18 and 24 although all demographics continue to experience growth.
 More than 2 million videos are viewed on YouTube every minute.

Done wrong, social media marketing is a costly investment. Done right, you get everything you spend returned to you and more. This is about generating awareness, shares, likes, comments, follows, clicks, conversions, and sales. Choose the right platform and yield the best returns. Optimize your presence online with Unlimited Exposure today and set yourself up to maximize your success. The people are out there. They’re waiting for you. Let’s give them something to click on and share!

Source: https://unlimitedexposure.com/basic-digital-marketing/1124-a-guide-to-social-media-statistics-in-2020-to-help-you-decide-the-platform-best-for-your-brand.html

9 Strategies to Help Cater Your Digital Marketing to the Youth Under-24 Generation Z

Millennials, millennials, millennials. Doesn’t the world just love talking about millennials? While companies were busy figuring out a way to market to millennials, little did they know that it wouldn’t be long before the generation’s time passed.

This year, Generation Z – those born between 1996 and 2010 – will make up 40 percent of all customers. The first generation born into a world of Internet, smartphones, social media, and technology, marketing to youth under 24 years of age is a different animal altogether than millennials.

Just like the world once bet to the whims of millennials, it’s time to hedge your investment elsewhere on the next generation. If you’re a brand marketing towards young adults and teenagers, this article will help you. Here are nine strategies to help connect with and win this developing consumer base.

Who is Generation Z?

If you’re going to market successfully to youth under-24, you need to understand their motivations. Here is some basic information to keep in the back of your head as you are planning campaigns. Should a campaign prove unsuccessful or if the content doesn’t resonate with this consumer demographic as expected, revisit the strategy of ‘understanding your customer’.

 More politically progressive than past generations.
 They are the most ethnically diverse generation in history.
 47 percent of them are ethnic minorities in North America.
 Less of them identify with traditional heterosexual sexuality.
 Less of them identify with traditional gender roles and norms.
 They believe in coexistence between religions, cultures, and opinions.
 They believe in inclusiveness and openness, rather than the exclusivity of product and luxury. This is an important digital marketing note to make.

Why is it important to keep content marketing on social media short?

The average attention span of a millennial was 12 seconds long. For Generation Z, it’s even shorter at 8 seconds. They don’t have time to waste and you don’t have time to lose. Get to your marketing message fast.

The short attention span has a large influence on youth preferring visuals over plain text. In the coming years, you will want to fine-tune your short-form writing skills and increase your use of memes, GIFs, and emojis. Look for brief content that’s easily processed and which gets you noticed for the right reasons.

Why do young consumers prefer interactive social media over static content?

Youth under-24 are plugged into social media better than anyone. It empowers them, gives them access to online communities, and promotes accountability through public-displayed reviews.

Youth on social media want user-generated content and interactive content like polls, quizzes, chats, and conversation. This is what you want to optimize for. Think of ways to include interactivity in your articles, images, and videos. You also want to focus on and encourage accumulating reviews, user-generated photos and videos, and references. Up your social marketing game.

Why is it more important to have a mobile-first digital marketing strategy?

The oldest members of Generation Z were born in 1996. They barely grew up with desktop computers. The vast majority of youth under-24 use smartphones and mobile devices to communicate and browse the Internet. Therefore your marketing should assume mobile content delivery rather than desktop.

Your website should be mobile-responsive and any sort of images or video you create should be done knowing that they are more than likely going to be consumed on a mobile device. Within content marketing, use shorter sentences, subheadings, bullet points, and make navigation easier.

Why do young people prefer influencers over polished celebrities?

Generation Z prefers ads that show real people rather than paid actors or celebrities. The Instagram influencer marketing trend isn’t by any accident. Youth under-24 want authenticity outside of corporate consumerism. They trust real people more than they do anything resembling a traditional business interest.

To appeal to youth under-24, consider how you can appear authentic. Your account should communicate something real and valuable. Furthermore, the digital marketing strategies chosen – such as influencers – should also exhibit a sense of realness.

What is the best social media marketing channel for youth under-24?

There is no right answer to what social media platform is best for reaching youth under 24. YouTube’s a natural answer because it’s something Generation Z grew up with. In fact, they’re most likely to use YouTube than they are Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

Despite the favoritism towards YouTube, it’s important to complete research into where your audience most likely exists and to target there. Subsets of youths exist on every social media platform.

Young people under-24 are also more likely to see email as outdated, prefer customer chat messaging over email or phone, and demand personal, special interaction in exchange for loyalty and excitement.

What kind of marketing messages does Generation Z prefer?

Too many markets group in millennials and Generation Z. Though some similarities exist, Generation Z prefers to be communicated with a little differently. If you want to create accurate, meaningful marketing messages for youth under-24, here are the priorities this demographic carries.

 They are less likely to prioritize a work-life balance compared to their millennial counterparts.

 Generation Z is less likely to take risks than millennials, preferring stability and security in employment and finances.

 Youth under-24 are more likely to care about their personal spending income and generally make smarter choices about how to spend it.

Why is the Internet important to digital marketing and doing good business in 2020?

Move as much of your customer service and services in general online, if you’re marketing to youths. This is where they live. The Internet is important because it’s convenience that’s free, simple, and straightforward.

To a youth under-24, they never lived in a world without an Internet connection – that’s a big statement. Brands who make it easy to interact with customers online will be the ones who win Generation Z’s attention. Social media should be open and accepting of customer service messages. An AI chatbox implemented into your web design is another smart move. Having a developed web presence with the objective of being attentive and responsive is the goal here.

What should my brand’s social statement be and how does this help my marketing?

More than millennials, youth under-24 are making decisions based on a brand’s impact on society. This could from environmental, cultural, social, or political perspectives. They don’t want to buy from companies that aren’t passionate about change in the world.

If you aren’t already connected to a charity organization, charity initiative, or haven’t made efforts to be eco-friendly, sustainable, or socially conscious, do so.

Generation Z is arguably smarter, more aware, and more astute in the observations than previous generations. They’ve seen 9/11 and terrorism, gun violence, racism towards minorities, discrimination towards sexual preferences and gender, and more. For better or for worse, they know how the world works. They’re not happy about it and want change. If you can show Generation Z you’re active and participating in change, that will mean a lot.

Where do we go from here?

Let’s be clear. The world is changing but it hasn’t changed yet. Very early on in this decade though, we will see a clear shift from millennials to youths under-24 in Generation Z. The work put in today is going to set you up for a prosperous future. If you’re already marketing to younger people, you’re already seeing this change.

Every generation – boomers, Generation X, millennials, and now Generation Z – have differentiated themselves from those who came before them. There’s a specific way to market towards each generation and the power that Generation Z holds in the marketplace will only grow from here. Cater to them and ready yourself for change. To stay relevant, competitive, and successful, it’s the only way forward for a youth-centric brand.

Source: https://unlimitedexposure.com/basic-digital-marketing/1123-9-strategies-to-help-cater-your-digital-marketing-to-the-youth-under-24-generation-z.html

Who Do You Need to Create the Ultimate Digital Marketing Team For Your Business

A digital marketing team. Do you have one – if not, you may want to make change that. Marketing’s exploding right now. It’s getting businesses clicks, sales, likes, shares, attention, rewards, returns, and money. Who doesn’t want these things – if you’re not in business to be successful, you won’t be. It doesn’t get more cut-and-dry than that.

What a digital marketing team gets you is expertise, power, and the ability to achieve your objective. Whatever it may be, the objective’s achievable when you put in place the players needed. If you know your objective, the next step is getting your team. Your digital marketing team can be a single person – if they have all the right skills – or it can be two, three, or a half-dozen, or more.

There’s a hub of activity happening around digital marketing right now. Marketing gets results while at the same time being a very confusion assemblage of literally thousands of potential channels. To make it easy for start-ups, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and corporations, this is your list of the players you need to take your brand to where you want it to go. At the heart of your marketing, these are some of the basic positions you want covered.

What is a web designer in digital marketing?

First things first, you need a web designer to design your website so that it communicates your message clearly, reflects current trends, and is user-friendly in every way imaginable. A web designer should have extensive knowledge of what digital marketing is and how to create a website that maximizes the impact of digital marketing. There are many, many web designers advertising on the market today – they aren’t all equal. Find one who knows and understands your business, and who has a keen awareness of your digital marketing strategy going forward.

What is a content marketing specialist?

After you have the basics of your website’s structure filled in, next up is you need content. Content’s a key need in digital marketing because it is what you can provide to potential customers for free and with no obligation attached. This attracts eyes, clicks, and can help in qualifying a sale. You can’t do social media, email, and other forms of digital marketing with a content writer or content marketing specialist on your digital marketing team.

What does an SEO strategist do in digital marketing?

SEO and keyword research is a major area of importance in digital marketing. A web designer designs your website. A content marketing specialist strategizes and writes your content. SEO stands for ‘search engine optimization’. An SEO strategist helps your website and content find placement on search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, MSN, and others. When someone searches for a term that is relevant to the products or services you offer, your name shows up. Never an accident, the brands who hold the top spots on the first page of search results work hard. This is free advertising, after all! An SEO strategist can help you rank high, helping close customers through organic channels.

What is a social media marketing expert?

The fourth thing – and some may say, the most important – you need on the ultimate digital marketing team is someone who knows social media. There’s a lot of social platforms out there. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Snapchat all come to mind. Then, there’s up-and-coming platforms like TikTok. Every platform works a different way in terms of how to market and do advertising. A social media marketer knows what to post, what to do to get the most clicks, where and when to post it, and more. A social media marketer’s invaluable to the puzzle that is digital marketing.

What is an email marketer?

Some people think email is a dated form of communication. The truth is it isn’t. A lot of us smartphone users have our email accounts synced up to our phone. When an email comes through, we get a notification right then and there. What a better way to market direct to consumer. An email marketer knows how to build a subscriber base, send out emails at times which maximize the clicks you receive in return, and has extensive knowledge on how to successfully structure an email business message. They can be an underrated part of a digital marketing but email is a channel that almost every company uses. It’s arguably more popular than social media and the returns on email marketing can be substantial.

Why is a graphic designer important to digital marketing?

Every brand needs content. This is where a content marketing specialist comes in. They most oftentimes work with text though. A lot of the time, you don’t just need text. Images can say far more than text can, when done right. A graphic designer can design logos, manipulate social media images to create content for you, deliver infographics, and add a lot to the visual presentation of your brand. We live in a world where the perception of a business is just as important as the content of their marketing message. The right graphic designer on your digital marketing team is going to help you across virtually every channel.

What are some other positions you may need filled on a digital marketing team?

There is only one other position on a digital marketing team that you absolutely need filled – the visionary. This can be you. If you don’t consider yourself a creative person though, you can hire a creative director to oversee the vision of your digital marketing and brand objectives. When you have a visionary on your team, they are the ones who add that extra special something that makes everything work. They are the guide, the one who coordinates the work of different members to reflect the team’s ultimate goals.

Another position that can be combined with the visionary or with other members of your team is your analytics point-person. As much of a science as digital marketing can be, sometimes for whatever reason, a strategy doesn’t work. Enter in your analytics person. Analytics are software that gives you data on your audience – how they’re using your website, how your SEO and content marketing strategies are performing, and more. They will be your numbers person. If a strategy’s not performing, they should be able to tell you how and why. With this information, hopefully you decide what to pivot to and how to make your marketing strategy work.

What are the 5 essentials to a successful digital marketing team?

Outside of the positions you fill and the personnel chosen for these roles, there are 5 areas considered essentials to a high-performance, results-driven digital marketing team for your company.

 Strategy and Planning – Planning makes perfect. Set up the strategy well ahead of time, implement a long-term marketing plan, define and commit to a budget, and prioritize objectives.
 Customer-Centric Approach – A digital marketing team needs to know who they’re marketing for. Divide customers up into segments, maximize and add value to the experience of being a customer, and use a customer-first marketing strategy.
 Insights and Analytics – You shouldn’t launch a digital marketing strategy without analytics software to monitor and determine whether it is successful or not. This is to catch data on customers, the market, products, and various digital channels.
 Healthy Operations – Every team needs to have strong, direct, and supportive communication between them. From an operations standpoint, you will also want a team that’s kind and direct in the same manner with you.
 Technology and Resources – The ultimate digital marketing team is only ‘ultimate’ if they have the tech and resources to actually do what they set out to do. The increasing complexity of marketing digitally means more tools are needed.

Are you looking for digital marketing in Toronto? Choose Unlimited Exposure. We’ve helped businesses for many years, move through the changes online and achieving hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual sales. Do you want results – you can have them. Two words. Call us.

Source: https://unlimitedexposure.com/basic-digital-marketing/1122-who-do-you-need-to-create-the-ultimate-digital-marketing-team-for-your-business.html

Is My Influencer Marketing Strategy Working – See the KPIs You Need to Know

Influencer marketing is a sort of ‘celebrity sponsorship’ of 2020. It’s a way to maximize word-of-mouth, without going out of your way to promote yourself. There are 1,000s of micro-influencers and macro-influencers on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, blogging sites, and elsewhere. A successful, comprehensive influencer marketing strategy can mean a lot to a growing brand, instantly netting them the credibility and exposure many so desperately desire. But how do you know an influencer marketing campaign is working – let us help.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is when a brand hires an influencer to speak well about them. Most influencers do this by sharing links on social media posts that go out to all their followers, by sponsorships on a video or podcast, or similar means. There are all sorts of influencers out there, variations that go beyond what platform they’re on. It is important to partner with an influencer who is relevant to you and your audience, and who won’t jeopardize your credibility or harm perceptions around your brand. Done right, you can instantly get your name out to millions of people.

What industries use influencer marketing the most?

Any brand can use influencer marketing to reach audience. There are some industries though that are absolutely in love with using influencers. Here are the top industries that use influencer partnerships.

 1 – Fashion & Accessories
 2 – Beauty & Cosmetics
 3 – Food & Beverages
 4 – Automotive
 5 – Consumer Electronics
 6 – Travel
 7 – Entertainment
 8 – Retail
 9 – Technology
 10 – Fitness & Wellness

Influencer marketing statistics, data, and facts

 86 percent of all marketing campaigns last year utilized an influencer.
 92 percent of consumers trust recommendations from influencers, far higher than other marketing messages.
 74 percent of social media users have used a social network to guide them towards a purchasing decision.
 There has long been the perception that influencers with the most followers are the best ones to seek. This isn’t entirely accurate. A recent study on influencers with over 10 million followers on Instagram found their engagement rate was 0.04%. Comparatively, the average influencer engagement rate is 3%.
 Influencers with a follower range between 10,000 and 100,000 followers statistically have the best engagement and reach potential.
 Compared to traditional forms of digital marketing such as SEO, influencer marketing has roughly 11 times higher ROI.
 For every $1 spent on influencer marketing, the average business makes back $6.50 in returns.
 67 percent of marketers are planning to increase their influencer marketing budget this year in 2020.
 By the end of 2020, influencer marketing industry will grow to become a $5-$10 billion industry.

What should be your conversion goal on your influencer marketing?

You don’t want to go into an influencer marketing campaign without a goal. The goal of an influencer marketing campaign can be to grow audience, increase traffic to your website, or generate awareness. Obviously, you want sales as well. Sales are easy enough to track but all these other things are not so much. Thankfully there are a lot of metrics you can use to get insights into what’s happening, including promo codes, landing pages, affiliate links, link tracking, and similar methods. These are key performance indicators – aka KPIs. A digital marketer should be able to guide you on what the most appropriate KPIs are for your specific objective.

How do I drive traffic with an influencer marketing campaign?

In addition to specific KPIs, if an influencer is doing their part, you should be seeing a change in traffic. Look for referral traffic that could be coming from your influencer’s way. Do note conversions don’t always tell the full story on whether a campaign is working or not. If your website’s unappealing or not working correctly, or you’ve false advertised in some way, or your content sucks, these are all common problems that can sabotage what you invest in an influencer.

Assuming everything on your end is alright, the KPIs to look at in Google Analytics to analyze influencer marketing campaign traffic is the data under ‘New visitors’, ‘Referral sources’, ‘Total page views’, and ‘Time on site’.

What is the greatest benefit of an influencer marketing campaign?

New brands love influencer marketing. That’s because the biggest benefit of influencer marketing’s increasing brand awareness and reach. It’s like buying a turn-key home. All you’ve got to do is set it up and walk in, and the results are there. An increase in brand awareness and reach happens instantly, as soon as the influencer sends out the message. If you want to boost your reputation, build new relationships, and find new customers, this is how you do it.

With regards to how you can determine the success of these objectives with KPIs, track impressions. Look on blog posts, social posts, videos, and any other content that’s connected with your campaign. To this point, you want to ensure your influencer is directing their followers to appropriate links that can be tracked. Look at your social media analytics page and Google Analytics for further information.

Will my audience grow with influencer marketing?

Even if you’re getting all the positives on numbers, is your audience legitimately growing – be honest. Just because influencer marketing will achieve some reach and awareness, it doesn’t mean these would-be customers are going to hang around. Look for signs of committed clicks. For example, if someone follows you on social media, it’s indicative they want to hear more. Website clicks can be through the roof but if your sales haven’t moved a tick, you know this audience is being retained. This typically isn’t an issue with your influencer, though in rare cases it can be. It usually stems from brands losing prospects somewhere along the way due to misinformation, poor design, or for other reasons.

Will my engagement improve on a social media campaign?

Engagement is an important KPI because these numbers will give you the ultimate answer as to whether your influencer marketing strategy is working or not. Here are the engagement metrics you’ll want to watch.

 Likes
 Reactions
 Shares
 Comments
 Clicks
 Votes
 Pins
 Views
 Brand mentions

These are all actions taken to support your brand and signify how invested your newly won audience is towards you.

Is influencer marketing a necessity in digital marketing?

Organic reach is down. PPC, or pay per click, is expensive. Other marketing strategies don’t always work. If you want a sure thing, influencer marketing does get your name out there. It lets people know you exist, bare minimum without taking into account how engagement, sales, and/or traffic are going.

Word-of-mouth advertising has always worked and that’s what hiring an influencer is. You’re tapping into someone consumers already trust and thereby, they trust that influencer’s recommendations. There’s no work in it for you, other than ensuring you’re ready to accept attention as it comes.

Lastly, you can’t go into an influencer strategy blindly. You’ve got to keep up with your KPIs. Ensure that you’re monitoring your numbers. This applies on any campaign. Things like conversions, traffic, reach, audience growth, and engagement all count. Perhaps your campaign achieves some goals but not all. These numbers will explain why and where things went awry. If things go better than expected, there’s no telling what you could walk away from an influence marketing campaign with.

Are you looking to hire an influencer? Do you need a new digital marketing campaign? UE are the experts in digital marketing, working hard to deliver results on social media, SEO, email, content, and so, so much more. Contact one of our marketing experts today to get your brand set up with the right 360-degree digital strategy to maximize the opportunities in front of you!

Source: https://unlimitedexposure.com/basic-digital-marketing/1121-is-my-influencer-marketing-strategy-working-%E2%80%93-see-the-kpis-you-need-to-know.html

Do You Have a Voice Search SEO and Social Media Strategy – Here’s Your Guide

Consumers are smitten with voice assistant devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Since 2018, voice search has taken off in a big way. Every month, more users join the fold. Changing the way consumers search for products and services, as well as how they use search engines, voice search is also changing the way customers interact with their favourite brands.

Marketing’s an exercise is responding to and capitalizing on consumer behaviour. If you don’t already have a voice search strategy in place, you are at risk of being left behind. SEO is changing, as is how voice search is driving smartphone Internet use and social media. A new world awaits.

Is voice search a fad?

Different forms of voice-enabled technology have been on the market since the late 1950s. Throughout recent years – and even months – voice tech is getting better and better. By leaps and bounds, voice-enabled products are improving on word recognition accuracy, function, design, and more. If you have a smartphone and/or are on social media, congratulations – eventually these are areas that will be transformed by voice search.

How popular is voice search?

There are more than 51 million voice-assisted devices in North America alone and screen-less browsing accounts for 30 percent of all Internet browsing. It is estimated that roughly half of all searches on Google and other platforms are now conducted by voice search. That’s a huge impact! These numbers aren’t stagnating – they’re growing.

What are some voice search statistics?

 By end of 2022, 55 percent of households in Canada and the US will own a smart voice-enabled speaker.
 According to numbers from January 2018, there were more than 1,000,000,000 voice searches every month. This number has only increased, since then.
 Of the people who own voice-activated devices, 52 percent put their speaker in the main living room, 25 percent keep it in the bathroom, and 22 percent keep it in the kitchen.
 Over 25 percent of eCommerce shoppers during the holidays used voice assistance.
 Mobile voice searches are 3 times more likely to be local-based than text-related searches.
 The majority of smart home device owners are between the ages of 26 and 35.
 Over 40 percent of millennials use voice-enabled digital assistants, compared to only 11 percent of baby boomers.

Why should I adopt a voice search strategy?

If you want to be a stick in the mud, sure, you don’t HAVE to adopt a voice search approach. However, if you believe the customer comes first, it’s then the customer experience one should value. More and more users have voice-enabled tech at their fingertips. When you set up platforms and strategies that facilitate capturing and entertaining the needs of this user base, you’re doing them a service. From a consumer perspective, they find voice search natural and seamless to use, saves time, and is convenient.

How is voice search changing SEO?

Voice search SEO is the first place to look at creating a voice search marketing strategy. Consumers search differently on voice than they do by text. Voice queries, for example, are generally longer, more niche and long-tail keyword-driven in their request, and have a conversational tone to them. Voice searches are also usually given in the form of a question, meaning if a website’s optimized with question-and-answers and long-tail keywords with a conversational tone, you’re far better off than you would be with content meant strictly to be read.

Will voice search make SEO more competitive?

When you search by text, Google provides to you a full page of results. Then, you can click through. If you don’t have that #1 rank but are able to nab #2 or #3, you’re still within the recommended space to get a fair look. On voice search, there is no screen nor page. Any business now has to get the top result for a search term – that’s the only way they’ll get a mention.

What are featured snippets and how do they help voice search?

Featured snippets appear any time you ask Google a question. They appear as collapsible sections on the first page of Google results, with a series of Q & As. If you can get your content listed in this section, it sets you up very well to be potentially returned on a voice search query. Google Assistant in particular uses featured snippets for voice search a lot. If you aren’t already developing content with question-based answers, give it a try. In a matter of a few months, chances are you’re going to notice a difference in your metrics – especially if you have data culled from voice search-arrived users.

How important is local SEO to voice search?

When someone searches through a voice-enabled device, geographically speaking, the algorithms try to give back something local. A lot of expert SEO techies undervalue the importance of local SEO. That’s going to have to change with how voice search is going. When users employ a search with local intent, such as searching for local restaurants, it makes it all the more integral for brands to begin using more geography alongside their SEO keywords. Depending on your service area, this may include the city you’re in, region, province or state, and country.

What are Google Home Actions and Alexa Skills?

Google Home Actions and Alexa Skills, what are they? They are essentially voice search apps. Downloaded onto someone’s voice-enabled device, it gives the user certain functions not previously had. There are more than 4,300 Google Actions and 60,000 Alexa skill available. Businesses can create and release their own voice search app which can help get clicks, attention, and increase traffic. Here are some examples of how brands have used voice applications in attracting users off voice-enabled devices:

 Domino’s gives customers the chance to order a pizza without having to place an order online or by phone.
 PayPal users can use Siri to send money to friends, family, or businesses with ease.
 Nestle provides voice cooking instructions to you as you cook, through a voice search application.
 Tide has a skill that provides advice on removing stains from up to multiple hundreds of substances.

How are Google SEO algorithms changing with voice search?

Last year, Google released the BERT algorithm. This included natural language processing, aka NLP, and advanced machine learning tech. BERT makes it so that their search engine can understand the intent of a phrase, as opposed to understanding word by word. Keyword strategies must keep this in mind, focusing on intent of what’s said more than the specific words used. The most common trigger words in voice search are ‘how’ and ‘why’ as well as ‘where’, ‘when’, and ‘why’. These are all question-based.

Whether one’s content marketing and SEO changes or it doesn’t, regardless, the algorithms change which means those who don’t adapt will fall behind. A great example of this is take a keyword like ‘lawyer for wills and estate planning’. This would have been a great keyword a decade ago. Considering the algorithm changes that have happened and what’s potentially coming, a better keyword today would be ‘find a lawyer for wills and estate planning in <my city>’. Think of the language a user will give by voice and match it in supplying the question, answering it, and ensuring the intent of your article mirrors that given by the query.

At UE, you have a digital marketing dream team. We have expertise in voice search local SEO, social media, content marketing, web design, and more. Stay one step ahead of the trend. Competition shouldn’t have the advantage – you should. The base of voice search users is growing bigger and bigger. Now’s the time to pull the ripcord and react. Optimize for voice search, reap the results, and set your brand up with momentum you can carry on long into the future.

Source: https://unlimitedexposure.com/basic-digital-marketing/1120-do-you-have-a-voice-search-seo-and-social-media-strategy-%E2%80%93-here%E2%80%99s-your-guide.html