tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47504493111010555542024-03-05T16:04:01.994+00:00Social Media SpiderAmelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comBlogger604125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-56821623605963868622020-02-05T12:31:00.003+00:002020-02-05T12:31:41.698+00:00<h1 class="display-heading-04" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro, Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.75rem; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px;">
The Top 10 Facebook Stats for 2020 [Infographic]</h1>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;">Some interesting data from Andrew Hutchinson:</span><br />
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While other social platforms rise and fall, Facebook, seemingly despite various controversies, has continued to add <a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-q3-update-more-users-higher-revenue-despite-ongoing-controversi/566292/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #101316; cursor: pointer;">more daily and monthly active users</a> as time goes on - and The Social Network shows no sign of any significant slow-down on the immediate horizon.</div>
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Of course, that's not the complete picture. While Facebook has continued to add more users in developing markets, some have suggested that the time people spend on Facebook, on average, has been <a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/internal-research-shows-that-facebook-usage-is-in-decline-in-favor-of-inst/559366/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #101316; cursor: pointer;">in decline in recent years</a>.</div>
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Facebook's last <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/business/facebook-bends-the-rules-of-audience-engagement-to-its-advantage.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #101316; cursor: pointer;">official update</a> on time spent in its apps came in 2016, when it reported that users were spending 50 minutes per day using <span style="box-sizing: inherit;">Facebook, Instagram and/or Messenger - though that's not Facebook-specific. The company did provide something of update to this number in 2018, when it reported that changes to Facebook's News Feed had resulted in a 5% decline in time spent in the app. Estimates suggest that this reduced the Facebook time spent figure to around <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/people-still-spend-an-absurd-amount-of-time-on-fac.aspx" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #101316; cursor: pointer;">41 minutes per day within the app</a>, though again, the numbers here are not Facebook-specific, and the subsequent increases in Instagram and Messenger usage cloud the data somewhat.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit;">But even on the face of it, the 2018 update does show a slowdown. Facebook users were spending <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2014/07/23/facebook-usage-time/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #101316; cursor: pointer;">40 minutes per day</a> in the app back in 2014, so even if that 2018 update was Facebook-specific, it would show that Facebook hasn't added a heap of time spent within the app over that four-year span.</span></div>
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Yet, even so, Facebook has the biggest reach, the most significant perceived influence - even if you don't use Facebook for hours each and every day, the data shows that you probably do check it. Maybe you log in to see what your friends and family are up to, maybe you engage in groups, share a couple of links. Even if you spend more time in other apps, you're still exposed to Facebook, and that ubiquity has made it a critical platform for brands in order to connect with their audiences.</div>
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Basically, no matter how you look at it, you need to have a Facebook presence for your brand.</div>
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Are you looking to make more, or better use of Facebook in 2020? If so, then this <a href="https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-statistics/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #101316; cursor: pointer;">collection of stats</a> from the team at <a href="https://www.hootsuite.com/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #101316; cursor: pointer;">Hootsuite</a> is for you - they've compiled a listing of key Facebook usage stats to keep in mind, and factor into your planning for the year ahead. </div>
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Definitely, the numbers are hard to ignore - you can check out Hootsuite's full Facebook stats report <a href="https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-statistics/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #101316; cursor: pointer;">here</a>, or take a look at the graphic below.</div>
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<img alt="Infographic lists key Facebook usage stats" data-imagemodel="-1" src="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/user_media/diveimage/top_10_Facebook_Stats_for_2020_info.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" /></div>
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<a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/the-top-10-facebook-stats-for-2020-infographic/571167/">Source</a></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04740789436989327756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-36983866964364670072018-08-09T16:48:00.000+01:002018-08-09T16:54:00.478+01:00Do Not Waste Another Minute Second Guessing Your Content Marketing Campaign!<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Thank you to Nadya Khoja for creating and allowing us to share this crucially important piece of a successful content marketing campaign. The measurement of data is as important as the content itself and Nadya does a wonderful job of breaking down the areas you need to be assessing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By giving you ways to improve the key points that are contributing to your success, or lack of and stopping you wasting time on fruitless pursuits you are given the missing part of the puzzle you are struggling to complete.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">To learn more from Nadia and get actionable tips to help you on your road to success just go to <a href="https://thisisnadya.com/">thisisnadya.com</a></span><br />
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How to Measure Your Content Marketing Engagement (And Why it Matters)</h2>
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Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by Google for not ranking your content?</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/hands_up_fan.gif" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48942 aligncenter" height="449" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/hands_up_fan.gif" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="800" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Now raise your hand if you create a lot of content, and stuff it with keywords and still see very little improvement.</span></div>
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<img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="alignnone size-full aligncenter" height="270" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7aTkJH5vly0Zvec8/giphy.gif" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="480" /></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">That’s what I thought.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">But don’t be discouraged. You’re actually not alone in this, and a common mistake people make is focusing on </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">creating a lot of content, rather than focusing on the quality of that content</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Let’s imagine you buy some blueberries at the supermarket (trust me, you’ll see the relevance of this soon).</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">There are 25 blueberries in this packet, and 20 of them are rotten, but 5 of them are at their perfect stage. If you’re like me, chances are you will probably pick through the rotten ones and only eat the select few that look good.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Plus, you’ll enjoy those 5 a lot more. It’s a fact, as can be seen in the following Blueberry Enjoyment Probability Chart (that I made up).</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-1.51.27-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48932 aligncenter" height="527" sizes="(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-1.51.27-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-1.51.27-PM.png 788w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-1.51.27-PM-300x201.png 300w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-1.51.27-PM-768x514.png 768w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="788" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">What does this have to do with content?</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nothing, I just wanted to talk about blueberries.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So let’s circle back to engaging content. Despite the fact that there are numerous articles, videos and resources stating the importance of </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">quality</i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> and </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">engaging </i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">content, what I’ve come to realize is that there are actually not enough good resources which actually state </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">what</i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> that means.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">How do you measure “engagement”?</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">What is engaging content?</span></h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Many resources you come across will attempt to explain the concept of “engaging content”, but the definition is often very subjective.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">One of the most repeated definitions of engaging content across the web, is that it’s </span><a href="https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2010/09/what-does-engaging-content-mean/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">content which provides value for your audience</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Recently I was looking at the website of a friend. He was asking for advice on scaling up his organic traffic, because he had seen how my team at </span><a href="https://venngage.com/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">Venngage</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> had made a huge impact on our rankings by hyper-focusing on our content marketing efforts, and taking a very data-driven approach to how we produced that content.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">When I looked through their blog, I realized that they had published over 8,000 articles! And as expected, almost 80% of those articles were driving absolutely NO traffic at all. Zero visits.</span><br />
<a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-2.06.53-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48931 aligncenter" height="383" sizes="(max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-2.06.53-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-2.06.53-PM.png 716w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-2.06.53-PM-300x160.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="716" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">What my friend here had was a rotten blueberry problem. You see, there were </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">some</i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">good articles on the site, but they were hidden and buried beneath thousands and thousands of low-quality and unappealing pages.</span></div>
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I told you my blueberry story would be relevant.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">His argument was that every one of those articles was “valuable” but as we could see, they weren’t valuable enough for people to actually “engage” with them.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">And this is where I feel that there is a lack of understanding when it comes to measuring content engagement.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So I wanted to write this article in hopes that I can address not only how to measure whether or not your content is actually benefiting anyone, but also share some strategies for creating content that is more likely to rank organically.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Why is it important to measure engagement of your content?</span></h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This of course, is a multi-part answer. However I want to start by talking about engaging content as it relates to search rankings.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The first thing to understand is that </span><a href="https://www.oncrawl.com/oncrawl-seo-thoughts/the-importance-of-ux-in-seo/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">Google likes good user experience</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">. And this isn’t new information. </span><br />
<a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-2.15.25-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48930 aligncenter" height="381" sizes="(max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-2.15.25-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-2.15.25-PM.png 717w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-2.15.25-PM-300x159.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="717" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">In layman’s terms, if the experience you are providing for your site’s visitors is crap, they will leave, or “bounce”. And if they “bounce”, Google sees that and thinks you’re probably not cut out to be the first thing people see when they are search for [insert keyword].</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">In other words, if you are creating a better experience, it will eventually result in better rankings and better conversions overall.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Typically, user experience is something that is very product focused, but not many content marketers think of </span><a href="https://uxdesign.cc/3-rapid-prototyping-exercises-to-improve-your-skills-in-ux-design-f2c8b2d690b3" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">applying UX principles</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> to content strategy.</span></div>
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Usually what happens is that we focus on keyword optimization of content, and trying to create longer content because “some influencer” told us to do that, etc, etc, etc.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">All of these things do in some sense correlate with a better content experience, but it’s different for every audience and every product.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">But how do you measure content engagement anyway?</span></h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Keeping in mind that higher “engagement” is really just a component of a better user experience, then we can assume that creating more engaging content can result in better organic rankings, right?</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So if user experience for content is made up of various engagement metrics, and those metrics are trending up, we can assume that the probability of increasing in rankings is also higher.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Let’s use a formula to simplify this more and give our content UX a grading system:</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">UXc = Avg(E</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">x</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">→ E</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">y</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">)</span></div>
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UXc refers to UX of Content</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">E</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">x </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">→ E</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">y </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">refers to engagement metric x through to engagement metric y.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/measure-engaging-content-metrics.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48940 aligncenter" height="445" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/measure-engaging-content-metrics.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/measure-engaging-content-metrics.png 680w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/measure-engaging-content-metrics-300x196.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="680" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Don’t worry, I’ll show you what I mean shortly, but first let’s start by understanding </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">which</i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> metrics correlate with engagement.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Important metrics for content engagement</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The main engagement metrics I like to focus on are:</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Time on page</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Pages per session</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Bounce rate</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Exit percentage</span></li>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">There are a few others that we measure at Venngage that are specific to our product. Since we are essentially an infographic and poster maker, we also measure the rate at which people create a visual from a template, as well as the rate of completion. On top of that, we look at various conversion metrics like registrations and upgrades to various plan types.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So we measure a few more things with our content efforts as well:</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">Registration rate: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Percentage of people who sign up from a specific page to become a free user.</span></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">Upgrade rate:</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Percentage of people who upgrade to a paid plan from that page.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">Creation rate:</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Percentage of people who create an infographic or find a template from that page.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">Completion rate:</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Percentage of people who successfully complete an infographic from that page.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Time on page: Average time spent on a single page.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Pages per session: How many pages on average people visit in a single session.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Bounce rate: The percentage of people who land on a page and rapidly exit leave that page.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Exit percentage: The percentage of people who exit the site after landing on that page.</span></li>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">These are of course specific to our product, so it’s important for you to identify some </span><a href="https://www.intercom.com/blog/finding-the-metrics-that-matter-for-your-product/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">actions that correlate with the activation of your users</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-3.48.39-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48929 aligncenter" height="382" sizes="(max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-3.48.39-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-3.48.39-PM.png 717w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-3.48.39-PM-300x160.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="717" /></a></span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Tools for tracking your engagement metrics</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ok, so we’ve talked about which metrics are important, but now we need to touch on how to measure them, but more specifically how to measure them on an ongoing basis.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So far, what I’ve found to be the most effective way to measure content performance is using Google Analytics and Google Data Studio.</span></div>
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<a href="https://analytics.google.com/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">Google Analytics:</span></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Since we are measuring content as it pertains to organic rankings, we want to only look at content performance from Organic.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">If you are not currently driving enough traffic from organic, you can test your content via Adwords to get a baseline on the above metrics.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">At a high-level, you can see which articles are driving the most traffic on a weekly or monthly basis.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Here’s a look at some organic traffic metrics from a few years ago at Venngage:</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-1.57.36-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48939 aligncenter" height="405" sizes="(max-width: 1069px) 100vw, 1069px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-1.57.36-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-1.57.36-PM.png 1069w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-1.57.36-PM-300x114.png 300w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-1.57.36-PM-768x291.png 768w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-1.57.36-PM-1024x388.png 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="1069" /></a></span></div>
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From this, we can already infer that the one Spanish article is performing much better than all of the other top ranking articles. The bounce rate is much lower, users on average have a higher pages/session number, the conversion rates are higher and the time on page is higher.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/spanishcontenthighlight.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48933 aligncenter" height="396" sizes="(max-width: 807px) 100vw, 807px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/spanishcontenthighlight.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/spanishcontenthighlight.png 807w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/spanishcontenthighlight-300x147.png 300w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/spanishcontenthighlight-768x377.png 768w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="807" /></a></span></div>
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Although this is helpful in determining which articles are performing well, it’s not enough to monitor the change of those engagement metrics over time.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This is where Google Data Studio comes in handy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://datastudio.google.com/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">Google Data Studio:</span></a></div>
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Where analytics allows you to track the overall traffic and performance of your content, Google Data Studio allows you to see how specific content improves (or doesn’t) over time.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Here’s a look at how we set up our content at Venngage:</span><br />
<a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-2.00.10-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48938 aligncenter" height="371" sizes="(max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-2.00.10-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-2.00.10-PM.png 418w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-2.00.10-PM-300x266.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="418" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">For each month, we track specific articles that were published during that time, and we also track which articles were updated in that specific month as well.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This allows us to see the improvement over time.</span></div>
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<a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-2.07.07-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="measure engaging content metrics" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-48937 aligncenter" height="717" sizes="(max-width: 419px) 100vw, 419px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-2.07.07-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-2.07.07-PM.png 419w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-07-31-at-2.07.07-PM-175x300.png 175w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="419" /></a></div>
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What this also means, is if we notice that some older articles aren’t performing as well as they should be (or at all), we can either decide whether or not we want to rework them. In some very rare cases we delete them altogether, but ultimately we try to avoid creating anything new just for the sake of pushing out more content.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">More importantly, we can see where we are lacking efforts in terms of promotion. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">Newer content will not immediately rank, but the more we push that content, the quicker we see the metrics moving up.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Finding the correlations between high and low performing content</span></h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Of course, it’s not enough to just see the trends of our content, but we need to actively work towards tweaking underperforming content, and creating new blog posts that have naturally higher engagement metrics.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">One way to take a data-driven approach to improving content is finding the correlations between what is engaging your audience, and what is not.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-3.58.40-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="engaging content metrics" class="size-full wp-image-48928 aligncenter" height="380" sizes="(max-width: 713px) 100vw, 713px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-3.58.40-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-3.58.40-PM.png 713w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-3.58.40-PM-300x160.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="713" /></a></span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Step 1: Starting out with a keyword driven approach:</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The number one reason I believe anyone should be creating content for a blog is with the goal of driving organic traffic. And that means, you need to be strategic in identifying what content to create.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So if you are not </span><a href="https://thisisnadya.com/how-to-identify-which-keywords-to-rank-for/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">taking a keyword-driven approach</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> to your content, you are wasting your time. Period.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">A recent </span><a href="https://ahrefs.com/blog/search-traffic-study/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">study by Ahrefs</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> backs this statement up.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">A lot of people write and publish an article, and put a lot of effort into building links to that article, but see very little impact in their rankings. Part of that reason is they aren’t targeting a keyword (or series of keywords) that enough people are searching for.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">When trying to come up with content ideas, it’s important to start with keyword research and build on that. I cover this process in more detail (albeit drunkenly) in this </span><a href="https://www.drinkwithnadya.com/content-ideas/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">article and video on content ideas</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">. Take a look, because this is an important first step before moving on to the next part of the process.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.drinkwithnadya.com/content-ideas/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="engaging content metrics content ideas" class="aligncenter wp-image-48927 size-full" height="380" sizes="(max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-4.03.01-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-4.03.01-PM.png 715w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-4.03.01-PM-300x159.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="715" /></a></span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Step 2: Identifying high and low performing content</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The next step is taking a look at the content on your site which is performing well (meaning the engagement metrics are high) and which isn’t (meaning the engagement metrics are low). You will want to run an audit on the top 5-10 articles and worst 5-10 articles.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Let’s go back to looking at the formula that was referenced above:</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">UXc = Avg(E</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">x</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">→ E</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">y</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">)</span></div>
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When running your audit, you will need to make sure that there is a decent sample size of visits coming to that page from organic. I’d recommend at the very least, 300 visits over a 2 week time frame.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Now let’s take a look at an example.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Here is a table of some of the above engagement metrics for low performing content, versus high performing content. Many of these are from historic Venngage data.</span></div>
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<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; empty-cells: show; font-family: Hind; font-size: 14px; margin: 18px 0px 0px; width: 732px;"><colgroup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><col style="box-sizing: border-box;" width="100"></col><col style="box-sizing: border-box;" width="125"></col><col style="box-sizing: border-box;" width="125"></col><col style="box-sizing: border-box;" width="100"></col><col style="box-sizing: border-box;" width="134"></col><col style="box-sizing: border-box;" width="96"></col><col style="box-sizing: border-box;" width="100"></col><col style="box-sizing: border-box;" width="100"></col></colgroup><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Article"}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">Article</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Sessions"}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">Sessions</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Registration rate"}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">Registration rate</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Time on page"}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">Time on page</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Pages per session"}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">Pages per session</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Bounce rate"}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">Bounce rate</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Exit percentage"}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">Exit percentage</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Average"}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">Average</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1225}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1,225</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0008}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0.08%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0008333333333333334}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:01:12</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":2,"2":"#,##0.00","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.34}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.34</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.8245}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">82.45%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7933}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">79.33%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.5918866666666667}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">59.19%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":17513}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">17,513</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0019}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0.19%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0009375}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:01:21</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.36}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.36</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.828}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">82.80%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.794}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">79.40%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.5969675000000001}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">59.70%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">3</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1689}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1,689</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0112}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.12%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0010532407407407407}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:01:31</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.46}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.46</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7774}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">77.74%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7308}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">73.08%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.596090648148148}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">59.61%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":4}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">4</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1607}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1607</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.023}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.30%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0011458333333333333}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:01:39</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.53}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.53</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7996}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">79.96%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7761}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">77.61%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6259691666666667}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">62.60%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":5}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">5</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":551}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">551</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.029}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.90%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0009490740740740741}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:01:22</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.59}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.59</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7913}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">79.13%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7269}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">72.69%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6276298148148148}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">62.76%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":6}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">6</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1110}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1110</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0288}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.88%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.000925925925925926}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:01:20</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.74}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.74</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7369}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">73.69%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7101}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">71.01%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6433451851851851}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">64.33%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":7}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">7</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":693}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">693</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0159}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.59%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0015162037037037036}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:11</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.72}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.72</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7474}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">74.74%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6972}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">69.72%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6364032407407407}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">63.64%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":8}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">8</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2309}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2,309</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0316}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">3.16%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0014583333333333334}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:06</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.88}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.88</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7272}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">72.72%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7146}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">71.46%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6709716666666666}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">67.10%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":9}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">9</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":502}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">502</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0199}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.99%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0015277777777777779}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:12</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.88}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.88</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.753}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">75.30%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6734}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">67.34%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6655655555555555}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">66.56%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":10}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">10</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":849}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">849</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0695}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">6.95%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0009953703703703704}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:01:26</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.96}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.96</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6914}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">69.14%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6743}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">67.43%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6792390740740741}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">67.92%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":11}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">11</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1501}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1,501</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0653}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">6.53%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0014814814814814814}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:08</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.07}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.07</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7109}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">71.09%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6864}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">68.64%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7068162962962963}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">70.68%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":12}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">12</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3559}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">3,559</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0393}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">3.93%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0015509259259259259}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:14</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1.93}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">1.93</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7044}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">70.44%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6746}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">67.46%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6699701851851851}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">67.00%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":14}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">14</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2338}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2,338</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0744}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">7.44%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.001875}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:42</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.22}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.22</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6681}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">66.81%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6466}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">64.66%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7221949999999999}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">72.22%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":15}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">15</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2887}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2,887</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0506}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">5.06%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.001863425925925926}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:41</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.37}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.37</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6363}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">63.63%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6145}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">61.45%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7346526851851852}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">73.47%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":16}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">16</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3163}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">3,163</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0879}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">8.79%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.002037037037037037}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:56</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.38}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.38</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6848}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">68.48%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6653}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">66.53%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7640074074074074}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">76.40%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":17}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">17</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":4134}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">4,134</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0764}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">7.64%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0024537037037037036}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:03:32</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.35}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.35</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.671}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">67.10%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6285}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">62.85%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7456707407407407}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">74.57%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":18}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">18</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":598}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">598</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.107}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">10.70%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0017013888888888888}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:02:27</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.47}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.47</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6388}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">63.88%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6152}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">61.52%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7665402777777779}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">76.65%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":19}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">19</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":365}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">365</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0849}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">8.49%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0028935185185185184}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:04:10</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.73}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.73</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.611}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">61.10%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.5625}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">56.25%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.7982587037037037}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">79.83%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":20}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">20</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,2,"#,##0",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":8258}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">8,258</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.1416}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">14.16%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.0022222222222222222}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:03:12</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.84}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.84</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.6029}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">60.29%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.5888}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">58.88%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.8351044444444444}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">83.51%</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":21}" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">21</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":989}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">989</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.1223}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">12.23%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":6,"2":"[h]:mm:ss","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.002662037037037037}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">0:03:50</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2.9}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">2.9</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.5693}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">56.93%</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.5388}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">53.88%</td><td data-sheets-formula="=(AVERAGE(R[0]C[-5]:R[0]C[-1]))" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,3,"0.00%",1]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0.8266124074074075}" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 8px 18px 7px;">82.66%</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">So the </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">UXc</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> grade for Article 21, for instance is 82.66% (or an A).</span>The column on the right is the average score of every metric (not including the number of sessions). It isn’t a perfect system of course, but it can give you a general “grade” for your content.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Now you can move on to the next step, which is pinpointing which factors could be leading to that high grade point average.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-family: Hind; font-size: 30px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 27px 0px 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">Step 3: Pinpointing engagement factors in content</span></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Not too long ago, Susan Su from Reforge called me up to run a qualitative content experiment in order to identify </span><a href="https://www.reforge.com/blog/growth-reads-content-marketing-saturation" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">what people at top companies were actually reading</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">. One of the main things that they learned was that the </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">format of the content is as important as the topic</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This gave me an interesting idea.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">What if we could manipulate our engagement data by better understanding </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">which</i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">formats of content people were more drawn to.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
So we started running some focus groups with our content to figure out what it was about the formatting of various articles people liked the most.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">By documenting these factors we were able to see if there were any correlations between the articles with a good grade, and those with a bad grade.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">One of the main factors was </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">text to image ratio</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">. In fact, Brian Dean mentions that a </span><a href="https://backlinko.com/search-engine-ranking" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">single image in an article can increase your rankings</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, but the reality is that an image (or in this case, text to image ratio) increase the engagement of your article. This in turn correlates with better rankings.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-4.08.08-PM.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="engaging content metrics content ideas" class="size-full wp-image-48926 aligncenter" height="383" sizes="(max-width: 718px) 100vw, 718px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-4.08.08-PM.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-4.08.08-PM.png 718w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Screen-Shot-2018-08-01-at-4.08.08-PM-300x160.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: none; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="718" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
So we decided to make some changes to 6 of our lower-graded articles and attempt to improve some metrics. On average, the time on page increased by 24% and the bounce rate dropped by 2%.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 18px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; font-weight: 600;">Here’s how you can pinpoint the engagement factors for your content:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Hind; font-size: 14px; list-style: initial; margin: 18px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 18px;">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Start by doing an </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">overview of the top graded and lowest graded content and comparing them at a high-level</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Look for differences and similarities with</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"> titles, subheaders, paragraph length, number of images and types of images</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> (we actually ran a study and found that on average, </span><a href="https://venngage.com/blog/visual-content-marketing-statistics/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);">infographics in content lead to higher engagement</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">).</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Call a few users who read your content and </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">create a small focus group</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> and show them different articles to learn what they consider to be more engaging.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Document the most frequently stated factors and </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">start implementing those changes</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> into low-graded content.</span></li>
</ul>
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For us it is still early to tell exactly how well our tests are working, but by taking a keyword driven approach in combination with an engagement driven approach, we’ve seen considerable growth on our blog, as you can see here:</div>
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<a href="http://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Bloggrowth.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #303133; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 200ms cubic-bezier(0.785, 0.135, 0.15, 0.86);"><img alt="engaging content metrics content ideas" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-48935" height="255" sizes="(max-width: 653px) 100vw, 653px" src="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Bloggrowth.png" srcset="https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Bloggrowth.png 653w, https://thisisnadya.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Bloggrowth-300x117.png 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: none; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="653" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400;">You need a data-driven approach to create more engaging content</span></h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">To conclude, simply saying that you need to offer “value” is not enough to understand what makes for engaging content. You need to do a deep dive of specific engagement metrics and identify what factors of your content correlate with higher engagement and higher rankings.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Keyword stuffing is not going to work if you want to rank higher, and just looking at your engagement metrics won’t help either. You need both a keyword driven approach to your content strategy, while also making an active effort to score a higher content experience grade overall.</span></div>
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Have you noticed and practices that have lead to better engagement on your blog? Share your thoughts in the comments!</div>
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Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893719516833778034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-87825074902565361732018-07-11T10:13:00.000+01:002018-07-11T10:23:36.535+01:00What is The Difference Between Dark Social & Dark Posts? <div class="post-heading" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="thumb" href="https://simplymeasured.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-dark-social-and-dark-posts/" itemprop="image" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="background: rgb(221, 221, 221); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0d62a9; display: block; height: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: none; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 399.021px; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in; vertical-align: baseline; width: 709.385px;"><img alt="What Is the Difference Between Dark Social and Dark Posts?" class="attachment-large default-featured-img initial loaded" data-src="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-1024x512.jpg" data-srcset="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-415x208.jpg 415w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-768x384.jpg 768w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-307x154.jpg 307w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-604x302.jpg 604w" data-was-processed="true" height="416" itemprop="url" sizes="(min-width: 767px) 50%, 100%" src="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-1024x512.jpg" srcset="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-415x208.jpg 415w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-768x384.jpg 768w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-307x154.jpg 307w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Adobe-Spark-71-604x302.jpg 604w" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; height: auto; left: 354.688px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100.6%; min-width: 100.2%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 199.51px; transform: translate(-50%, -50%); vertical-align: baseline; width: 710.802px;" width="832" /></a><br />
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<span class="author-avatar" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: white; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></div>
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<h1 itemprop="headline" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2079c3; font-family: AvenirNextLTW01-Medium, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 32px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.25em; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
What Is the Difference Between Dark Social and <span class="no-wrap" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">Dark Posts?</span></h1>
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<div class="relative content-area clearfix post-197106 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-social-marketing" id="post-197106" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1.189rem; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<blockquote style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2079c3; display: table; font-family: AvenirNextLTW01-Medium, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.414rem; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5625; margin: 3em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em; position: relative; quotes: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 709.333px;">
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So…what is the difference between dark social and a dark post?</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In my work as a product specialist, I get this question all the time. The confusion is understandable due to the similar nomenclature, but never fear–I’m here to help!</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s really an apples-to-oranges comparison. While dark posts (also known as unpublished posts) are ad objects, undoubtedly inside the traditional umbrella of social media, Dark Social has nothing to do with ads and doesn’t necessarily have to do with “traditional” social media at all.</span></div>
<h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #3896e3; font-family: AvenirNextLTW01-Medium, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.9994rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2; margin: 2em 0px 0.666em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Dark/Unpublished Posts</h2>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Let’s start with dark/unpublished posts. These posts are ad objects that appear in consumer timelines, but do not exist on the company’s social page. They appear as normal-looking posts, but have calls to action like “Learn More,” “Shop Now,” or “Like Page.” If you are reading this article, you have either purchased or seen these ads a million times.</span></div>
<img alt="Dark Post" class="zoom border aligncenter lazyload loaded" data-src="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-10.55.47-AM.png" data-was-processed="true" height="432" src="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-10.55.47-AM.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(199, 199, 199); box-sizing: inherit; cursor: zoom-in; display: block; height: auto; margin: 2em auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;" width="415" /><br />
<h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #3896e3; font-family: AvenirNextLTW01-Medium, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.9994rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2; margin: 2em 0px 0.666em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
But What About Dark Social?</h2>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://simplymeasured.com/blog/dark-social-what-social-marketers-need-to-know/#sm.0000ot8hpu14h8evbx3p9lk2b0prz" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0d62a9; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Dark Social</a> is an entirely different beast: it has nothing to do with ads. It refers simply to the private sharing of links via mediums that don’t pass a referrer in traditional web analytics platforms, such as email, Slack, Text, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat.</span></div>
<div class="gallery galleryid-197106" id="gallery-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 3em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 399.021px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<figure class="gallery-item" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; opacity: 1; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.33s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="gallery-icon lazyload" data-src="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.05.54-AM.png" data-srcset="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.05.54-AM.png 602w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.05.54-AM-415x314.png 415w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.05.54-AM-307x233.png 307w" data-was-processed="true" sizes="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.05.54-AM.png"); background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="zoom" href="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.05.54-AM.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0d62a9; cursor: zoom-in; display: block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; top: 0px; transition: color 0.1s ease-in; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 1;"></a></div>
<figcaption class="gallery-caption" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: white; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 1.5em; position: absolute; right: auto; top: auto; vertical-align: baseline; width: 709.385px; z-index: 3;">Slack</figcaption></figure><input id="gallery-4-item-2" name="gallery-4-radio" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 19.024px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden;" type="radio" /><figure class="gallery-item" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.33s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="gallery-icon lazyload" data-src="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.09.39-AM.png" data-srcset="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.09.39-AM.png 256w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.09.39-AM-237x307.png 237w" data-was-processed="true" sizes="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.09.39-AM.png"); background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<figcaption class="gallery-caption" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: white; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 1.5em; position: absolute; right: auto; top: auto; vertical-align: baseline; width: 709.385px; z-index: 3;">Facebook Messenger</figcaption></figure><input id="gallery-4-item-3" name="gallery-4-radio" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 19.024px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden;" type="radio" /><figure class="gallery-item" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.33s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="gallery-icon lazyload" data-src="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.08.24-AM.png" data-srcset="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.08.24-AM.png 940w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.08.24-AM-415x139.png 415w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.08.24-AM-768x257.png 768w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.08.24-AM-307x103.png 307w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.08.24-AM-604x202.png 604w" data-was-processed="true" sizes="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.08.24-AM.png"); background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<figcaption class="gallery-caption" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: white; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 1.5em; position: absolute; right: auto; top: auto; vertical-align: baseline; width: 709.385px; z-index: 3;">Text</figcaption></figure><input id="gallery-4-item-4" name="gallery-4-radio" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 19.024px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden;" type="radio" /><figure class="gallery-item" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.33s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="gallery-icon lazyload" data-src="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.04.56-AM.png" data-srcset="https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.04.56-AM.png 473w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.04.56-AM-150x150.png 150w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.04.56-AM-415x413.png 415w, https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.04.56-AM-307x307.png 307w" data-was-processed="true" sizes="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("https://simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-14-at-11.04.56-AM.png"); background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When we break down the term Dark Social, “Dark” relates to the fact that these conversions are often falsely attributed to direct traffic in your web analytics tool. The “social” component comes from the fact that this is a social interaction of two or more people. If it makes it easier, just think “private sharing.” </span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://simplymeasured.com/blog/why-dark-social-data-matters-to-the-content-marketer/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0d62a9; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Dark Social data</a> is absolutely critical, not just for social teams, but for your marketing organization as a whole. In fact, you should be viewing Dark Social as its own marketing channel, one that contains a goldmine of data. Right now, around 80% of all sharing is dark. 80%!!! These private shares represent consumers who are typically at the bottom of the marketing funnel and/or huge fans and advocates of your brand. These are people sharing links to your products so that their friends, families, and co-workers will buy them, read your articles, and share your quizzes to help determine “Which Wildlife Excursion Should You Try In Manitoba?” <a href="https://simplymeasured.com/blog/6-things-buzzfeed-does-better-than-anyone-else-on-social-media/#sm.0000ot8hpu14h8evbx3p9lk2b0prz" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0d62a9; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">(looking at you, Buzzfeed)</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">These interactions are occurring all the time, and you are missing the chance to optimize your content for goal completions that matter to your business. You are missing a nuanced perspective on the social activity sitting in your direct traffic bucket. Using this data, you can learn which products, content, or other web pages resonate most with your audience, so you can transform your social, email, and ad campaigns around the topics people likely to buy and engage deeply with your brand care most about.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://simplymeasured.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-dark-social-and-dark-posts/#sm.00010mtk5u7yqeu010bi1f8sfebxt">Source</a></span></div>
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Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893719516833778034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-17122211226855809372017-03-07T21:33:00.000+00:002017-03-07T21:33:31.657+00:00A beginner’s guide to email marketing automation<div class="wp-caption" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: white; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; border: none; box-sizing: content-box; color: #404040; float: none; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px auto; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 260px;">
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Email marketing automation may be the secret to a successful marketing strategy, provided that you know how to use it. Here’s how to get started.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/what-is-email-marketing-and-how-do-you-create-a-successful-strategy/109168/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Email marketing is still a powerful method</a> to boost your marketing goals, but as your business grows, it becomes more challenging to handle all the different types of emails you need to send.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Email marketing automation could be the solution to this problem.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">What is email marketing automation?</span></span></h2>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Email marketing automation is simply the automated process of sending emails to a specific list of people, depending on the predefined triggers. Once the trigger is activated, the email is sent.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The use of email automation software allows you to set all the parameters that will determine when the automated emails will be sent, making the planning of them easier.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">In other words, it’s the use of technology for the sake of an improved marketing strategy that may lead to an increased effectiveness.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Why use email marketing automation?</span></span></h2>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The first reason that marketers turn to email automation is the fact that they manage to save time and effort, by creating the triggers that send the right emails, to the right people, at the right time.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Moreover, the automation of this process is saving them time from future similar efforts, as the triggers can be adjusted to include more people, or additional emails to each action.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">This increases the efficiency of their email marketing strategy, in such a way that their creativity is blended with technology for the best possible results.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">According to Epsilon Email Institute, automated email messages lead to an average 70.5% of higher open rates and 152% higher click-through rates than usual emails.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Effectiveness also goes beyond click rates, as automated mails seem to contribute to a message’s relevance for the target audience. In fact, according to Lenskold and Pedowitz Groups, companies that send automated emails are 133% more likely to have relevant messages that correspond with a customer’s purchase cycle.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Now the question is, where should you begin with email marketing automation?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">6 tips to consider when starting with email marketing automation</span></span></h2>
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1. Think carefully about your lead magnets</h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The first step is to encourage people to sign up with the right lead magnets that provide them a reason to do so. It’s better to think of a reason that is relevant and useful, rather than an instant reward, as this increases the chances to create a long-term relationship with them.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Lead magnets have to be clear, offering value that cannot be ignored from the target audience. Testing of several forms can help you understand what users find more interesting and this can be the indication that will make the building of the list easier.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">2. Focus on the welcome message</span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Once a user signs up to a list, it’s important to send a welcome message that’s as relevant as possible. Not every user is part of the same customer journey, and this may affect their future relationship with your business.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">A proper segmentation of users allows you to send a warm welcome message that addresses their problems, helping them find the right answers while they are also learning more about your brand.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">It’s also important to plan the emails you’re going to send, and how the workflow of the messages will work from now on.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">What’s the best way to use automation to build a relationship with users who have already showed interest in the value you’re offering them?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">3. Don’t underestimate lead nurturing </span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Automation doesn’t have to be impersonal. On the contrary, it’s crucial to add a personal touch to your emails, as a way to show your genuine interest in every message that you send.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">A personalized communication can be very useful as part of your nurturing process. A warm and welcoming message increases the chances of turning a prospect into a customer, with a smooth and positive inbox experience serving as a great lead magnet.</span></div>
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Once you manage to find the balance between automation and personalization, each email should indicate your genuine interest towards every recipient. Lead nurturing is all about consistency and although automation can be very useful, it’s still important to excel in the segmentation of your audience to ensure that each recipient receives the right message.</div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">4. Set your goals and work towards them (create the right triggers)</span></h3>
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Before you start with automation, it’s useful to focus on your goals and your expectations from each automated process. How could automation boost your email marketing campaign? What’s the best way to save time while increasing your effectiveness? What do you define as an effective email marketing campaign?</div>
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The ROI from email marketing automation depends on your goals, and it’s useful to be clear on what you expect from the earliest stages of your planning.</div>
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For example, if you’re interested in lead nurturing, then you can use email automation to send consistent and personalized messages to your recipients to create a relationship with them.</div>
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If you want to use email automation to increase sales, you can create the right set of emails to promote your products in the most relevant and appealing way.</div>
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Remember, not every email has the same purpose, and there needs to be a distinction between your goals in order to enjoy the benefits of email marketing automation.</div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">5. Keep evaluating the process</span></h3>
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Although email marketing automation aims to help you create a streamlined process among your emails, it’s still useful to evaluate it from time to time to measure its performance and examine whether it needs to be changed.</div>
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Does automation bring you closer to your goals? How does the audience respond to your emails? Is there a part of the process that can be improved?</div>
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As every audience is different, it’s a good idea to monitor its automated process on its own to test whether it’s contributing to a successful email marketing strategy.</div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">6. Make subscribing and unsubscribing obvious</span></h3>
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It’s frustrating for users to keep searching for the option to unsubscribe from an email that they are not interested in. Thus, it’s best to have a clear display with all their available options.</div>
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Just as you add a CTA button to encourage further clicks in case they are interested in the email’s content, you should also feature an easy unsubscribe process.</div>
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Even if this means that you’re increasing their chances of opting out, it also means that you’re only maintaining the ones that are truly interested in your content.</div>
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Overview</h2>
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Email marketing automation can be a very useful ally to your marketing strategy, provided that you find the right balance between automated messages and personalization for each segment of your contacts.</div>
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Even if the initial planning may seem time-consuming, the benefits should give you an additional motivation to work towards an effective process that will help you reach all your set goals.</div>
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Tereza Litsa is a Writer at ClickZ.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/a-beginners-guide-to-email-marketing-automation/109608/">Source</a></div>
</div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-42226294785595440582017-03-06T20:31:00.000+00:002017-03-06T20:31:09.931+00:00Breaking down the Facebook auction: How to manage rising CPMs and deliver sales<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; color: #404040; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Facebook advertising has come a long way in the past few years, and it provides a highly profitable way for brands either to engage an existing audience or grow new ones.</span></div>
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Paid social media shares some common foundations with paid search, but there are some significant differences both in how its auction-based model works and in the interaction users have with its advertisements.</div>
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As such, this maturing-but-still-nascent form of advertising provides a huge amount of room for testing and innovation. It comes with its pitfalls too, as we have seen with the <a href="https://www.clickz.com/facebook-reveals-it-miscalculated-even-more-metrics/108546/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">measurement scandals</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Facebook-video-advertising.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="A graphic depicting video thumbnails flying into the Facebook logo from the left, and money pouring out of it to the right." class="aligncenter wp-image-109847" height="366" sizes="(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Facebook-video-advertising.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Facebook-video-advertising.png 750w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Facebook-video-advertising-300x169.png 300w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="650" /></a></div>
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However, there are other challenges that affect paid social practitioners daily and they require novel solutions. Below, we have looked at what makes a successful campaign – and what to do when everything best practice tells us just doesn’t work.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The ABC of Facebook Advertising</span></h2>
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A successful campaign can be broken down into 3 areas:</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/ABC-of-Facebook-advertising.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Three graphics depicting the ABC of Facebook advertising: Audiences, Bidding and Creative." class="aligncenter wp-image-109849" height="220" sizes="(max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/ABC-of-Facebook-advertising.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/ABC-of-Facebook-advertising.png 943w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/ABC-of-Facebook-advertising-300x103.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/ABC-of-Facebook-advertising-768x263.png 768w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="643" /></a></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Audiences</span>: Deciding who you want to communicate with and how you want to utilize your audience lists and website visitor information.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Bidding</span>: Selecting to use manual or automated bids and choosing the metrics for your campaign, which will affect your campaign cost.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Creative: </span>Testing the right format for your audience since it will directly impact the effectiveness of the two categories above.</li>
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Let’s begin with the theory behind a best practice Facebook campaign across these three areas, with reference primarily to the auction that decides so much of how well our ads perform and how much they cost.</div>
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By way of contrast with AdWords, Facebook is inherently driven by images and their power to create an aspirational projection in the mind of the consumer.</div>
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AdWords works on a very pure, direct response model that is often based on text-based communication. A user types in a keyword and is met with a text-heavy response, although this stance is softening over time as results pages become more visually arresting.</div>
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Facebook allows a different approach to targeting, based on specific consumers rather than keywords. However, both are underpinned by an auction-based bidding system.</div>
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Facebook uses an auction for two main reasons: to create maximum value for advertisers and to improve the user’s experience. In an ideal world, this would see advertisers attract sales cost-effectively by providing a timely, relevant and enticing ad to the right consumers.</div>
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It is in understanding which aspects of this auction we can directly impact that we can start to affect our campaign costs.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/how-the-auction-works.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-109850" height="328" sizes="(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/how-the-auction-works.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/how-the-auction-works.png 872w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/how-the-auction-works-300x146.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/how-the-auction-works-768x374.png 768w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="672" /></a></div>
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Bids are defined by the bid value an advertiser sets (more on this below), multiplied by the percentage chance of their defined action being taken.</div>
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So if we want to bid on clicks as a metric, that value will be multiplied by Facebook’s estimated probability that that click will occur. Furthermore, bids in the same auction can target different outcomes: clicks vs. conversions, for example.</div>
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This is then combined with relevance and quality factors to come up with the final bid price and the auction winner. These last factors will be affected by things like image quality, negative comments on posts, and click-through rate. Note that this can change over time, affecting your costs on an ongoing basis as Facebook hoovers up more data on your performance.</div>
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An easier way to summarize and memorize this is B.E.A.R.:</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/B.E.A.R.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Vector graphic of a stuffed bear above the words Bid = Bid value for the desired outcome x Estimated Action rate + Relevance & quality." class="aligncenter wp-image-109853" height="319" sizes="(max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/B.E.A.R.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/B.E.A.R.png 843w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/B.E.A.R-300x149.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/B.E.A.R-768x381.png 768w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="643" /></a></div>
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These bids can be set as either manual or automatic. You are told to use automatic if you don’t know what you are willing to pay for that action. If you do have a price in mind, you are told to bid your “true value” of what your action is worth to you. For instance, if you can only afford to pay $30 to acquire a new user, Facebook suggests you set your manual bid at $30.</div>
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If setting it on manual, you can choose a maximum or an average bid. For maximum, the algorithm is stricter on the threshold and is supposed to only find conversions below your bid, but unfortunately this is not always the case.</div>
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For average bidding, it will find conversions above and below your bid to find one that will eventually even it out. As seen below, if your bid is $10, Facebook will find bids anywhere between $2 to $12 as long as it averages out to $10.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Facebook-bids.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-109854" height="347" sizes="(max-width: 562px) 100vw, 562px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Facebook-bids.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Facebook-bids.png 662w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Facebook-bids-300x185.png 300w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="562" /></a></div>
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Regardless if bidding on maximum or on average, you should ensure to always have a budget that is five times your bid to give Facebook enough breathing room to learn.</div>
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But this theory doesn’t always hold true and best practice sometimes lets us down.</div>
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So, what are some of the most commonly-faced challenges, and how can we deal with them most effectively?</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Audiences</span></h2>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/audiences-three-main-problems.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-109855" height="398" sizes="(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/audiences-three-main-problems-1024x562.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/audiences-three-main-problems-1024x562.png 1024w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/audiences-three-main-problems-300x165.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/audiences-three-main-problems-768x422.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/audiences-three-main-problems.png 1085w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="724" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Hyper-targeting hampers performance</span></h4>
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It seems counter-intuitive at first, but getting a bit too carried away with Facebook’s impressive targeting options can actually slow your progress.</div>
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It is best to provide Facebook with as much data as possible for each ad set so that its algorithms can find the optimal match between creative and audience. As such, it is advisable to avoid audience segmentation at this stage unless it has a clear and defined benefit to your campaign goals.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Ads stop showing</span></h4>
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This issue can be caused by many different factors. The first port of call (after checking your bids and budget, of course), should be your website. Check the implementation of the pixel (the <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/facebook-pixel-helper/fdgfkebogiimcoedlicjlajpkdmockpc?hl=en" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Chrome extension</a> is very useful here) and look into Analytics to check conversion rates on key landing pages.</div>
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If all seems fine on the site, check the interactions your audience has been having with your ad sets in the past. If these are overwhelmingly negative, this could be enough to convince Facebook to stop showing the ads altogether.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Audiences stop performing </span></h4>
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If there is excessive overlap between the audiences you are trying to target across different ad sets, Facebook will prevent the list with the lowest performance history from entering the auction. Excessive overlap can cause significant issues, but it can be avoided by using Facebook’s audience overlap tool.</div>
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The audience overlap tool will show the percentage overlap between lists (we recommend keeping it below 30%) and provide insight into where you should consider consolidating your lists.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Bidding</span></h2>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/bidding-three-main-problems.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-109856" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/bidding-three-main-problems-1024x570.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/bidding-three-main-problems-1024x570.png 1024w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/bidding-three-main-problems-300x167.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/bidding-three-main-problems-768x427.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/bidding-three-main-problems.png 1075w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="724" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Rising CPMs</span></h4>
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The auction is increasingly competitive and CPMs are rising as a result. Therefore, sometimes that “true value” that Facebook advises us to bid just isn’t high enough to compete.</div>
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However, there are many ways to arrive at the same CPM, so it is worth trialling new campaign objectives such as link clicks. This can be risky, but if you are confident that your landing page will convert well, it can allow you to hit the same revenue targets (or better) for a lower campaign cost.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Pixel problems</span></h4>
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Another challenging area we encounter is with Facebook’s pixel. This needs to be implemented correctly at each stage of the conversion journey to give you the accurate data you need. It is also crucial to ensure that each of these events is tagged accurately.</div>
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This is a fundamental foundation if you plan to use sequential messaging to target your audience at different stages of their purchase journey.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Analyzing GA data</span></h4>
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A challenging question – and one with no obvious, catch-all solution – is the attribution of Facebook conversions within a wider marketing strategy, particularly at impression level. The main symptom of this issue is conversion data on two everyday platforms (Facebook and Google Analytics) that simply don’t match up.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/google-facebook.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Vector graphic featuring a rocket with two crossed flags behind it, one featuring the Google G and the other featuring the Facebook F." class="aligncenter wp-image-109857" height="310" sizes="(max-width: 552px) 100vw, 552px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/google-facebook.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/google-facebook.png 852w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/google-facebook-300x169.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/google-facebook-768x432.png 768w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="552" /></a></div>
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We could say that Facebook is rather generous in how it weights its own importance, with a 1-day view through and 28-day click through window as standard. Multiple clicks from the same user within a short timeframe will also be classified as separate sessions, unlike in Google Analytics.</div>
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Analytics and DoubleClick do not have access to Facebook impression data, meaning that it is difficult to square this circle comprehensively. We also need to accept that we simply aren’t comparing apples with apples; these two platforms facilitate a different form of advertising and, as such, their metrics will inevitably differ.</div>
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That said, a great way to mitigate this issue is to trial conversion lift testing. This works best retrospectively and requires some initial investment, but it does provide insight into the ‘true’ impact of a Facebook campaign.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/conversion-lift-testing.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-109858" height="274" sizes="(max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/conversion-lift-testing.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/conversion-lift-testing.png 881w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/conversion-lift-testing-300x121.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/conversion-lift-testing-768x309.png 768w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="681" /></a></div>
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This same logic applies to Facebook ad sets, if you want to understand the impact each is having on your overall performance.</div>
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There is some optimism to be found in Google’s data-driven attribution too which, although missing impression-level Facebook data, will still provide a clear view on clicks. Here, we would typically expect Facebook to appear higher in the funnel, demonstrating its importance as an assist channel.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Creative</span></h2>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-three-main-problems.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-109859" height="402" sizes="(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-three-main-problems-1024x569.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-three-main-problems-1024x569.png 1024w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-three-main-problems-300x167.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-three-main-problems-768x426.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-three-main-problems.png 1086w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="724" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Ads are not relevant enough</span></h4>
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If we return to our friendly B.E.A.R acronym, it is clear that even the best bidding strategy will flounder if the ads are irrelevant to the selected audience.</div>
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This falls down further if the ads contain too much text or if they have received negative feedback and a low CTR in the past. It is therefore worth investing time into the research stage of your strategy, to ensure adequate planning of creative assets and target audiences.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Creative fatigue</span></h4>
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Creative fatigue is a widespread challenge and a natural by-product of the experience of using social media platforms. Users are bombarded by images, videos and sounds, and they have attention spans reflective of this. Even the best-performing creative has a shelf-life and can end up having a negative impact if left active for too long.</div>
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They key here is to read the signs carefully in your performance data and know when to switch up either the creative or the audience. As a rule of thumb, we would recommend updating creative every 2-4 weeks.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Lack of creative resources</span></h2>
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The important thing to remember is that you don’t need an extensive creative team to produce great creative assets. There are some fantastic, free apps available to use that can help you turn simple images into the thumb-stopping media Facebook craves.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-assets.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-109860" height="189" sizes="(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-assets-1024x267.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-assets-1024x267.png 1024w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-assets-300x78.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-assets-768x201.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/creative-assets.png 1030w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="724" /></a></div>
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Below we have listed our three everyday favorites:</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Boomerang: </span>This is a free app that will allow you to loop actions back in forth within an image. It’s great if you want to emphasize a specific element like a product, for example.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Cinemagraph Pro: </span>In a cinemagraph, one part of a photo moves while the rest remains still. This app is free to use and will allow you to create cinemagraphs from any image.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Layout: </span>A simple one, but an effective app nonetheless. Layout lets you create collages and show multiple products within one image space.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/key-takeaways.png" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-109861" height="345" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/key-takeaways-1024x566.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/key-takeaways-1024x566.png 1024w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/key-takeaways-300x166.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/key-takeaways-768x424.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/key-takeaways.png 1088w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 90%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="624" /></a></div>
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There is still a learning curve when it comes to Facebook advertising for the majority of marketers, which makes it an exciting but challenging place to be.</div>
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The landscape is constantly shifting, but the above will hopefully provide some guidance on how to navigate the main obstacles we have encountered thus far in 2017.</div>
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‘Breaking down the Facebook auction: How to combat inflated CPMs and bigger budgets to deliver more sales in 2017’ was originally presented by Clark Boyd and Ximena Sanchez of Croud at Social Media Week NYC 2017. <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ClarkBoyd/croud-social-media-week-nyc-2017-breaking-down-the-facebook-auction" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">You can view the full presentation here</a>.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">This article was co-authored by Ximena Sanchez and Clark Boyd of <a href="http://croud.com/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Croud</a>.</em></div>
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Clark Boyd is VP Strategy at Croud, a global digital performance agency.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/breaking-down-the-facebook-auction-how-to-manage-rising-cpms-and-deliver-sales/109845/">Source</a></div>
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Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-39360378323821310192016-05-01T06:00:00.000+01:002016-05-01T06:00:23.311+01:00How To Find The Right Influencers on Twitter<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #293060; line-height: 30.6px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Influencer marketing isn’t complex. It’s applying the age old concept of having a brand ambassador on a micro level to your digital marketing. However, what's complex is finding the right influencers to target. In the age of content marketing, influencer-driven recommendations encourage purchases. Studies by </span><a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/getting-a-sharper-picture-of-social-medias-influence" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c58f4; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">McKinsey</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.augure.com/blog/state-influencer-engagement-20150618" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c58f4; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Augure</a>,</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> and many others agree. In this article, we take a look at how a marketer can find and engage with the right influencers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png" sizes="(max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px" src="http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png?t=1461838864374&width=595" srcset="http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png?t=1461838864374&width=298 298w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png?t=1461838864374&width=595 595w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png?t=1461838864374&width=893 893w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png?t=1461838864374&width=1190 1190w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png?t=1461838864374&width=1488 1488w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png?t=1461838864374&width=1785 1785w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: bottom; width: 595px;" title="How_To_Find_The_Right_Influencers_on_Twitter.png" width="595" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For starters, you can find influencers by simply analyzing your Twitter or Facebook to see who engages with your content frequently and then assess mileage your brand would get out of a personal recommendation from them. While this can be a makeshift way of finding influencers, for larger brands that are serious about social media, a data-driven approach is essential. </span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.unmetric.com/analyze" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c58f4; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Unmetric Analyze</a> allows you to sift through your hottest influencers so you can find the apt people to engage and boost your content with. Here is where and how you access that data on Unmetric Analyze.</span></span></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Step 1. Head over to the Analyze Tab</span></strong></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once you’ve logged into the <a href="https://unmetric.com/app/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c58f4; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Unmetric Analyze app</a>, on the left top corner, click on the drop-down list and choose Twitter. Once the Twitter dashboard opens, click on the Analyze option.</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you already have brands chosen, click on the brand you want to find influencers for. If not click on the add brand button and with a simple search, add the brands you like.</span></span></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Step 2. Under Account, click on Influencers </span></strong></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once you go to your brand’s Analyze page, in the left menu, under Account, you’ll see a menu option for Influencers. Click on it and this will open your list of influencers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can find the most important and largest Twitter accounts that have Mentioned or Retweeted you in the past. You can even click on the tweet number to see which tweet this was. This isn’t just a list of influencers that your brand can leverage, but since they’ve already engaged with your brand in the past, these are a list of qualified influencers that are more likely to endorse your brand message.</span></span></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Step 3. Sift through & rearrange the results</span></strong></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Influencers are two types - those with the larger fan following, and those that might have a smaller following but are more frequent in sharing your content. Based on your campaign goals, using Unmetric, you can sort the influencer list by number of Followers or Tweets</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What’s more? You can even export the data for easier access.</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="HowTo_5.png" height="205" sizes="(max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px" src="http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HowTo_5.png?t=1461838864374&width=229&height=205" srcset="http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HowTo_5.png?t=1461838864374&width=115&height=103 115w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HowTo_5.png?t=1461838864374&width=229&height=205 229w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HowTo_5.png?t=1461838864374&width=344&height=308 344w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HowTo_5.png?t=1461838864374&width=458&height=410 458w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HowTo_5.png?t=1461838864374&width=573&height=513 573w, http://go.unmetric.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HowTo_5.png?t=1461838864374&width=687&height=615 687w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: bottom;" title="HowTo_5.png" width="229" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can also change the time period to find seasonal influencers/ influencers that have endorsed your previous campaigns. Or you can even view your competitor brands' influencers and leverage that list to maximize on reach. And there you go! In just a few simple steps you can find a list of qualified influencers using Unmetric Analyze.</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://blog.unmetric.com/how-to-find-the-right-influencers-on-twitter"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://blog.unmetric.com/how-to-find-the-right-influencers-on-twitter"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Source</span></a></span></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-33643522566914972192016-04-30T07:36:00.000+01:002016-04-30T07:36:43.191+01:00How to Create a Facebook Business Video in 6 Easy Steps <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #232323; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 32.4px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Faceboo</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">k's actively encouraging its users to create more video content on its service, but creating compelling video content - whether live or pre-recorded - is perceived as a challenge by many business owners, especially SMBs, who typically lack marketing resources or access to agency talent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fortunately, Facebook has a tool called “Your Business Story” that lets SMBs create videos highlighting their unique selling propositions in a simple and effective way. The tool's easy to use, and the results - while hardly Hollywood-grade - are attractive enough to convey an effective message.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We did a quick test of “Your Business Story” to see how much time was required to crank out a simple “Business Story” video. Fifteen minutes after we started, the video was on our Page, performing as well - in fact better -– than much of the other content there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Interested in doing the same? Just perform the following 6 steps:</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">STEP 1: VISIT <a href="https://yourbusinessstory.fb.com/en/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0062a0; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">YOURBUSINESSSTORY.FB.COM</a></span></strong></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook will prompt you to log on if you’re not logged on already. You need to be an authorized Administrator for a Facebook page in order to proceed further. If you’re an Admin for more than one page, choose the page you want to create this business video for.</span></div>
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<img alt="How to Create a Facebook Business Video in 6 Easy Steps | Social Media Today" src="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/sites/default/files/Steve%20Baldwin/files/fb-small-biz-story2(1).png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 596px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">STEP 2: UPLOAD AND/OR CHOOSE YOUR PHOTOS</strong> </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook “Business Story” videos are simple sequences that dissolve between images you upload. The tool lets you easily select and sequence your photos so that they provide the movement required to tell a story. If you haven’t yet uploaded 8 photos, Facebook will prompt you to do so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Confirm your photo selections and proceed to the next page.</span></div>
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<img alt="How to Create a Facebook Business Video in 6 Easy Steps | Social Media Today" src="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/sites/default/files/Steve%20Baldwin/files/fb-small-biz-story5.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 470px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">STEP 3: BRIEFLY TELL YOUR STORY</span></strong></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook only gives you 90 characters to express your business saga, so you’ll need to think carefully about a short statement that describes your business. Your 90 character statement will appear after Facebook’s canned text (“We’re in the business of…”), so choose a statement that makes sense in this context. Once you’re happy with this text, choose “Confirm Your Story.”</span></div>
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<img alt="How to Create a Facebook Business Video in 6 Easy Steps | Social Media Today" src="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/sites/default/files/Steve%20Baldwin/files/fb-small-biz-story6.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 486px; line-height: 20.8px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">STEP 4: CHOOSE YOUR MUSIC</span></strong></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You’re not going to find a lot of musical choices here, nor do you have any options to upload your own sound track. Your selections are limited to “rock”, “synth”, “electronica”, and “percussion", and all of the offered tracks sound pretty innocuous (which was probably Facebook’s intent). Still, they’re pretty adequate, especially for SMBs who don’t want to make profound statements.</span></div>
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<img alt="How to Create a Facebook Business Video in 6 Easy Steps | Social Media Today" src="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/sites/default/files/Steve%20Baldwin/files/fb-small-biz-story8.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 418px; line-height: 20.8px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">STEP 5: AGREE WITH FACEBOOK’S TERMS</span></strong></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook wants you to agree to some additional, boilerplate language beyond its standard TOS. These added terms grant it a worldwide, non-exclusive right to display your video around the world. Unless you have an objection to these terms, click “I Agree” and you’re done.</span></div>
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<img alt="How to Create a Facebook Business Video in 6 Easy Steps | Social Media Today" src="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/sites/default/files/Steve%20Baldwin/files/fb-small-biz-story9.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 394px; line-height: 20.8px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 522px;" /></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Step 6: Wait about 10 minutes</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook processes these videos very quickly: our test video was live on the intended page within about 10 minutes. The video, when it appears, will be formatted in a square (1:1) aspect ratio – which is quickly becoming the standard aspect ratio for social video. You’ll also notice that Facebook has added a gentle, Ken Burns-like “zoom out” effect to your image sequence.</span></div>
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<img alt="How to Create a Facebook Business Video in 6 Easy Steps | Social Media Today" height="608" src="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/sites/default/files/Steve%20Baldwin/files/fb-small-biz-story10.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 612px; line-height: 20.8px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 644px;" width="640" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook’s Business video tool won’t please you if your business requires sophisticated video effects or custom audio. But for many SMBs – especially those who want to cultivate a homegrown, “authentic” feel, the attractive, albeit low-tech results are probably more than adequate. Yes, the music is a tad cheesy, but no more so than what you’d hear over the PA of a typical retail store. Best of all – and it’s an important consideration for budget-challenged SMBS – not a dime needs to be spent on production (provided that you have at least 8 good-looking photos). And equally important, you can be up and running in less than a quarter of an hour.</span></div>
<span style="color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32.4px;"><a href="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/how-create-facebook-business-video-6-easy-steps#sthash.5S2tIFlJ.dpuf">Source</a></span></span>Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-19288650269508576972016-04-29T07:23:00.000+01:002016-04-29T07:23:04.748+01:00Is Your LinkedIn Profile Working For You?<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 1.08px; line-height: 40px; margin-bottom: 34px; padding: 0px;">
<img alt="Is Your LinkedIn Profile Working For You?" height="320" src="https://www.thesocialmediahat.com/sites/default/files/best-linkedin-profile.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you know why landing pages are such a crucial element to the success of an online business? A landing page, if crafted well, is a targeted message designed to educate a specific subset of your audience, and lead them further into your sales funnel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You see, the best landing pages are completely in control of both the experience once you're there, and how you got there to begin with. Whether through a targeted ad or selective keyword usage, the landing page author had <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">you</em>in mind when the page was written, making it an effective tool for communication and persuasion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your LinkedIn profile is just another landing page.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over the past 90 days, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeallton" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a74b9; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Mike Allton on LinkedIn">my LinkedIn profile</a> has been viewed over 700 times, which ranks me in the top 6% of my peers, and these views have led to many more connections and interest in my business and activities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img src="https://www.thesocialmediahat.com/sites/default/files/linkedin-rank.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 37em; padding: 0px; width: 620.672px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Optimizing my profile has partly led to getting more views from interested peers and prospects, but it also helps to make that profile more <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">effective</em> in delivering the kind of message I want those viewers to see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You see, unlike a lot of people using LinkedIn, I'm not<em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">looking for a job</em>. I already have a job. In fact, I have my own business, The Social Media Hat, and I'm the Chief Marketing Officer at SiteSell. What I'm using LinkedIn for is networking with peers and connecting with prospects, which means my LinkedIn profile needs to do a better job of talking to <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">those</em>people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do I mean by that?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, take your Experience section for example. this is the area within your LinkedIn profile where you talk about all your past jobs and positions. It's great, and it's interesting, and it's likely totally irrelevant to someone who might be interested in contracting your services or buying one of your products. They don't care who you were working for in 1995... they want to see that you have the skills and expertise to help them with their problems. Today.</span></div>
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<img height="407" src="https://www.thesocialmediahat.com/sites/default/files/linkedin-experience.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 37em; padding: 0px; width: 620.672px;" width="640" /></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Clearly, my past IT experience has little relevance to my current services.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So at a high level, that means we need to look at our profile as a prospect might, and make sure that we're doing as good a job as possible in talking directly to them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Like I said before, think of your LinkedIn profile as just another landing page within your overall Marketing strategy. With, of course, a few unique strengths and challenges.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the plus side, a great LinkedIn profile will stand out and rank well <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">within</em> LinkedIn for those who may be searching within the platform for someone with your skill set. This goes back to what I mentioned before... if you want hundreds of people viewing your profile every month, for the kinds of services and topics you're interested in, you're going to have to <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">talk</em> about those things on your profile, just like you'd optimize your website for your targeted keyword phrases.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If someone's looking within LinkedIn for a "Hootsuite Consultant" I want to make sure it's my profile that comes up as near the top as possible (and it's currently #1 for that phrase).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the negative side, we're clearly constrained within the limitations imposed by LinkedIn. You can't put a call to action button in the sidebar, or change the color scheme to more closely match your branding. We have to work with what we're given.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that's why I put together <a href="http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/article/ultimate-guide-perfect-linkedin-profile" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a74b9; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile">The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile</a>. If you haven't read it and want the best possible LinkedIn profile possible, check it out. It walks you step-by-step how to optimize that profile, specifically for people who are looking to make sales, not get hired. And it gives you several different ways in which you can customize your profile so that it becomes a real asset to you and your business. There's also a checklist for you so that you can more easily go through all of the LinkedIn Profile Optimization steps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So head over to <a href="http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/article/ultimate-guide-perfect-linkedin-profile" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a74b9; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile">The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile</a> and bookmark it. Plan to spend a few hours initially getting your profile up to snuff, and then come back to the checklist once a month or so, just to get some reminders on how to keep your profile fresh. And plus, as LinkedIn changes or other techniques are discovered, the guide will be updated accordingly.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.thesocialmediahat.com/article/your-linkedin-profile-working-you"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Source</span></a></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-61268231117431488292016-04-28T09:32:00.000+01:002016-04-28T09:32:52.896+01:00The Great Debate: Does Social Media Engagement Matter?<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Engagement has been a major piece of social marketing ever since we were tallying Likes, comments, and shares manually. It’s a staple because it’s a constant. It’s been what we could measure since social was new, so it became the baseline for our entire measurement practice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But CMOs and business leaders don’t care about engagement. They care about overall results. Are we limiting ourselves as marketers by focusing so intently on it?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was a kid, I was an outfielder on our little league team. One weekend when our catcher was on vacation, our coach told me to gear up because I’d be playing catcher that day.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“But coach,” I protested. “I’m an outfielder!”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“No, you’re not,” he said. “You’re a baseball player.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Turns out, I was way better as a catcher than I was as an outfielder, which I’d have never known if I hadn’t been forced out of my comfort zone. In the end, baseball wasn’t really my game at all so I became a sports writer instead, but the metaphor still works so stop judging me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Breaking Out of the Comfort Zone</span></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Social marketing is around the same age I was when I had that conversation with my coach.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’ve gotten complacent with the role social plays, but only because we haven’t tried anything else, and today, I’d like to challenge you to think bigger. What other positions can social play?</span></span></div>
<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.25em; margin: 0px auto 1em; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 1227px;"><img alt="Ballfield" height="587" src="http://cdn.simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Ballfield.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="640" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: grey; font-size: 1em !important; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Marketing is only successful when each channel fills a specific role, but when all channels share a common goal.</span></figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In baseball, the team in the field has a finite number of players, and a shared goal of getting three outs before the other team can score. There are dozens and dozens of ways to stop them from scoring, but only one end goal: a goose egg on the scoreboard. You do this by placing the players in strategic places that maximize your ability to reach that goal.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a social marketer, do you know what your team’s end-goal is? Because this is where you need to start. Once you have that locked in, you can zero in on the ways to get there.</span></span></div>
<h2 style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #eb4b2d; font-size: 1.9994rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 2em 0px 0.666em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What Position Does Social Play on Your Team?</span></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First of all, I apologize for the continued baseball metaphor…I’m really sticking with this one.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s important to identify where social can make the biggest impact for your team. How does your social media program support broader marketing goals, and how does it move potential customers from one stage of the buyer’s journey to the next?</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Social Metrics Map" class="zoom border" height="345" src="http://cdn.simplymeasured.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-11-at-9.23.22-AM.png" style="border-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(199, 199, 199); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 2em 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="640" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The above map is something you’ll see constantly if you read the Simply Measured blog, and that’s because it’s central to our philosophy both as marketers, and also as an analytics software company.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Social media can drive engagement, but it can also drive awareness, sales, retention, and advocacy. It all depends on your industry, social strategy, and end goals.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By mapping your goals back to your KPIs, you may realize that engagement isn’t a proxy for success, and you may decide it is. Either way, you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish before you can measure your progress.</span></span></div>
<h2 style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #eb4b2d; font-size: 1.9994rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 2em 0px 0.666em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Case for Engagement</span></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the debate rages on over engagement, one thing is for sure; no other marketing channel has a metric like engagement. This is one of social media’s great powers.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Engagement gives us a stronger link to which content works, which resonates with our potential customers, and which doesn’t. While engagement may not correlate to conversions and direct ROI, it can provide support along the way.</span></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #eb4b2d; font-size: 1.414rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.3; margin: 2em 0px 0.666em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When Is Engagement Valuable?</span></span></h3>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As you saw in the social metrics map above, engagement is valuable as a KPI in a couple of ways. Let’s stay within the context of the buyer’s journey:</span></span></div>
<ol style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; list-style-position: outside; margin: 1em 0px 1em 1.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the awareness phase</span>, where impressions and reach are critical to spreading your message to potential buyers, engagement works as a secondary KPI, enabling greater reach.</span></span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the consideration phase</span>, engagement is incredibly valuable. This is why so many brands use social for this purpose. When you want your audience to start thinking about your product as an option, social is a great way to get your message in front of them in an organic way. Engagement is the best KPI here because it lets you know that tactic is working, and you’re convincing people to take an action (even if it’s passive, like a “Like”) with your branded content.</span></span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the adoption phase</span>, where the focus is on keeping customers, and keeping them happy. Social media can be a great tool to do this, by interacting in a more casual setting than the aisles of your store, chat window of your ecommerce site, or via email. Engagement with customers allows you to understand how happy they are, or how likely they are to churn and never buy from you again.</span></span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the advocacy phase</span>, earned engagement can be a KPI you focus on. By identifying the earned mentions your brand is generating, you can measure and improve brand perception and affinity.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, while engagement can’t be your sole metric, it can be valuable in many ways.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To go back to the baseball metaphor, if the goal is to stop a run from scoring, not every player will get the third out. Some may stop a base runner from stealing second, or hold the runner at third on a pop fly.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-size: 23.78px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Social media is complex, and our activities as marketers can holistically support any stage of the buyer’s journey, as long as we have them playing the right position.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://simplymeasured.com/blog/the-great-debate-does-social-media-engagement-matter/#sm.0001m2qhsi10hbep9qir1ksetotw6"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Source</span></a></span></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-71793836088243831362016-04-27T09:09:00.000+01:002016-04-27T09:09:09.986+01:00Is Snapchat Right For Your Business?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEM-j4ofdO3RAARhC5CedbhXj9VYCesYgcGmvm_J2spOgFT20mxdOaZ2U1bJok28JZPg12kG7YNw5fWA_eguCkgc1K3WpZys2OlnKKas7iILwbxfPXEjMkYpJuytMZlgx_m5slCWmSkPEd/s1600/snapchat-right-for-your-business.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEM-j4ofdO3RAARhC5CedbhXj9VYCesYgcGmvm_J2spOgFT20mxdOaZ2U1bJok28JZPg12kG7YNw5fWA_eguCkgc1K3WpZys2OlnKKas7iILwbxfPXEjMkYpJuytMZlgx_m5slCWmSkPEd/s320/snapchat-right-for-your-business.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the biggest trends in social media right now is Snapchat. Everyone is talking about it. A lot of people are using it. You may even have an account or be using it for personal use. But how do you know if Snapchat is right for your business?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, in this blog post, I’ve got you covered! I’ve scoured my sources for the best details and information to both help you determine if Snapchat is right for you and also how to use it effectively if you decide to use it for your business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, I should add a disclaimer her that I am NOT an active Snapchat user. I don’t even have a Snapchat account. And that’s for a variety of reasons. I may get an account in the future. I don’t know. But, I do know how social media works and I know how to find the best info to get you on the right path. So, here are links, information, and details to help you decide for yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, of course, a lot of other people <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">are </em>using Snapchat. While the platform’s founder says he isn’t counting the number of monthly active users, he’s counting <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;"><a href="http://venturebeat.com/2015/05/26/snapchat-has-100m-daily-users-65-of-whom-upload-photos/" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">daily </a></em><a href="http://venturebeat.com/2015/05/26/snapchat-has-100m-daily-users-65-of-whom-upload-photos/" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">active users and puts that number at 100 million</a> – a day! And he claims 65% of those users are posting photos or videos to their accounts. Those users are posting an average of 9000 posts <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">per second</em>!! That is a lot of content, and a lot of engagement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, who are all these people using Snapchat? Studies have shown that <a href="http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/Venmo-BuzzFeed-Tinder-and-Snapchat-Among-The-Top-20-Apps-with-Highest-Concentration-of-Millennials" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">73% of millennials</a> (those aged 18-34) are using this platform. Yes, the demographic is heavily canted towards those 25 and younger. But, of course, as popularity grows, so do the demographics. You can expect to see a shift to more “adults” using the platform in the coming months and years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the biggest distinguishing features about Snapchat is that the content is designed to self-destruct. Whether after viewing or after a certain time period, the post will no longer be available to view. Of course, the marketer in you is probably wondering how on Earth this is a viable marketing tool since we want all our content to last forever <img alt="😉" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f609.png" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline !important; height: 1em !important; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important;" /> But we’ll get to that in just a minute…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As Snapchat has advanced, however (and <a href="http://snapchat-blog.com/post/141902878020/chat-20" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">recently released version 2.0</a>), the disappearing content is no longer the big deal that distinguishes it from all other platforms. Instead, it’s becoming a platform that allows for all types of communication – from messages of any length, to audio, to video, to photos, to live chat, and more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you’re ready to jump on the Snapchat bandwagon, here is what you need to know to get started.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Setting Up Your Snapchat Account</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you are new to Snapchat and want to set up an account and get started, you can <a href="https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/ca/howto" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">check out Snapchat’s own site</a> for the best starting point. Choose the topic of choice from the left side menu to walk you through everything from setting up a new account to the intricacies of the platform.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In all my research, I found some really good articles that help give you insights into how to use the platform. I recommend you check these out if you’re new to Snapchat or want to figure out more about the platform:</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="content-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<a href="http://www.verizonwireless.com/mobile-living/tech-smarts/what-is-snapchat-how-to-use-new-features/" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Snapchat 101: what it is and how to use it</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.tomsguide.com/us/snapchat-tutorial,news-21216.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How to Use Snapchat on iPhone and Android</span></a></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/snapchat-for-business-a-guide-for-marketers/" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Snapchat for Business: A Guide for Marketers</span></a></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I totally recommend you read those articles. But, for a quick synopsis of some key things to consider about setting up your account, here are my thoughts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You cannot change your username after you set it. And if you delete your account, your username will not be available again. So make sure you pick the right username! If you’re going to use your account for business, don’t set up Snapchat with your personal name or some other weird username. Think strategically here!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s easy to add friends with multiple ways to connect with users. Of course, you’ve probably seen the yellow ghost cutout avatar all over social media. These are each user’s unique snapcode. When you’re in Snapchat, you can quickly scan someone’s snapcode and add them to your contacts – easy peasy! But a recommendation on this – be careful when uploading this snapcode to other platforms as your profile photo. If the platform crops your avatar to a circle (ie. Instagram), then it may (most likely will) cut off part of your snapcode, rendering it useless to you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That being said, it’s not as easy to grow your audience on Snapchat as it is on other platforms. Due to the nature of the platform and the search functionality, people likely won’t find you unless they know about you. So make sure you capitalize on your existing audiences on other social media platforms, your email list, and other communities and let them know you’re now on Snapchat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can have individual snaps (photos or videos) or you can create stories (a series of snaps stitched together). You can add filters or text to your posts for a whole level of personalization you won’t find anywhere else. But this also makes it <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">much </em>more casual.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People on Snapchat are not there to linger. They’re easily bored and need constant activity. Don’t let your photos sit for more than a couple seconds and keep videos (cut off at 10 seconds) to something punchy and active. When stitching stories together, keep it quick and moving purposely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because the platform is so “hurried”, there is less of an expectation for perfect photos or well-formatted videos. It’s expected to be raw, real, and authentic. That being said, you still want to put your best foot forward. Try to get the best lighting, make sure your camera lens is clean, pick attractive backgrounds, and think about what else is in the frame. And, keep in mind, Instagram users used to be all about the “real” and now it’s all edited and leaning towards perfection, so chances are Snapchat will get to that point sometime too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, Snapchat is different from any other platform. Some people find it very difficult to grasp or understand or use conveniently. But, for those who do like it, they love it, and the features and use become natural to them. But because this platform is so different, this will also affect how you use it for business. So, I’ve rounded up my best advice for using this platform for your business.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Using Snapchat for Business</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that you know what the platform is about, and how it works, the question is, how can you use it for your business? And should you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, you know I’m not about to tell you here and now if you should or shouldn’t use it. That’s not something I can determine without <a href="http://www.jennstrends.com/services/" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">working with you directly</a>. But here is some guidance…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your audience may (or may not) be on Snapchat. The platform is growing and depending on your target audience, they may already be here. If they’re not, they may be soon. Much like we’ve seen with the growth on Instagram, just because they aren’t here now, doesn’t mean they won’t be in a few months or year. And getting in now, establishing a presence, and getting comfortable with the platform will make it much easier when your audience does get more active on this platform. There’s no time like the present!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, because the platform is new and marketers haven’t “figured it out” yet (ie. how to game it to splash their message all over the place), if you can get on there, and use it appropriately to build your community, you will have a serious leg up on your competition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, at some point, we can all assume that this platform will go the way of every other platform, and introduce broadly accessible ad placement and revenue generating tactics (right now, the minimum ad budget on the platform is $100,000). So, having the audience and presence in place now will provide you with advantages when that time comes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, it’s hard for me to say you “have” to be here, even if your target audience is millennials. I don’t say you “have” to be anywhere (except maybe Facebook, but that’s another conversation). But if your target audience is active on Snapchat, it might be worth investigating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because of the unique engagement on this platform and the variety of communication methods, this can be a hard platform to navigate as a business. It’s not marketing as you are accustomed to and it’s unlike anything you will experience on other platforms. So you’ll have to think differently – and think about community building, not marketing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You need to consider the atmosphere on Snapchat. People are having FUN. Goofing around, doing silly faces, making fun of themselves (have you seen some of these filters?!). So going on there all stiff, uber professional, or depressing or serious, is NOT going to connect with this audience. Take into account the platform and the best messages you can share in this context.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You also need to be prepared for engagement. Yes, people will respond and chat with you after you post. So be ready for them! Anticipate responses, questions, and reactions. And be available! Do NOT post and disappear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, as I always preach, you need a strategy! Do not go jumping on Snapchat, uploading a bunch of content, and wonder what might happen. No. Take the time to research the platform. Then determine how you will use it. How will it enhance your business? How often will you post? What will you post? Why are you posting? What are your expectations? All that good stuff and more needs to be determined BEFORE you start throwing stuff out there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You should consider adding branded elements to your content. Think about color schemes, product placement, keywords in your videos, and other ways to make your brand stand out. Build all of this into your strategy so that there is cohesion no matter what you post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Speaking of what to post, here are some ways you can use Snapchat in your business:</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Answer frequently asked questions</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ask questions of your audience</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Offer a regular series to answer popular questions or address a current issue</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Go behind-the-scenes of your business</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Share insights into a live event</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Create tutorials or tips</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Share how-to content</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Build anticipation for a new product or launch</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Showcase your employees and/or their personalities</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Share your thoughts and feedback on any topic related to your business</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Host a contest</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Exclusive discounts or promotions</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Flash sales</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can (and should) branch into offering discounts or promotions, but understand that this platform isn’t all that easy to use this tactic. Whether requiring your audience to take a screenshot or remembering a code, you <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">can </em>get them to interact with a promotion but it requires more work on their end. So make the campaign worth it to see best results.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Think about your call-to-action. Like anywhere else, giving people a clear, direct message on what you want them to do is paramount to building the success of your business through Snapchat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There aren’t any great metrics for you to measure the “success” of your campaigns or activity. You can see how many people viewed your stories, and how many took a screenshot, so you have those basic metrics. You can also measure the fall off rates in your stories (from one snap to the next) so you can see what’s working and/or where you’re losing people. This can help you to create better content and stories in the future, improving your interactions with your audience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But you can’t see how many are following you, or compare following counts and vanity metrics like we see on every other platform. Is this good or bad? You can decide! But when you aren’t focusing on the vanity metric of followers, you <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">can </em>focus on creating the best content for your brand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.6;">As you can see, there is a lot to understand and a lot to adapt to if you plan to use Snapchat. Can it work? Sure! Plenty of businesses are using it successfully. But you will need to establish what “success” looks like to your business and have a healthy understanding of how you want to build your community through this platform. Explaining this concept to board members, owners, or clients may not be the easiest thing. Give it time and build it at a pace that works for everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are you using Snapchat? How are you measuring success and do you feel it’s working for your business? Join in the conversation in the comments below!</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.jennstrends.com/snapchat-right-business/"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Source</span></a></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-41610054272127787902016-04-26T07:55:00.000+01:002016-04-26T07:55:56.096+01:00Solving the 10 Most Common Social Media Marketing Challenges<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today, there are 2.307 billion <a href="http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/attachment/screen-shot-2016-02-15-at-11-54-57/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">active social media users</a> around the world. That’s nearly one-third of our planet’s total population of 7.125 billion!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As social media marketing professionals, we’re lucky to reach even .000001% of that population with any one of our posts. This can feel a bit underwhelming for businesses and marketers looking to <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-report" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">demonstrate the true value</a> and ROI of social media.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Everywhere we look it <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">appears</em> that brands and companies <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">have it all figured out</em>on social media. With each new post to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter comes thousands of likes, comments, and shares.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240703" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Grumpy Cat</a> has earned more than $100 million dollars since 2012!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This leaves the rest of us wondering, “What are we <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not doing right</em> on social media?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’ve experimented, made mistakes, and <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/buffer-social-media-strategy" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">even learned a little bit</a> in the process. From that, we’ve put together a playbook on <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">solving the 10 most common social media marketing challenges</span>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Social-Media-Challenges.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="social media challenges, social media" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-16201" height="400" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Social-Media-Challenges-800x400.png" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="800" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let’s jump in!</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Authentic connection with the audience</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’ve been seeing a <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/messaging-apps" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">massive shift</a> in what it means to be effective on social media over the last few years. One challenge that marketers are facing in this new era of social media marketing is connecting with audiences on an individual and personal level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Connecting with your audience helps to humanize your brand and build real, authentic relationships.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge: </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Connect with your audience by utilizing free or low-cost brand monitoring tools such as <a href="https://respond.buffer.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Respond</a>, <a href="https://mention.com/en/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mention</a>, or <a href="https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">TweetDeck</a> and respond to every single comment on Twitter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monitor all additional social media channels and respond to each comment in an authentic way. You can do this by asking questions, linking to other blog posts, providing insights, or offering help with a problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You may also consider creating and growing a <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/find-audience-build-a-community" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">niche forum or group</a> on Facebook or LinkedIn, or even creating your own dedicated community site similar to <a href="https://inbound.org/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">inbound.org</a> or <a href="https://growthhackers.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GrowthHackers</a> – this gives you the opportunity to engage with users as well as let them indulge their passions and connect with like-minded people.</span></div>
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<a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Inbound.org_.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Inbound.org, Inbound marketing, brand monitoring, brands, social media, marketing" class="aligncenter wp-image-16186 size-large" height="497" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Inbound.org_-800x497.png" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="800" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Creating a social media marketing strategy</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You may know what you want to accomplish and why, but without a <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-marketing-plan" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">social media marketing strategy</a>, you won’t have a specific plan on how to get there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Think of your social media plan as a roadmap to your goals – Sure, you can stop off and check out landmarks along the way (experimentation), but you’ll want to return to the road that gets you to your destination in the shortest time and distance (goals).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge: </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Creating a solid social media marketing strategy doesn’t have to take weeks to put together. For me, it helps to have 3 key things written down on paper:</span></div>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Why we’re on social</span>: Simply being active of social media channels for the sake of being there is one of the quickest ways to burn valuable time and resources. First, answer the question of ‘<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">why’ </em> your business is on social and what you would like to accomplish.</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">How we’re going to succeed</span>: Next is to ask the question of <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">how</em>. This can be specific social channels, paid advertising budget, video or image creation, partnering with influencers.</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">How we’ll measure success</span>: Key Metrics, <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/goal-setting-strategies" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Goals or OKRs</a> that you would like to accomplish broken down into days, weeks, months, and the year. Breaking it down like this will allow you to focus on day-to-day activities while also keeping the big picture in mind.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Social media marketing, social media plan, social media strategy, social media roadmap" class="aligncenter wp-image-16188" height="600" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Social-Media-Roadmap.jpg" style="border-radius: 3px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="600" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. A dramatic drop in organic reach</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What worked in 2012 when organic reach on social was booming vs. what’s working now with the <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/lost-traffic" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">decline of organic reach</a> has many social media managers scrambling to find tactics that work, including myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/facebook-reach-strategies" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">growing your organic reach</a> doesn’t seem to be working, there may be another solution.<img alt="Organic Reach, Facebook, Facebook Reach" class="size-full wp-image-16189 aligncenter" height="391" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Organic-Reach-Decline.png" style="border-radius: 3px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="666" /><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Solving this challenge: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Marketers can overcome this obstacle by looking at <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/law-of-the-double-peak" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the decline of organic reach as an opportunity in disguise</a>. That opportunity is <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">paid social media advertising</span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even if you<a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/how-to-boost-posts-on-facebook-twitter" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> only have $5 to spend</a> on boosting a Facebook post or promoting a Tweet, putting a few dollars behind the content you’ve worked hard to create will effectively get that content in front of hundreds potential customers. Look for posts with high engagement but low reach as a good barometer for potential success.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Use a combination of <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-audience-insights-guide" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Facebook Audience Insights</a> and <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2015/introducing-new-audience-insights-for-brands" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Twitter Audience Insights</a> to learn about your audience and create personas. Once you have an idea of who they are, use those insights to create highly-targeted ads that will resonate with users.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. Coming up with consistently good content</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We completely understand. <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/how-to-manage-multiple-social-media-accounts" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Managing social media</a> is extremely time-consuming, and can become a full-time job. Which is why <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">staying creative and original is one of the toughest social media marketing challenges to overcome.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-manager-schedule-checklist" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">social media manager checklist</a> seems to go on forever: curate, create, schedule, monitor, respond, update, and reuse content across several different social profiles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That’s why it’s important for social media marketers to find little hacks to optimize their time.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge: </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Besides basic content curation and idea generation tactics like <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/facebook-pages-to-watch" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">monitoring Facebook pages</a> or scouring <a href="http://buzzsumo.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Buzzsumo</a> and <a href="https://www.quora.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Quora</a> for content, there are other less time-consuming tactics you can experiment with today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Openness & Transparency</span>: Some of our most popular content and social media posts are ones that feature an <a href="https://open.buffer.com/diversity-in-technology/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">inside look</a> into Buffer’s culture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People love knowing that there is a “real person” behind the social media profile and by giving them a look into your company or brand you will evoke real human interaction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Original graphics: </span>We’ve also generated some excellent buzz by creating original graphics in <a href="https://pablo.buffer.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pablo</a> or Canva and posting them to our social channels. This image, for example, received <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">more than 100 retweets</span> on our <a href="http://www.twitter.com/buffer" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Twitter account</a> in less than an hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To create it, we pulled stats from around the web and put them into a simple graphic, which only took about 30 minutes to create.</span></div>
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<a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Top-Marketing-Channels-Startups.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Startup Marketing, Marketing Channels, startups, marketing" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-16193" height="400" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Top-Marketing-Channels-Startups-800x400.jpg" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="800" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Content quantity over quality</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For some brands, the way to cut through all of the noise on social media is to simply post more. While this tactic may work for some, for many it has the tendency to irritate followers.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://thenextweb.com/#gref" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Next Web</a> posts 30-40 times per day on Facebook due to the high amount of new content they’re putting out online. But many businesses who are creating less content may struggle to show value from more frequent posting.</span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge: </span></span></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">An excellent way to think about the <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/author/leo" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">quantity vs. quality</a> is to <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">treat every piece of content—every tweet, every Facebook post, every CTA, every press outreach email—with the utmost care, </span>as Leo explains in our Buffer marketing manifesto.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People will naturally follow your brand over time from posting <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">great</span> content, not posting <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">more</span> content.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Marketers can benefit from embracing the “everything matters” mentality when generating content for their blog, graphics for social media, and forums for connecting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Getting content to a large social audience</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that you have all of this great content for your blog and social media channels, people will surely follow, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As marketers know, this isn’t always the case. <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/content-promotion-strategy" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Promoting content,</a> partnering with brands and influencers, and capturing audiences’ attention is a whole new social media challenge in itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The encouraging news is that if your content is enjoyed by a few people on your blog, then the chances are that people on social media will enjoy it as well. The challenge is <a href="https://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-content-marketing-chapter-9/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">getting it to those people</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge:</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just like in investing, the “<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Compound Effect</span>” is a powerful idea that works with social media promotion as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let’s say every one person on Twitter has 100 friends that follow them, and those 100 friends have 100 friends that follow them. Even if only 5% of the total friends share your content, that’s still a massive amount of shares and impressions.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.75; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The key is not to sit back and hope that people share your content, but to<a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/increase-reach" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">actively seek out people</a> that you know will benefit from it. A few ideas to get you started:</span></div>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Email your friends, family, and coworkers</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blog.kissmetrics.com/17-advanced-methods/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Direct message</a> influencers–in a genuine way–on social media</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Join LinkedIn groups or online forums in your niche market</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Syndicate your content (A <a href="https://www.quicksprout.com/the-complete-guide-to-building-your-blog-audience-chapter-8/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">complete guide</a> from Neil Patel)</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Republish content to <a href="http://medium.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Medium</a></span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ask questions and respond to comments on <a href="https://www.quora.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Quora</a></span></li>
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<a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Content-Promotion-Ideas.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Promoting Content, social compound effect, social media, marketing" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16194" height="800" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Content-Promotion-Ideas.png" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="800" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Finding ways to encourage sharing on social</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One thing that is particularly challenging on social media is finding ways to avoid what I like to call a “creative rut.” A creative rut is when social media managers find a tactic that works a few times and then continually go back to them over and over, even though the results may be even or declining.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Only posting blog links on Facebook, quotes on Instagram, or links to your own articles on Twitter are examples of content that is good, but could maybe <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/connections-in-the-brain-understanding-creativity-and-intelligenceconnections" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">use a creative boost</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge: </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Think “share first” by getting inside the mind of your audience. Before posting ask, “Is this something that I would like, comment on, read, or share on social media?” If the answer is “no” that may be a sign to look for other types of content.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The New York Times once published an excellent study on the <a href="http://nytmarketing.whsites.net/mediakit/pos/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">psychology of sharing</a>. It boiled down to the fact that sharing on social media is <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">all about relationships</span>. The study indicated that 49% of respondents said they share <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">t</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">o bring valuable and entertaining content to others.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jeff Bullas shared an excellent list of 10 ways to <a href="http://www.jeffbullas.com/2014/10/21/10-ways-to-create-contagious-content-for-your-social-media-marketing/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">create contagious content</a> with some fun ideas including:</span></div>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Telling Great Stories</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Making Your Audience Look Smart & Classy</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Using Emotional Appeal</span></li>
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<a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Will-Comment-for-Food.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Social Media, Emotional Appeal, Social, Marketing" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16195" height="769" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Will-Comment-for-Food.jpg" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="575" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. Using data to back intuition</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How many of us wing it when tracking data in order to guide our social media strategy? I know I’ve been guilty of this a few times!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Previously, social media data was hard to access, difficult to understand, and seemingly useless. But these days, there are so many amazing tools out there that accessing data is a must-do for marketers looking to take their social to the next level.</span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge: </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Start by creating a simple Excel spreadsheet with each of the social media channels that you’re managing on the left and the most important stats you would like to track across the top.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here’s a quick snapshot of the sheet I use: (Download the full <a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Social-Media-Metrics-Dashboard.xlsx" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Social Media Metrics Dashboard</a>):</span></div>
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<a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Social-Media-Data-Tracking-Sheet.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="social media data, social tracking, social media" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-16197" height="421" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Social-Media-Data-Tracking-Sheet-800x421.png" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="800" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tracking metrics week-to-week and month-to-month helps me to visualize if my intuition is working. That way I can quickly implement experiments, track the data, and pivot to another tactic if things aren’t on the rise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Check out the entire <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/buffer-social-media-strategy" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Buffer Social Media Strategy</a> to see how we pulled the data from each network so that you can start tracking your own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9. Creating quality visuals and graphics</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Visuals and graphics are the second most important factor for success on social media right behind the quality content. But creating quality visuals and graphics are another challenge on their own, regarding skill level and time it takes to create them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Seeing as how <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/infographics-visual-content-marketing" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">visual content is more than 40X</a> more likely to get shared on social media</span> than other types of content, there’s never been a better time to invest in visuals of your own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two of our favorite go-to sources of great visuals are <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">high-quality stock photos</span> and <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">original images</span> created by our team.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For high-quality stock photos, we’ve put together a massive list of <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/free-image-sources-list" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">53+ free image sources</a>. For original images, we suggest either <a href="https://pablo.buffer.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pablo</a> or <a href="http://canva.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Canva</a>. Each is fun, easy to use, and allow marketers to customize each image size based on the targeted social media channel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few design rules of thumb:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.75; list-style-position: outside; margin: 0px 0px 32px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Avoid overused stock photos</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ensure each <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/ideal-image-sizes-social-media-posts" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">image is properly sized</a> for specific networks</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Use <a href="http://www.webascender.com/Blog/ID/636/8-Design-Techniques-for-Photos-with-Text-Overlays#.Vxhla-YrIxg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">best-practices</a> with text overlay</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 16px 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Design with consistent brand colors, palettes, and logos</span></li>
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<a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Visual-Content-Importance.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Visual Content, visuals, graphics, social media" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16199" height="570" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Visual-Content-Importance.png" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="575" /></span></a></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ethos3/your-business-needsvisualcontentinfographicbyethos3-30810350" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">*Infographic created by Ethos3</a> </span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10. Focusing on the things that matter most</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A common thought in the social media sphere is that there’s a silver bullet of growth and engagement. The truth is that it takes a lot of work to create a community of engaged followers and brand advocates.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Growth and engagement are a result of a variety of factors, but figuring out which activities to focus on is an important challenge in social media marketing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solving this challenge:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When putting first things first, it’s helpful for me to refer to Brian Balfour’s<a href="http://www.coelevate.com/essays/growth-process-first-tactics-second" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Growth Machine</a>. Brian points out that a lot of marketers focus on <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">tactics first</em>, rather than creating a <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">growth process</em>.</span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tactics first is putting the cart before the horse. You need a process that will help you build a scalable, predictable, and repeatable growth machine.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">–</em><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </em>Brian Balfour</span></div>
</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The most important part is having one growth process and sticking to it no matter what.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Know your channels, your audience, and your market inside and out and make strategic experiment decisions based on those learnings. Doing so will help to focus on the things that matter most.</span></div>
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<a href="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Brian-Balfour-Growth-Machine.jpeg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Growth Machine, Brian Balfour Growth Machine, Brian Balfour, social media growth" class="aligncenter wp-image-16200 size-full" height="563" src="https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Brian-Balfour-Growth-Machine.jpeg" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="750" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over to you!</span></h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for reading! What challenges do you often face when it comes to social media? We’d love to hear from you below!</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/solving-the-10-most-common-social-media-marketing-challenges"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Source</span></a></span></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-65505868731646235442016-04-25T06:00:00.001+01:002016-04-25T06:00:27.280+01:00Understanding our love of visual content<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">We are experiencing an omnipresent visual domination lately and it’s not expected to change any time soon. So what makes us love visual content?</span></span></div>
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Whether it’s an image, or a video, people prefer consuming information in a visual form, as it’s more appealing, which leads to an increased engagement. Human beings are naturally drawn to visual content and any type of it may enhance a post’s performance.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Types of visual content</span></h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Visual content is a broad term that includes many types of content and the main ones are:</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Images (photography, quotes, memes, screenshots, GIFs, etc)</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Infographics</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Videos</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Podcasts</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Presentations</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Data graphs</span></li>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">All of them can be very engaging and a mixed use of them can create an effective content marketing strategy, provided that they are used appropriately for each medium, always by taking the audience into consideration.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-5.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98338" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Appealing visual content" class="size-full wp-image-98338 aligncenter" height="512" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-5.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-5-300x150.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-5-768x384.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-5.png 1024w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="1024" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Visual marketing at the forefront of social media</span></h2>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Social media has <a href="https://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2426933/what-are-some-of-the-best-practices-for-visual-content-marketing" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">significantly relied on visual content</a>, as it manages to grab the users’ attention, while its varying types (eg. the rise of infographics, or the domination of videos) allow it to maintain its popularity.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">It is <a href="https://www.quicksprout.com/2015/03/20/the-ultimate-guide-to-creating-visually-appealing-content/?display=wide" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">estimated</a> that <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">63% of social media is made up of images</span> and we assume that this number will only increase in the next years (especially if we also add videos to it).</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-1.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98301" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="The psychology behind our love for visual content" class="aligncenter wp-image-98301 size-full" height="512" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-1.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-1-300x150.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-1-768x384.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-1.png 1024w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="1024" /></a></span></div>
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Every popular social network could attribute its success to the right use of visual content and the way it is offered to the users, in order to create the right balance between words and visuals.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">According to <a href="http://buzzsumo.com/blog/how-to-massively-boost-your-blog-traffic-with-these-5-awesome-image-stats/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">BuzzSumo</a>, <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Facebook updates that include an image had 2.3x more engagement</span>than those without one.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/buzzsumo.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98323" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="buzzsumo" class=" wp-image-98323 aligncenter" height="292" sizes="(max-width: 577px) 100vw, 577px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/buzzsumo.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/buzzsumo-300x152.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/buzzsumo.png 745w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="577" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Moreover, <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/a-complete-guide-to-creating-awesome-visual-content" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Buffer</a> reported that <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">tweets that contain images lead to 150% more retweets</span>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/retweets-buffer.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98357" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="retweets buffer" class=" wp-image-98357 aligncenter" height="413" sizes="(max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/retweets-buffer.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/retweets-buffer-300x300.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/retweets-buffer.png 600w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="413" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Away from Facebook and Twitter, visual appeal has contributed to <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/03/09/how-to-use-visual-social-media-instagram-and-pinterest" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">the rise of new platforms that exclusively rely on visual content</a>, such as Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.</span><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">All of them (almost exclusively) focus on images and videos and that’s what makes them so popular, with users loving the simplicity of adding content to them, while brands face the challenge of experimenting with new types of (visual) content to maintain and increase engagement.</span></div>
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Why do we prefer visual content?</h2>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-2.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98302" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="The psychology behind our love for visual content" class="aligncenter wp-image-98302" height="325" sizes="(max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-2.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-2-300x150.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-2-768x384.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-2.png 1024w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="649" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">According to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-little-do-users-read/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Jakob Nielsen</a>, <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">users only read 28% of words when visiting a website</span>, with the trend of skimming rather than reading a text becoming prevalent in the online information overload.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Thus, visual content engages with a reader as fast as possible and in the most interesting way and that’s why publishers tend to rely on it even more every year.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The main reasons that we prefer visual content over plain text are:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; color: #404040; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; list-style-type: square; margin: 5px 5px 5px 45px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">It beats our <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">short attention span</span></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Its <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">simplicity</span> is tempting for any subject</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">It manages to <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">engage with the reader</span> and increase the time spent on content</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">It manages to <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">communicate complex concepts</span> in an appealing way</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Its appeal increases the chances for the readers to <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">share the content</span></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">It <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">stimulates our minds</span>, especially when it is linked with an emotion</span></li>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.columnfivemedia.com/why-your-brain-loves-visual-content-infographic" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Column Five</a> has created an infographic on the power of visual communication and it presents three main reasons why we love visual content: <em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Appeal, Comprehension, Retention</em>.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/visual-content1.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98335" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="visual content1" class="size-full wp-image-98335 aligncenter" height="312" sizes="(max-width: 653px) 100vw, 653px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/visual-content1.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/visual-content1-300x143.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/visual-content1.png 653w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="653" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Appeal</em> refers to the natural attraction towards visual content, and the way it succeeds even in a short attention span, <em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">comprehension</em> is linked to the way our brain translates data to simplify them and<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">retention</em> is related to the memorable experience that visual content tends to create.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/visual-content3.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98336" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="visual content3" class="size-full wp-image-98336 aligncenter" height="506" sizes="(max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/visual-content3.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/visual-content3-300x237.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/visual-content3.png 641w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="641" /></a></div>
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How science proves our love for visual content</h2>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-6.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98421" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="The psychology behind our love for visual content" class=" wp-image-98421 aligncenter" height="308" sizes="(max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-6.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-6-300x150.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-6-768x384.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-6.png 1024w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="615" /></a></div>
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It has been <a href="https://www.quicksprout.com/2015/03/20/the-ultimate-guide-to-creating-visually-appealing-content/?display=wide" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">observed</a> that <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">90% of the information sent to our brains is visual</span>, with our brain<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">responding to it 60,000 faster</span> than it does for text.</div>
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Thus, our brains need a visual representation to process information faster and create a connection between the visual object and its concept. It’s impressive how the visual perception in our brain makes such a complex task easy and this could also be the scientific reason why an “image is worth a thousand words.”</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-3.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98303" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="The psychology behind our love for visual content" class=" wp-image-98303 aligncenter" height="328" sizes="(max-width: 655px) 100vw, 655px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-3.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-3-300x150.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-3-768x384.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-3.png 1024w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="655" /></a></div>
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However, this is not an automatic process, as our brain still needs to rationalise the connection.<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Visual perception</span> and the calculation of the surroundings rely on the person’s past experiences and memories that could be relevant to the exposure to the specific information.</div>
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According to neurobiologist <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/1993/jun/thevisionthingma227" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Semir Zeki</a> of the University of London,</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">“The brain </em><em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">has to actively construct or invent our visual world. Confronted with an overwhelming barrage of visual information, it must sort out relevant features and make snap judgments about what they mean.”</em></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Scene perception</span>, or else the perception of scene gist is the process that our brain performs to perceive the world, from the objects, to the connections they create to our brain, and Monica S. Castelhano and John M. Henderson proved in an <a href="http://jhenderson.org/vclab/PDF_Pubs/CastelhanoHendersonHPP_2008.pdf" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">experiment in 2008</a> how even the colours may affect the activation of a scene gist.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/castelhano-and-henderson.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98417" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="castelhano and henderson" class=" wp-image-98417 aligncenter" height="329" sizes="(max-width: 479px) 100vw, 479px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/castelhano-and-henderson.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/castelhano-and-henderson-300x206.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/castelhano-and-henderson.png 598w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="479" /></a></div>
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Visual content may even become appealing in a way that we cannot explain and this is usually related to the emotions it may evoke.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The magic connection between visual content and emotions</span></h2>
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The effectiveness of visual content can be further enhanced with the use of the right emotions.</div>
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A visual stimulation can create a visceral reaction by evoking a feeling that may even be subconscious, and that’s what makes it inexplicable to us when trying to understand what makes an image more appealing to us comparing to a similar one.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-7.png" rel="attachment wp-att-98427" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="The psychology behind our love for visual content" class=" wp-image-98427 aligncenter" height="291" sizes="(max-width: 581px) 100vw, 581px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-7.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-7-300x150.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-7-768x384.png 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pablo-7.png 1024w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="581" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Visceral reactions</span> form the strongest connections on visual content and they occur from the brain’s part that is also related to our survival instincts, which means that the reaction may be more direct and intense.</div>
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Visual content needs to indicate somehow the emotion it aims for, either with the colours, the subject, or even with associations that lead to an easier connection which can elicit the right feeling.</div>
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For example, this photo brings out the feelings of security and positivity with both the colours and the people contributing to it, appealing to the idea of the family and the bonding it creates as an association.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-98425" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="pexels-photo-large" class="size-full wp-image-98425 aligncenter" height="593" sizes="(max-width: 890px) 100vw, 890px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1.jpg" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1.jpg 890w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="890" /></a></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Image: negativespace.co</em></div>
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Five tips for amazing visual content</h2>
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Focus on quality</h3>
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People appreciate the quality of the visual content, so don’t ignore it when creating visual assets. If you feel that you can’t find the right images, then here are some great <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/02/16/how-to-optimize-images-for-seo/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">free image resources of high quality</a> images.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1-1.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-98430" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="High quality images affect the effectiveness of visual content" class=" wp-image-98430 aligncenter" height="389" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1-1.jpg" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/pexels-photo-large-1-1.jpg 890w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="584" /></a></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Image source: Unsplash</em></div>
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Use visual assets in context</h3>
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Visual content can be very effective as part of a content marketing strategy, but always when it is created and distributed in context, by delivering what your target audience will appreciate. For example, a high quality picture of an airplane you just found may be impressive, but can you add the right text to make it relevant to, say, young mothers you are targeting?</div>
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Be consistent with colours and filters</h3>
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The choice of colours in visual content is very important, as this will associate a series of emotions afterwards, which means that the consistent use of colours should lead to a commitment regarding the emotions you want to elicit with your content.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/psychology-3.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-98429" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="psychology of colours" class=" wp-image-98429 aligncenter" height="442" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/psychology-3.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="441" /></a></div>
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Image source: <a href="http://www.attercopia.co.uk/2012/06/29/colour-psychology-in-web-design/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Aftercopia</a></div>
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Don’t underestimate typography</h3>
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Typography can be interpreted as the first visual impression of your text and you want to make sure you engage enough with the reader to keep reading the text.</div>
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Thus, typography is a crucial part of your visual content, whether it’s a blog post or even an infographic, and it’s time to focus more on it from now on.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/enhanced-buzz-13033-1288631850-28.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-98431" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="typography" class=" wp-image-98431 aligncenter" height="638" sizes="(max-width: 502px) 100vw, 502px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/enhanced-buzz-13033-1288631850-28.jpg" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/enhanced-buzz-13033-1288631850-28-236x300.jpg 236w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/enhanced-buzz-13033-1288631850-28.jpg 600w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="502" /></a></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Designer: ligatureloopandstem.com </em></div>
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Text is still important</h3>
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Last but (certainly) not least, visual content can boost your content marketing strategy, but it cannot replace the actual written content.</div>
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Find the right balance between words and visual content and don’t reduce the quality at any point to both of them.<a href="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/giphy-3.gif" rel="attachment wp-att-98280" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="giphy (3)" class=" wp-image-98280 aligncenter" height="293" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/giphy-3.gif" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="293" /></a></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Image: <span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Gfaught.tumblr.com</span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><br /></span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/22/understanding-our-love-of-visual-content">Source</a></span></em></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-84607078508721469312016-04-24T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-24T06:00:09.277+01:00Ace Your Twitter Marketing With 4 Free Tools<h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 30px;">
Marketing on Twitter Like a Pro For Free<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 12px;">
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<img alt="Ace Your Twitter Marketing With 4 Free Tools" class=" wp-image-1519587 alignleft" src="http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Ace-Your-Twitter-Marketing-With-4-Free-Tools.png.png" data-pin-description="Ace Your Twitter Marketing With 4 Free Tools" height="275" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 10px 20px 15px 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="275" /></h2>
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Today I have some resources to help you with your <a class="external" href="http://susangilbert.com/4-automation-tools-for-twitter-marketing/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter marketing</a> for free. Here’s four links with tips and tricks to kick start your Monday.</div>
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Building a great community on social media does not have to be an expensive endeavor. In order to manage your time and accounts well you need to have the right tools in place. Twitter is still on top when it comes to attracting new leads and customers quickly. Would you like to harness your Twitter marketing but don’t have a big budget? Use these free resources and let me know how these work for you!</div>
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1) Visualize your communities – Bluenod</h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Easily find top influencers and view your followers on Twitter. </span><a class="external" href="http://bluenod.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bluenod</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> is a tool that creates a visual social graph that relates to top users and hashtags. Get insights and information on interactions, tweets, and retweets with data on who the best people are to follow in your industry. This smart tool will also help you gain more retweets and provides an easier way to find the best content to share. Signup for free from your account with paid options available with more features.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></div>
<img alt="Bluenod" class="size-full wp-image-1519588 alignnone" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Bluenod.png.png" data-pin-description="Ace Your Twitter Marketing With 4 Free Tools" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 15px 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /><br />
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2) Search and analytics for tweets – Social Bearing</h2>
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Finding out who is tweeting about your brand can be a lengthy research project. <a class="external" href="http://www.socialbearing.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Social Bearing</a> helps you quickly find the latest trending tweets and top users in your target market as well as insights into how you measure up to the competition. Enter names, hashtags, and website URLs for free, and start growing your network right away. A newer geolocation feature is now available for even more results.</div>
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3) Create real time Twitter chats – TwChat</h2>
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Would you like to host your own question and answer session from Twitter? <a class="external" href="http://twchat.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">TwChat</a> allows you to create chats based on specific hashtags, which can be bookmarked, tracked, and placed into a calendar. This is a great tool to use to interact with your leads and customers and build a stronger community. Add your team to help collaborate with you with customizable chat rooms, all for free and without software.</div>
<img alt="Twchat" class="size-full wp-image-1519590 alignnone" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Twchat.png.png" data-pin-description="Ace Your Twitter Marketing With 4 Free Tools" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 15px 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /><br />
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4) Group management of your Twitter account – Twilert</h2>
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Get instant notifications when your brand is being mentioned on Twitter. <a class="external" href="https://www.twilert.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twilert</a> will send you an email when your name, keywords or hashtags are shared. This service will help you improve customer relations as well as generate new leads for your business. Try it for 30 days free and help save time on tracking your branding on Twitter.</div>
<img alt="Twilert" class="size-full wp-image-1519591 alignnone" src="http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Twilert.png.png" data-pin-description="Ace Your Twitter Marketing With 4 Free Tools" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 15px 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /><br />
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Hopefully you will find these free Twitter marketing tools useful to your brand strategy. Are there any that you would like to add as well?</div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.business2community.com/twitter/ace-twitter-marketing-4-free-tools-01519586#pjwysWBQUHwxYvAq.97">Source</a></span>Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-68108079296658335782016-04-23T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-23T06:00:14.691+01:0010 Super Simple Social Media Marketing Tips<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px;">
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Think about the last time you searched for a restaurant review before heading to dinner. Have you ever stood in a store aisle, with your phone in hand, traversing the web to see how other people are talking about the products that are lined on the shelves in front of you? Most likely, you’re nodding along. In addition to seeking trustworthy recommendations from friends, most consumers today search online to learn more about brands before committing to a purchase. With technology at our fingertips, the customer journey begins and extends beyond the first encounter with your brand.</div>
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Modern technology has empowered companies to develop strategic insight, but this reliance on digital interactions also increases the number of third-party channels that mention your brand. Luckily, an informed social media marketing strategy can help brands develop and protect their major online channels. According to a <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/how-are-consumers-influenced-by-referral-marketing" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">recent survey </a>conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Ambassador, 67% of Americans say they’re at least a little more likely to purchase a product after a friend or family member shared it via social media or email. Consider how your brand can stay ahead of the curve using these 10 super simple social media tips.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">1. Have a plan</span></div>
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Your company’s online presence is the digital equivalent of gathering your friends, fans, and followers into an auditorium to make announcements on a loudspeaker. If you want to keep these conversations alive and convince your audience to come back for more, you’ll need to own the space and present compelling information. With a flexible yet substantial strategy and a dedicated schedule, your team can be equally equipped to direct online conversations about the brand and jump in on trending conversations. Social media outreach should be fun, but it’s also a big opportunity to influence your audience.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">2. Produce valuable content</span></div>
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As we progress further into the age of social media, audiences of customers are discovering that some of their favorite brands have authoritative knowledge on an array of topics. Think Whole Foods’ <a class="external" href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Whole Story blog</a> or General Electric’s <a class="external" href="http://www.gereports.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">GE Reports</a>. Chances are, customers may not be searching for your company’s latest update or feature within their personal social media networks, but they’ll be more willing to engage if your brand offers a thread of compelling content, interesting images, and insightful discussions.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">3. Have a consistent brand identity</span></div>
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Don’t let hours of drafting an internal style guide go to waste! Do you have a preferred color scheme or a memorable email signature? Consider how these elements can appear within your social media profiles. A simple way to preserve your brand identity across various social media networks is to use the same username, biographical description, and header image across sites. Syncing platforms like Instagram to display on Facebook and Twitter is a great cohesive approach as well. <a class="external" href="https://www.madewell.com/index.jsp" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Madewell</a>, a womenswear retailer, does a great job of threading their brand identity across social media platforms through thematic colors, a signature tone of voice, and expert visual inspiration.The goal is to allow your customers to quickly identify your brand based on the content and voice of your online presence.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">4. Keep it simple</span></div>
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Minimize the need to hop into every conversation that’s happening online, by selecting a list of the topics that fall under your brand’s umbrella of expertise. You can simplify each of your social media platforms by dedicating each platform to specific interactions. Perhaps you save customer success stories for Facebook and address customer complaints on Twitter while your Instagram showcases how customers are interacting with your product. We’ve reached an era where companies are encouraged to be everywhere at once, but you must make sure that you’re contributing value to each platform as well.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">5. Focus on quality not quantity</span></div>
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The quickest way to upset your audience (and alienate customers) is to overload each of your company’s social media accounts with new posts and updates. As social media sites and users abound, creating one-of-a-kind content is a more reliable way to get a leg up in the <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/how-to-win-the-quality-vs.-quantity-game" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">quality vs. quantity</a> game. Instead of sticking to a certain number of published posts, commit to tracking the way that your audience engages with compelling content.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">6. Diversify your content</span></div>
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Chances are, the ideas that you’ve gathered into a blog post can exist just as easily as an infographic, animated video, or podcast segment. <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/how-diverse-is-your-content-marketing-strategy" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Diverse content </a>allows your brand to showcase information in interesting ways and spark conversations with a range of audiences. Offering a mixed bag of content creates new ways to add value and earn your audience’s trust.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">7. Engage with your followers</span></div>
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Your social media accounts shouldn’t be a bulletin board of all of your accomplishments. Instead, think of your platforms as a mosaic that details the experiences you have as a brand and showcases the relationships that you have with your customers and clients. Social media platforms like <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/staying-in-the-feed-how-to-outsmart-the-new-instagram-algorithm" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> are starting to let engagement dictate the user experience. By prioritizing engagement with valuable content from the beginning, your brand can interact with your network while gaining authority within individual feeds.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">8. Make it easy to connect</span></div>
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No one likes going on a social media scavenger hunt to track down their favorite brand. Instead of burying social media information on your company website, make sure each platform is listed and linked on all high-traffic pages. Customers should also be able to find adjacent social media profiles from any of your official profiles. This is where having a regularly updated and public profile to comes into play. If you’re in the social media game, don’t make your customers chase you.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">9. Tackle negative comments head-on</span></div>
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Once your brand has an established online presence, you’ll open a pathway for various customer interactions, including customer grievances and negative comments. It’s never a good idea to let negative comments sit in your mentions or allow customer questions to go unanswered. Develop a standard way to <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/how-to-use-social-media-to-transform-negative-customer-experiences" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">respond to these conversations</a> in a transparent, prompt, and respectful way. Being proactive in times of online tension is a responsibility that comes along with developing a vocal and visible presence on social media.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">10. Measure your results</span></div>
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We’ll let you in on a not-so-little secret: your social media channels <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/the-underused-power-of-social-media-that-will-increase-your-roi" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">can drive revenue</a>. Of course, they’re great for friendly conversations with customers but thanks to the magic of modern marketing, you can attract leads and monitor their engagement with specific pieces of content. To get started, determine the desired outcomes for your content and measure success based on the progress toward this goal. Are followers, subscribers, downloads, conversions or email captures the most beneficial for you? Decide which platform will nourish this goal and cater your schedule to incorporate this metric.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Succeeding at Social</span></div>
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Since today’s customers have grown accustomed to interacting with companies in a variety of realms, modern brands are judged beyond their tangible products, speedy service, or in-person expereiences. Each touch point that your customer encounters on their journey should contribute to a cohesive and informative representation of your brand that invites them to interact.</div>
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<a href="http://www.business2community.com/social-media/10-super-simple-social-media-marketing-tips-01518304#ktkzJyy396lfXzPC.97">Source</a></div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span>Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-40386800031971614052016-04-22T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-22T06:00:04.414+01:00Google Analytics: A guide to confusing terms<br />
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<img alt="A cartoon depicting web analytics. It shows a bubble with the letters WWW in it, surrounded by "click! click!". An arrow leads from the bubble to a notepad with graphs and charts on it. Another arrow leads to a chart on a piece of paper, with a lightbulb next to it, which leads on to a spanner with the words "tweak! tweak!" next to it. In the bottom left corner is a box with four bullet points in it: gather, report, analyse and optimise." class="singular-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="185" pagespeed_url_hash="585404955" sizes="(max-width: 260px) 100vw, 260px" src="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/analytics.png" srcset="https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/analytics-300x213.png 300w, https://www.clickz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/analytics.png 370w" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle; width: 250px;" width="260" /></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Google Analytics is a hugely useful and in-depth tool for measuring and monitoring your website’s performance, as long as you can learn its language.</span></div>
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After <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/01/20/an-absolute-beginners-guide-to-setting-up-google-analytics-for-your-website" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">setting up Google Analytics</a> on your site for the first time, it can be hard work to navigate your way through all the different terms referring to parts of your site or the activities users carry out on it – especially when so many of them sound similar.</div>
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What’s the difference between a ‘session’ and a ‘pageview’? Are ‘users’ and ‘visitors’ the same thing? How does your site’s ‘bounce rate’ differ from its ‘exit rate’? Does ‘time on page’ really reflect what it says it does?</div>
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If you’ve wondered something like this at any point while staring down a mass of analytics for your site, worry not. We’ve put together a handy guide to break down the meanings and uses of some key but confusing terms on Google Analytics, and how they differ from each other.</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#bouncerate" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Bounce Rate</span></a><ul style="box-sizing: content-box; list-style-type: square; margin: 5px 5px 5px 45px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#sticky" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Sticky content</span></a></li>
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<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#clicks" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Clicks</span></a><ul style="box-sizing: content-box; list-style-type: square; margin: 5px 5px 5px 45px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#CTR" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Clickthrough Rate (CTR)</span></a></li>
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<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#entrances" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Entrances</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#events" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Events</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#exitpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Page</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#exitrate" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Rate (% Exit)</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#hits" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Hits</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#impressions" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Impressions</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#landingpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Landing or Entrance Page</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#pageviews" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Page Views</span></a><ul style="box-sizing: content-box; list-style-type: square; margin: 5px 5px 5px 45px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#uniquepage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Unique Page Views</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#averagepage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Pages/Session or Average Page Depth</span></a></li>
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<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#sessions" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Sessions</span></a><ul style="box-sizing: content-box; list-style-type: square; margin: 5px 5px 5px 45px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#sessionduration" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Average Session Duration</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#timeonpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Time on Page</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#users" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Users, Visitors or Traffic?</span></a><ul style="box-sizing: content-box; list-style-type: square; margin: 5px 5px 5px 45px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#newvisitor" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">New Visitor</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#returningvisitor" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Returning Visitor</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#trafficsource" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Traffic Source</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#traffictypes" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Types of Traffic</span></a><ul style="box-sizing: content-box; list-style-type: square; margin: 5px 5px 5px 45px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#direct" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Direct Traffic</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#organic" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Organic Search Traffic</span></a><ul style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 5px 5px 5px 45px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#organickeywords" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Organic Search Keywords</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#paid" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Paid Search Traffic</span></a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#referral" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Referral Traffic</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="bouncerate" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Bounce Rate</span></h3>
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Google’s definition:</div>
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<div style="box-sizing: content-box; margin-top: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Bounce Rate</em> is the percentage of single-page sessions (i.e. sessions in which the person left your site from the entrance page without interacting with the page).</div>
</blockquote>
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This could be because they lost interest, were confused, or had already found the information they were looking for.</div>
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Individual pages have bounce rates as well as the site as a whole. A bounce rate for a page is based on all sessions that begin with that page and end without the user navigating to any other pages on the site.</div>
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A high bounce rate can be an indicator of problems, or it can indicate that for whatever reason, visitors aren’t finding anything on the site that entices them to stay longer, read more, or search for more content.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; color: #404040; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="box-sizing: content-box; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">A site that people spend a long time visiting and interacting with is often referred to as ‘</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="sticky" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">sticky</span><span style="box-sizing: content-box; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">’. This article looks at <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2431671/14-ways-to-reduce-your-sites-bounce-rates" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">ways to reduce bounce rates.</a></span></div>
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For more, listen to Avinash Kaushik on the power of bounce rate, or “I came, I puked, I left”:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="375" id="widget2" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ppgfjo6IIf4?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https:%2F%2Fwww.clickz.com" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; width: 630px;" width="500"></iframe></div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#exitrate" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Rate</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="clicks" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Clicks</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Clicks</span> is a metric that appears on Google’s <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1308626?hl=en" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">SEO Reports</a>, which you can set up for your site to monitor your visibility in search results and how that translates into visitors to your site. As it says on the tin, the number of clicks on your SEO report records the number of times that people have clicked on a URL to your website in search results. This does not count clicks on paid AdWords search results, which are recorded separately in AdWords reports.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="CTR" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Clickthrough Rate</span>, or <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">CTR</span>, is a number calculated by dividing the number of clicks to your site by the number of <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">impressions</span> (which records how many times it was seen) and multiplying by 100. This will tell you what proportion of users who see your site in search results actually click through to it.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#impressions" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Impressions</span></a> or <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#hits" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Hits</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="entrances" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Entrances</span></h3>
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Google Analytics records an <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">entrance</span> for each page that a user begins a new session on. So the number of entrances given for a specific page shows how many users began their session with that page.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#landingpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Landing or Entrance Page</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="events" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Events</span></h3>
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An <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">event</span> on Google Analytics is a type of <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">hit</span> which tracks user interactions with content like downloads, mobile ad clicks, Flash elements and video plays.</div>
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Events on Google Analytics give insight into a range of user activities that are taking place across your site, and with a little bit of technical know-how, you can <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2287906/10-google-analytics-custom-events-that-track-the-untrackable" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">set up custom events</a> to track all kinds of user behaviours that aren’t normally visible in Analytics.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#hits" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Hits</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="exitpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Page</span></h3>
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The opposite of a <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">landing page</span>, an <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">exit page</span> on Google Analytics refers to the last page a user accesses before their session ends or they leave the site. The <a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/#report/content-exit-pages/a29002156w54952650p55923629/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Pages</a> section of Google Analytics therefore allows you to see which pages people most frequently end their sessions on or leave the site after viewing.</div>
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Google Analytics has difficulty calculating the amount of time users spend on an exit page because there is no next page to help it judge when the user left that page. This issue impacts the accuracy of<a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#timeonpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">average time on page</span></a> and <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#sessionduration" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">average session duration</span></a> figures.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#landingpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Landing or Entrance Page</span></a> or <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#exitrate" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Rate</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="exitrate" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Rate</span> (shown on Google Analytics as <span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">% Exit</span>)</h3>
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This figure shows how often users end their session or leave the site after viewing that particular page. The <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">exit rate</span> is calculated by dividing the number of ‘exits’ made from the page by the number of pageviews it has, to determine what proportion of visitors to that page leave it after visiting.</div>
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A page with a high exit rate may not necessarily have a high <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">bounce rate</span>, since users might be coming to that page from elsewhere in the site before exiting. However, a page with a low <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">exit rate</span> is likely to also have a low <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">bounce rate</span>, since users must be going on to other pages on the site before they leave.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#bouncerate" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Bounce Rate</span></a> or <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#exitpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Page</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="hits" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Hits</span></h3>
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In web terms, a <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">hit</span> is a request to a web server for a file like a webpage, image or JavaScript. In Google Analytics, hits are an overarching term for a variety of website interactions. <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Page views</span> and<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">events</span>, for example, are both types of hit. A <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#session" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">session</span></a> is simply a collection of hits from one user, grouped together.</div>
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Google Analytics uses hits to determine when and how a user is interacting with a webpage. So if no hits are sent, the user is assumed to be inactive. The countdown to the end of a user’s session begins from their last hit. After thirty minutes with no new hits, the session automatically ends.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#clicks" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Clicks</span></a>, <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#pageviews" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Page Views</span></a> or <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#events" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Events</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="impressions" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Impressions</span></h3>
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In Google’s <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1308626?hl=en" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">SEO Reports</a>, <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">impressions</span> records how many times a URL to your site was viewed by a user in search results. This does not count impressions by paid AdWords search results, which are recorded separately in AdWords reports.</div>
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By calculating <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">clicks</span> on those URLs as a percentage of <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">impressions</span>, Google Analytics can tell you the <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#CTR" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Click-Through Rate</span></a> of your URLs that appear in search results. This appears in your SEO Report under <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">CTR</span>.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#pageviews" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Page Views</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="landingpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Landing or Entrance Page</span></h3>
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‘<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Landing Page</span>’ and ‘<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Entrance Page</span>’ are both used by Google to refer to the first page a user accesses (or ‘lands’ on) at the beginning of a session. The <a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/#report/content-landing-pages/a29002156w54952650p55923629/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Landing Pages</a> section of Google Analytics therefore allows you to view the pages through which users most often arrive on the site, and their statistics.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#exitpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Exit Page</span></a> or <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#entrances" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Entrances</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="pageviews" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Page Views</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Page Views</span> (also called <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">screen views</span> for mobile) are the total count of how many times any user lands on an individual page on your website. This includes repeatedly landing on the same page during one session, so if a user refreshes the page, this counts as an additional page view on your site.</div>
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‘<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="uniquepage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Unique page views</span>’ is a number that will tell you how many times a page was accessed at least once during a session. In other words, it doesn’t count multiple views of a page by the same user in the same session, instead treating them as a single view.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; color: #404040; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="averagepage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Pages per session</span>, also called <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Average Page Depth</span>, is the average number of pages viewed by each user during one session. On Google Analytics, this metric includes repeated views of a single page by the same user.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#hits" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Hits</span></a> or <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/impressions" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Impressions</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="session" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Session(s)</span></h3>
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A <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">session</span> is a measure of the amount of time a user spends actively engaging with your website. Session length is calculated from the moment a user arrives on your site until 30 minutes of inactivity have elapsed. Every new action that a user performs will reset the clock on when that session will ‘expire’.</div>
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The only exception to this is at midnight, at which point all sessions for that day are considered to have ended and a fresh session will begin, even if that user has been active throughout.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="sessionduration" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Average Session Duration</span> <a href="https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/core/dimsmets#view=detail&group=session&jump=ga_avgsessionduration" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">calculates</a> the average length of a user’s session by dividing the session duration by the number of sessions. However, there is a problem with this calculation: Google cannot calculate the time spent on an <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">exit page</span> because there is no next page for it to use as a marker. This can drastically throw off the accuracy of the average session duration, especially in the case of<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">bounces</span> where the session consists of a single page, and no session duration can be calculated at all.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#timeonpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Time on Page</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="timeonpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Time on Page</span></h3>
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If you look at the Google Analytics for individual pages on your site, you can see the average amount of time that a user spent on that page, as well as the amount of time that users spend, on average, on any one page of your site. This figure can be deceptive, however.</div>
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Google has no way of measuring the time a user spent on the last page of your website that they viewed, because it uses the next page they access to calculate how long they spent on the previous one. On the last page of a <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">session</span>, there is no next page and so the time on that page is recorded as 0.</div>
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Google does correct for this issue somewhat, <a href="https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/core/dimsmets#view=detail&group=page_tracking&jump=ga_avgtimeonpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">calculating</a> <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">average time on page</span> by dividing the time on page by the number of <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#pageviews" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">page views</span></a> <em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">minus</em> the number of exits from the site. The problem is, this still means the time on the <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#exitpage" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">exit page</span></a> isn’t accounted for, so bear that in mind when looking at these figures.</div>
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Not to be confused with: <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms#sessionduration" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Session Duration</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="users" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Users, Visitors or Traffic?</span></h3>
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These three terms are all ways of referring to the people who access your site. Google uses the words <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">user</span> and <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">visitor</span> interchangeably in different places, both to refer to an individual person who comes to your site. A <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="newvisitor" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">new visitor</span> is someone who comes to your site without having been there before, while a <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="returningvisitor" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">returning visitor</span> is someone who has been to your site previously.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Traffic</span> is an overall term to refer to the volume of users accessing your website. A <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="trafficsource" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">traffic source</span> is any place from which people are directed to your site, such as a search engine, social network or other website.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="traffictypes" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Types of traffic</span></span><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">:</span></h4>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="direct" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Direct traffic</span></h4>
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Visitors to your site are classed as <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">direct traffic</span> when they access your site via a bookmark, or by entering its URL straight into their browser’s address bar. When viewing <a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/#realtime/rt-traffic/a29002156w54952650p55923629/%3Fmetric.type%3D0/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Traffic Sources</a> on Google Analytics, the source for direct traffic is shown as ‘(direct)’.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="organic" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Organic Search Traffic</span></h4>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Organic traffic</span> is the name given to the amount of users who find your website ‘organically’ through search results, as opposed to via a paid ad, clicking a link on another site, or from a bookmark they already have saved. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="organickeywords" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Organic search keywords</span> can allow you to see which search terms are helping users to find your site, as well as the kind of things they are looking for when they access it.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="paid" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Paid Search Traffic</span></h4>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Paid traffic</span> is the amount of visitors to your site who came there via Google Adwords ads, paid search keywords and other online ad campaigns. With Paid Traffic on Google Analytics, you can track all traffic from paid sources in one place, analyse user behaviour and gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="referral" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></a><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Referral Traffic</span></h4>
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A <span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">referral</span> is a visitor to your site who is sent there, or referred, from a direct link on another site.<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Referral traffic</span> is therefore the general term for the amount of people who are referred to your site from elsewhere on the web.</div>
<div class="post-author-signoff" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; color: #404040; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
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Rebecca Sentance is a Writer at ClickZ.</div>
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<a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/13/google-analytics-a-guide-to-confusing-terms">Source</a></div>
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Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-5169587456251343392016-04-21T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-21T06:00:15.405+01:00How to Write Headlines That Get Shared And Drive Traffic<img alt="How to Write Headlines That Get Shared And Drive Traffic" height="235" src="http://www.meltwater.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2016/04/thumbnail-c927af1a27d934dd37f753c48f98df8a-1-1.png" width="640" /><br />
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Headlines make the blog post. Flub your headline, and even if the rest of the post is great, you’ll see far fewer results from your efforts.</div>
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Posts with weak headlines get drastically fewer shares, fewer clickthroughs, fewer readers. And while all that might sound like a dread warning, there’s a sunny upside here: Get your headline right, and you’re halfway to success.</div>
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It’s just a few little words – how hard could that be? Well, good headlines don’t have to be hard to write, but every extra minute you can put into making them great will pay off. That’s why old-school copywriters – of the postal mail era – spent half their writing time on their headlines.</div>
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As David Ogilvy said, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”</div>
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Ogilvy might even have underestimated how valuable headlines are. In the world of social sharing, your headline may be the only part of your post that people read. That’s because most of us aren’t reading the articles we’re sharing. We just see the headline, the source, and maybe a <a href="http://blog.act-on.com/2015/10/10-ways-to-use-images-for-memorable-marketing-results/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">catchy image</a>. And we share.</div>
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This idea of sharing without reading generated a bit of a storm a few years ago. It started when Chartbeat’s CEO Tony Haile posted this tweet in response to a scuffle over Upworthy’s “curiosity gap” style headlines.</div>
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Several other sources immediately chimed in that they had seen a similar trend.</div>
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This sharing-without-reading habit makes headlines even more critical. That old adage about people judging a book by its cover has only become more true. Except now, more and more people aren’t even opening the book. Ever. They’re <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">recommending</em> it based on the jacket.</div>
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I doubt you need any more convincing about how important headlines are. You get it. They can make or break a blog post, an eBook, a <a href="http://blog.act-on.com/2015/08/8-steps-creating-producing-promoting-successful-webinar/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">webinar</a> – you name the content format.</div>
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So how do you get them right?</div>
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Well, there is no perfect system for crafting a killer headline. If there was, we’d all be using it … and we might all be using the same headlines. But there are some tricks of the trade. I can’t guarantee miracles, but these techniques will put you ahead of the pack.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Write 25 headlines for every one you need.</span></h2>
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This is advice from the king of viral content, Upworthy. They have a fantastic SlideShare titled “<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Upworthy/how-to-make-that-one-thing-go-viral-just-kidding" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">How to Make That One Thing Go Viral</a>.” It’s the single best headline resource I’ve ever come across, so I’m including it here.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/Upworthy/how-to-make-that-one-thing-go-viral-just-kidding" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" title="How To Make That One Thing Go Viral">How To Make That One Thing Go Viral</a></span> from <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/Upworthy" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Upworthy</a></span></div>
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This SlideShare hammers home a number of content creation and promotion principles, but the two major ones are:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Good luck with trying to get something to go viral. Even the likes of Upworthy has only a .3% success rate for truly viral content.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Write 25 headlines. No, really – 25 headlines. No excuses.</li>
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Very few content creators ever write 25 headlines for their content. We should, but … it just seems so darn hard. Even I have to admit that I’m lazy – I only write 6-10 versions of each headline I use.</div>
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But for your edification (and mine) let’s run an experiment. Here’s how long it took to write 25 headlines:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">How to Write Better Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Want More Shares? Write Better Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10 Headline Hacks for Dramatically More Shares</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Time-Tested Headline Secrets from Master Copywriters <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 minute</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10 Tricks for Better Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 Easy Ways to Write Headlines That Get More Clicks and Shares</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What Every Content Marketer Needs To Know About Writing Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Data-Based Tips for More Effective Headlines <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2 minutes</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What Your Readers Wish You Knew About Writing Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">How to Write Headlines That Get More Clicks and Shares</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 Easy Ways to Write Better Headlines, Faster</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Want an Edge for Your Content? Write Better Headlines <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3 minutes</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Why Your Headline is 5 Times More Important Than The Rest of Your Content</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Simple Tricks to Write Headlines That Triple Your Results</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Headline Hacks For More Effective Content <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4 minutes</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10 Tricks to Write Better Headlines Based on Recent Research</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">New Research on How to Write Better Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 Ways to Improve the Single Most Important Aspect of Any Content <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5 minutes</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Headlines Make the Content: How to Write More Effective Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">How to Write Killer Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10 Easy Ways to Write Irresistible Headlines <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6 minutes</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Scientifically Savvy Way to Write Irresistible Headlines</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If You Only Get One Part of Your Content Right, Make it the Headline</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Headlines are 5 Times More Important Than Any Other Part of Your Content <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 minutes</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">80% of Content Marketing Success Rests in the Headline <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 minutes 20 seconds</span></li>
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There you have it: You can write 25 headlines in eight minutes or less.</div>
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Your headline list may have some obvious winners and some obvious dogs. But I’d still run every one of these through two of my favorite headline analyzers. They’re <a href="http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer</a> and the <a href="http://www.aminstitute.com/headline/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Advanced Marketing Institute’s Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer</a>.</div>
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Here are the scores each one of those headlines got from each tool:</div>
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<img alt="headline analysis" height="529" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/headline-analysis.png.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="550" /></div>
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Now, let’s do some explainin’ about what all the numbers mean. First, CoSchedule: The number there is scored from 1 to 100. That score reflects how long the headline is, if it’s associated with more or fewer shares, and several other attributes. Anything over a 70 is considered very good. If you can clear 80 I’d say you’ve found a seriously strong headline. The grade score after the number refers to “Word Balance”, “An analysis of the overall structure, grammar, and <a href="https://blog.act-on.com/2016/04/what-every-b2b-marketer-needs-to-know-about-readability/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">readability</a> of your headline.”</div>
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The Advanced Marketing Institute’s tool works differently. It rates headlines based on which industry the headline belongs to. Then it sorts headline types by whether they’re Intellectual, Empathetic or Spiritual.</div>
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<img alt="headline analysis results" height="512" src="http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/headline-analysis-results.png.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="525" /></div>
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Of the two tools, I prefer CoSchedule’s. Just don’t take what it tells you as gospel. These are just tools. They are helpful for picking headlines, but they are really just educated guesses. The only way to tell what’s actually going to work is to either go ahead and publish your content, or try to test the headline before you publish.</div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: brown-regular; font-size: 28px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Test.</span></h2>
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Another thing the old-time copywriters knew: If you can test only one thing, test the headline. This example from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Upworthy/how-to-make-that-one-thing-go-viral-just-kidding" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Upworthy</a> demonstrates the potentially epic power of a headline test:</div>
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<img alt="Upworthy headline test" height="613" src="http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Upworthy-headline-test.png.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="818" /></div>
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Who else wants <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">59 times</em> more shares from their content?</div>
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If you’re willing to test your headlines after a post has been published, here are several WordPress plugins that make it pretty easy to do:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-experiments-free/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Title Experiments Free</a></li>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://kingsumo.com/apps/headlines/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">KingSumo Headlines</a></li>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/headlineenvy/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Optimizely’s HeadlineEnvy</a></li>
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Of course, none of those will help you test <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">before</em> you publish. Which means all the <a href="http://blog.act-on.com/2014/11/26-ways-promote-your-blog-post/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">promotion</a>you do in the first days after publication will be using an untested headline. This is no good, because – as you know – the bulk of the attention your post will get is in those first few days.</div>
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Drat. Now what?</div>
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I might have a solution. I’ve been playing around with pre-testing headlines in Facebook. It’s a flawed system, but here’s how it works:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find an existing blog post that’s closely related to the topic of your new post.</li>
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This will be the link you’ll use in your Facebook ad. Ideally, you’d be pointing traffic to a page on your site. But if there isn’t a similar blog post, point it to another site in your niche. You want something close enough that the Facebook ad reviewers won’t disapprove your ad because you’re sending traffic to an unrelated page.</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4d4f; font-family: brown-light; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em 3em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Make a “Clicks to Website” type of ad. Have one version of the ad use “Headline A” that you want to test. Create another duplicate ad for “Headline B”.</li>
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<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4d4f; font-family: brown-light; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em 3em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Select an audience for these ads that closely resembles the audience you want to attract.</li>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Start the ads. Watch how they perform over the next few days. Make sure you pick a winner that’s statistically valid. A simple test calculator like <a href="https://www.perrymarshall.com/splittester/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Perry Marshall’s split-tester</a>will do.</li>
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Here’s what my ads dashboard looked like for a short test I ran last month. These aren’t statistically valid results, but this shows what your tests would look like.</div>
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<img alt="facebook ads pam neely" height="184" src="http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/facebook-ads-pam-neely.png.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="550" /></div>
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It will probably cost you about $20 to test three headlines against each other. It will also add quite a bit of time to your headline writing, and to your <a href="http://mktg.actonsoftware.com/acton/fs/blocks/showLandingPage/a/248/p/p-0613/t/page/fm/0" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">content creation</a>. However – what’s it worth to you to find out which headline gets double or triple the clicks?</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Use Numbers.</span></h2>
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Most of the time, when you’ve got a number in a headline, it means you’ve got a “list post,” aka a “listicle.” A typical listicle headline would be “10 Ways to Get More Shares.” This article format is used far and wide online. It’s also been dissed as a shallow way to express ideas.</div>
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Shallow or not, listicles work. Look at any list of “top articles on this site” and you’ll see at least a few listicles. Often, the entire roster of top articles will be listicles.</div>
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Why do they work? Several reasons:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Listicles are scannable. Most people online are scanning, not reading.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Numbers are specific. People want to know what they’re going to get before they click through to a page.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Listicles frame the information well. They make the information seem more manageable or “digestible.”</li>
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There are many studies showing that listicles outperform other content formats – and other headline types. Here’s one from <a href="http://okdork.com/2014/04/21/why-content-goes-viral-what-analyzing-100-millions-articles-taught-us/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Noah Kagan’s site</a>:</div>
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<img alt="average shares by content type" height="525" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/average-shares-by-content-type.png.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="769" /></div>
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And another from Conductor’s study of which <a href="https://moz.com/blog/5-data-insights-into-the-headlines-readers-click" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">headlines</a> resonate with readers:</div>
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<img alt="overall headline preferences" height="505" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/overall-headline-preferences.png.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="750" /></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: brown-bold; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Use magic words.</span></h2>
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What’s the magic word? It’s “you.” Or “free.” Or the keyword you want to rank for.</div>
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Use your words carefully in headlines. Always be focused on where your readers’ heads are at – they’re always scanning for what’s relevant to them. If your headline can make that case, you’ll get more clicks. You can see this principle in the graph from Conductor’s study. “Reader addressing” headlines got the second most engagement.</div>
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While readers are the most important audience, we can’t very well neglect search engines, either. And because your headline is such a powerful component of a page’s <a href="https://mktg.actonsoftware.com/acton/fs/blocks/showLandingPage/a/248/p/p-07f2/t/page/fm/0" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">search engine optimization</a> I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention including them in your headline. Don’t go into keyword stuffing, please, but one or two keywords is good.</div>
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Buffer did an <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/the-most-popular-words-in-most-viral-headlines" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">interesting study</a> a few years ago about which words got the most shares. Here’s the highlights of what they found:</div>
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<img alt="most popular viral headlines" height="625" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/most-popular-viral-headlines.png.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="720" /></div>
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Notice the “you” in the left column? It even beat out “is”. Of course, these words would change a bit if they were pulled from articles for a business audience. They’d change again if they were pulled from articles for your audience.</div>
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Headlines should not be added on as a last-minute finishing touch. They have so much effect on the success or failure of our content that we really need to be giving them more focus. Maybe we can’t go so far as spending half our content creation time on the headline. But what about even 20 minutes? If those 20 minutes could get you 20% more shares and results from your content, wouldn’t they be worth it?</div>
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This article was written by Pam Neely from <a href="http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/act-on/write-headlines-get-shared-drive-traffic-01516985" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Business2Community</a> and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.<img alt="" class="nc_pixel" height="1" src="https://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT04MTdiZjJiM2ViY2NmN2VhZGEwNDY3NDQyYTk3YmMwOA==" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="1" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.meltwater.com/uk/blog/how-to-write-headlines-that-get-shared-and-drive-traffic/">Source</a></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893719516833778034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-66694810831937960102016-04-20T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-20T06:00:02.006+01:00The Underused Power of Social Media That Will Increase Your ROI<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px;">
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Every “social media guru” and “marketing maven” touts the importance of engaging with your social following in an authentic and conversational way. Most brands have an individual or a team that makes critical decisions about publishing curated information to their audience, but how many companies are building customer loyalty through these online chats? Sure, there are top brands like Google, Taco Bell, and Southwest Airlines, who have built social media empires but what about <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">your</i> company? Are you using the power of social media to monitor or interact with customers? More importantly, are you using it to bring in revenue?</div>
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Most companies today agree that social media is a prominent marketing tool. As marketers, we understand that social media can put you in touch with your target market. What many brands are still missing in their strategy is when social media is combined with referral marketing, organic engagement and brand awareness can be easier achieved. In fact, according to a <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/how-are-consumers-influenced-by-referral-marketing" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">recent survey</a> conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Ambassador, two-thirds of Americans say they’re at least a little more likely to purchase a product after a friend or family member shares it via social media or email.</div>
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So how can you help your loyal followers share your product to their networks? Social <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/advocate-affiliate-influencer-and-referral-marketing-are-they-really-that-different" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">referral marketing outreach</a>.</div>
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By combining these two power houses, social media and referral marketing, companies can forge meaningful relationships that extend beyond typical online outreach. So what does this look like in practice? For some brands, that means tweets from their ambassadors with unique share links or adding that link to their profiles. For others, like <a class="external" href="https://www.getambassador.com/blog/staying-in-the-feed-how-to-outsmart-the-new-instagram-algorithm" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Elephant Pants</a>, it’s having ambassadors show off the product on Instagram with a hashtag and their unique share link.</div>
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Flexibility is key – however your ambassadors choose to share, make sure the experience is inline with your brand. When asking your ambassadors to share, make it as easy as possible for them to do so. Have a pre-made message ready to go so they don’t have to spend time coming up with their own. And everyone loves pretty pictures, include attractive photos that make the post more appealing.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Get Social With Referral Marketing</span></div>
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Naturally, a large contributor of increasing brand awareness is social media marketing. The more your referrers talk about your products and services online, the larger your reach becomes. Additionally, generating brand awareness through referral marketing is more likely than not to turn into brand preference, which ultimately leads to revenue.</div>
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<a href="http://www.business2community.com/social-media/underused-power-social-media-will-increase-roi-01517026#vb1usjm2jFRE6Sum.97">Source</a></div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span>Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-3589687281795432242016-04-19T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-19T06:00:17.771+01:00You Won’t Be Successful Online Without Mastering These 7 Skills<img alt="7 successful online traits" src="http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/7successfulonlinetraits.jpg" /><br />
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I’ve been working in internet marketing and SEO since about 2000 and there are several skills I have learned that have been instrumental to my success.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">As I moved into teaching people how to flip websites I kept hearing the same concern over and over again, “what do I actually need to know to be successful online?”</span></div>
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I get that most people don’t want to spend all day every day learning how to be a web developer but these 7 skills are absolutely necessary if you want to earn good money on the internet.</div>
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1. SEO</h2>
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I’m a huge advocate of SEO. SEO is amazing because if you can get to the top of Google, you can get free targeted traffic to your website all day.</div>
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And because those people are searching for what you offer, that traffic will convert.</div>
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But how do you master the art of SEO? There are many resources out there that will teach you SEO. I’ve personally been doing SEO professionally for 14 years and the person I trust the most to give you the most up to date information that is working right now is <a class="external" href="http://www.backlinko.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Brian Dean at Backlinko</a>.</div>
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He gives no nonsense training and backs it up by data. In other words, he’s not guessing.</div>
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One strategy that I invented myself and have been seeing a lot of success with is what I call <a class="external" href="https://www.guestposttracker.com/blog/link-maps/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">building link maps</a>. This in essence is the art of doing link building and then building links to those links (link stacking) in a strategic way so they become more powerful.</div>
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2. Email Marketing</h2>
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It has been proven over and over again that <a class="external" href="https://blog.kissmetrics.com/following-up-increases-conversions/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">nurturing leads through email</a> will dramatically increase your conversions. People like <a class="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Selling-Machine-Ryan-Deiss-ebook/dp/B00VXC226E" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ryan Deiss teach</a> very specific methods on how to do this.</div>
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There are a few good email marketing platforms that will make your job a lot easier. Here are the tools I actually use:</div>
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<a class="external" href="https://www.aweber.com/landing.htm" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Aweber</a> – I use them to collect email addresses and send out follow up emails automatically.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a class="external" href="http://mailchimp.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mailchimp</a> – these guys have pretty much the same features as Aweber.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a class="external" href="http://www.leadpages.net/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lead Pages</a> – these guys have pop up windows to collect emails that have been tested and proven to increase subscribers.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a class="external" href="https://sumome.com/app/list-builder" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SumoMe</a> – similar features to Lead Pages but they do have other tools as well.</div>
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In my own businesses, I have seen email follow up increase conversions over and over again and in many different niches. This is something that will mean more to your bottom line than anything else.</div>
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<small style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; display: block; font-size: 10.08px; line-height: 1.42857;">Recommended for You</small><a href="http://webcasts.business2community.com/events/sales-primer-non-sales-founders?utm_source=B2C&utm_medium=Article-Promo&utm_campaign=Webcast04202016" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 5px 0px 3px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Webcast:</span> Sales Primer for Non-Sales Founders</a></blockquote>
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3. Evaluating Potential</h2>
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If you’ve ever spent any time over at my Prosperly blog, you know that I love buying undervalued websites. I am only able to do this if I can evaluate the potential of a website and understand that it is actually undervalued.</div>
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Even if I’m not buying a website, if I’m starting an online business from scratch it is the same principle. I always look at what the market looks like, and then I look at what the competition is doing online. Are they proficient in SEO? Do they understand basic internet marketing principles?</div>
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When those key indicators match up, I know the potential is there and I feel confident moving forward. If the competition is extremely knowledgeable and deeply embedded in the industry, I will typically move on.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">On the other hand, when I find a website that is trying to sell donkey socks, I am able to filter that out quickly because believe it or not the demand isn’t there.</span></div>
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4. Backend Website Administration</h2>
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I hesitated including this one in this article because, let’s be honest, you started falling asleep as soon as you read the heading for this section.</div>
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The reality is, if you really want to be successful online you must get a sound base in html. You must learn how FTP works. At the very least you need to become a WordPress master.</div>
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You also need to become proficient in working with images. I use a program called Fireworks from Adobe, but many people use Photoshop as well.</div>
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If earning a living online is something you are really serious about then you need to learn how to be a webmaster. Youtube tutorials need to become your new best friend.</div>
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5. Increasing Conversions</h2>
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The only thing better than getting more targeted traffic, is taking the traffic you already have and getting more of those people to give you money.</div>
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The reason this is so great is because it is completely in your control. If your website converts at a typical 1%, all you would have to do to double your revenue is to increase conversions to 2%. Easy.</div>
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How do you do it?</div>
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Split test, split test, split test. Also known as A/B testing, this means you show one version of a page to half of your visitors and show another different version to the other half. Then you see which version generated more sales.</div>
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I bought a website with traffic one time and just made a few (but significant tweaks) to the site and in less than 30 days the monthly revenue jumped by 968%.</div>
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<a class="external" href="https://www.google.com/analytics/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Google Analytics</a> offers a free AB tool in their software. There are other paid options but I will typically just use Google’s AB tool.</div>
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6. Pricing</h2>
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If you don’t price a product or service correctly, this can quickly put you out of business either because you’ve overpriced your product and don’t get any sales or because you’ve underpriced and can’t cover expenses.</div>
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You must learn how to arrive at the perfect price so that you maximize revenue and customers. After all, it is so much easier to sell to a previous customer than to a new one. Maximizing number of sales along with revenue is extremely important for the long term growth of your business.</div>
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This goes back to the testing part of this article. You need to test different prices to see which one performs better. This is not something you should guess on. There is too much at stake.</div>
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Get the price right.</div>
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7. Monetization</h2>
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When I am <a class="external" href="http://www.prosperly.com/recession-proof-internet-business-model-flipping-websites/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">looking to buy an undervalued website</a>, one of the first things I look at is whether or not I can monetize the website in a way that will either greatly increase revenue or at least give me a good return on my investment of time and money.</div>
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Any site can be monetized by putting Google ads on it, but to me that is short sighted thinking. It has been my experience that Google Ads have generated the lowest amount of income on websites that I have owned.</div>
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So you need to learn what people want and what they will pay for or how to find good affiliate programs that are worth promoting.</div>
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For example, I used to run a website that was a directory of lawn care companies in the US. I sold advertising on the site and didn’t make very much money ($30-$100 a month). I had awesome traffic from SEO and knew I should be making a lot more money than I was.</div>
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I created a “how to start your own lawn care business kit” packaged with everything a person would need to know to start their own lawn care business. I priced it $97 and people bought like crazy.</div>
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Once I started selling the kit, the website made me from $30k-$50k every year.</div>
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It was a powerful lesson on monetization. I learned that I should always be trying to come up with new and better ways to monetize websites that I owned.</div>
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So those are the 7 traits I think are most important to master if you want to be successful online. Am I missing something that has been critical to your success? Leave it in the comments below.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/wont-successful-online-without-mastering-7-skills-01505600#lxQUMDmhrJYVPfsj.97">Source</a></div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span>Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893719516833778034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-30167424875903402752016-04-18T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-18T06:00:10.816+01:0030 quick and easy SEO tips for small businesses<br />
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">For the uninitiated, SEO can seem to be a complex and foreign landscape, but it doesn’t have to be too complicated.</span></div>
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Indeed, there’s a lot that small businesses (and anyone) can do without any great SEO knowledge, and without spending too much money.</div>
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With the help of some search experts, I’ve compiled a list of tips (in no particular order)…</div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">1. Set up a Google My Business account</span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Set this up and get all of your business details uploaded. It’s totally free and will enable you to appear in local search results for queries specific to your area of operation.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Even broad queries with large volumes are now showing local results which is something small business owners can capitalise upon.</span></div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/cnt-import/sew/IMG/127/336127/girl-goat-chicago.png" rel="attachment wp-att-2710" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="/IMG/127/336127/girl-goat-chicago" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2710" height="358" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/cnt-import/sew/IMG/127/336127/girl-goat-chicago.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">2. Build a fast, <a href="https://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2436011/6-strategy-questions-you-need-to-address-before-you-design-and-build-a-mobile-friendly-site-or-app" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">mobile-friendly website</a></span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Developing mobile sites can now be done easily with simple plugins for your CMS, such as WordPress, meaning that making all of your content mobile-friendly can be done quickly and cheaply.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Optimising it for fast load-speed (again through plugins where available) will help you stand out from the competition in terms of performance.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">3. Conduct extensive keyword research to identify gaps in the market</span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Targeting the same keywords as your bigger competitors won’t see you make much ground as they are more established and have more coverage online.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Using keyword research tools such as Google’s Keyword Planner to spot gaps in the market will enable you to capitalise upon these – they may even convert at a better rate too.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Tips 1-3 by Jamie White, Head of Technical SEO at <a href="https://www.searchlaboratory.com/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Search Laboratory</a>.</em></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">4. Start using Google Search Console</span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">It’s a free tool that gives a wealth of information about your website’s performance in Google search, as well as any errors on your site and issues you should address.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Improving your website without Search Console is like running a marathon without any shoes on. With Search Console you can find out what keywords Google thinks your website is relevant for, whether there are problems crawling your website, if your site is mobile friendly, and much more. It’s the starting point for most of your improvement efforts.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">5. You need to understand your online audience through and through</span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Who is your typical online customer? What are they looking for? How do they spend their time online? What kind of content do they like to consume?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">When you completely understand your audience, you will understand what you need to do online to grab their attention.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">If your audience spends a lot of time on Facebook, you should focus effort there. If your audience reads online tutorials about topics relevant to your niche, maybe you need to produce your own tutorial content.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Without a thorough understanding of your audience’s needs and requirements, you won’t be able to make effective use of the online channels at your disposal – you’ll just be trying out different things at random, and that’s a terrible waste of your precious resources.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">6. Look at how search engines are displaying results in your niche</span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Too often, small businesses have no idea who or what they are actually competing with in search.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">For example, if you want to focus on a keyword that has a lot of huge international companies ranking on the first page, you should realise that perhaps your expectations need to be tempered.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Another example: if search engines show a lot of images or videos in their results for keywords you want to be visible for, you should consider producing that sort of content rather than just focus purely on text.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Also, often search engines will show local business results – if that’s the case, your efforts need to be adjusted to focus on achieving visibility in those types of results.</span></div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/cake-.png" rel="attachment wp-att-58747" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="cake" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-58747" height="538" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/cake-.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Tips 4-6 by Barry Adams, <a href="https://www.polemicdigital.com/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Polemic Digital</a></em></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">7. Get ScreamingFrog and check your site for possible onsite issues</span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Watch for security issues too – <a href="https://sitecheck.sucuri.ne/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Sucuri site check</a> is free </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">and while it won’t be able to see all possible issues it can catch </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">some of the most widespread ones.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">This may seem unrelated to the topic </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">of this article but compromised sites do lose their traffic and </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">visibility.</span></div>
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8. Claim your physical address on Google Maps</h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">If it’s a local business which a physical location and offline </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">customers, make sure you claim your physical address on Google Maps.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">9. Whatever you do, be genuine</span></h3>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Hiring somebody on the cheap to run </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">your Twitter account or build links for you may seem like a tempting </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">idea but it can – and probably will – backfire.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">If you haven’t got </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">much of a marketing budget, take one step at a time but do it yourself </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">as nobody knows your business and your customers better than you. </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Connect with them personally, do not count on somebody else spamming </span><span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">them on your behalf resulting in any positive outcome.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Tips 7-9 by Julia Logan, <a href="http://www.irishwonder.com/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Irish Wonder</a></em></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">10. Beware of agencies that promise the earth</span></h3>
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Unless you’re prepared to buy PPC ads, then there is no way to guarantee a page one listing (even then it can be tricky on competitive terms).</div>
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If an agency or salesperson promises you this, ignore them. They’re lying and will likely do a lot of damage to your long-term search visibility.</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/page-one-guaranteed.png" rel="attachment wp-att-58748" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="page one guaranteed" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-58748" height="409" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/page-one-guaranteed.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="615" /></a></div>
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Also, if you’re just getting started, you don’t necessarily need an agency to improve your SEO efforts. See what you can do yourself first.</div>
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11. If you do hire an agency, keep an eye on them</h3>
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Agencies using the wrong methods can do a lot of damage.</div>
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Often by dodgy link-building which may achieve some short-term results but will expose your site to the <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/03/08/what-should-i-do-when-my-site-has-been-hit-with-a-google-penalty/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">risk of penalties</a> long-term.</div>
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12. Keep up with industry news</h3>
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Things can change fairy quickly in SEO, so things that work for a while can become against Google’s rules over time.</div>
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As with the recent <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/04/12/google-manual-action-penalties-due-to-links-for-freebies/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">penalties for bloggers reviewing products</a>, Google will rarely spell things out. It will give advice and hints, but it won’t contact you. You’ll often only know you’ve done something ‘wrong’ when you login to Google Search Console and receive a notice like this:</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/Google-penalty.png" rel="attachment wp-att-58729" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Google penalty" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-58729" height="500" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/Google-penalty.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="539" /></a></div>
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13. Try not to rely too much on Google</h3>
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Yes, it’s well worth working to improve your rankings, and search traffic is valuable, but don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.</div>
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Google can change the way it ranks sites, the way it display results at any time, in ways which could adversely affect your search traffic.</div>
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Look to build email lists, use social media etc so that you’re attracting customers from a range of sources.</div>
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14. Launch a blog / create content</h3>
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Content is what will help you rank for your target terms. This means content on product pages, homepages and everywhere around the site, but a blog can also help.</div>
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It shouldn’t be done <em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">just</em> for SEO reasons, as blogs present an opportunity for you to talk about your product and services and the issues around them.</div>
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It means you can <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2433171/how-retailers-can-use-how-to-guides-for-content-marketing" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">create the kind of content</a> that people interested in your product or service would appreciate, and begin to build an audience.</div>
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15. If you blog, do it regularly</h3>
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You don’t have to write five articles a day, but regular updates mean your visitors have something to read, and you’ll also be creating fresh content for the search engines.</div>
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16. But don’t go keyword-crazy</h3>
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Yes, you want to target the terms that your customers are likely to search for, but you have to write for humans first of all, or your content will be weak.</div>
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17. Aim for evergreen content</h3>
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Look to create quality content that addresses customers issues and has a longer shelf-life. This<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2440770/the-power-of-evergreen-content-for-seo" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">‘evergeen content’</a> is more likely to achieve search rankings over a longer period of time.</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/evergreen-e1460548226408.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-58757" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="evergreen" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-58757" height="333" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/evergreen-e1460548226408.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" /></a></div>
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18. Use a clear URL structure</h3>
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People should be able to guess the topic of a page just by looking at the URL.</div>
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19. Use internal linking to optimise your site</h3>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2428041/internal-linking-for-seo-examples-and-best-practices" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Effective internal linking</a> is about linking topics and themes together in a more sensible way, for readers and for search engines.</div>
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For example, if you are providing cake-decorating services, you’ll have lots of articles using that phrase. They’re not all going to rank for that, so choose the page you’d most like to rank for that term and point the links at that.</div>
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It can be very effective, as this <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/01/26/how-hub-pages-and-internal-links-are-paying-off-for-mail-online/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">internal linking example from the Daily Mail website</a> shows.</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/01/2.-Single-URL-view-David-Cameron-landing-page-e1453731714140.png" rel="attachment wp-att-56728" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="David Cameron landing page" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-56728" height="433" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/01/2.-Single-URL-view-David-Cameron-landing-page-e1453731714140.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="615" /></a></div>
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20. Use your site search data to find terms to target</h3>
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You can view the terms your visitors search for on site by looking into your analytics data.</div>
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You can learn a lot from this <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2433733/10-things-to-look-for-in-your-site-search-data" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">site search data</a>, which can help in many ways.</div>
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For search, the keywords that people use on your site could be terms that you aren’t currently targeting via SEO or PPC.</div>
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If so, analysing site search data is a great way to find more relevant terms to target. They also tell the the kind of language that customers use.</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/cnt-import/sew/IMG/908/333908/clickz-site-search-usage.png" rel="attachment wp-att-3254" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="/IMG/908/333908/clickz-site-search-usage" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3254" height="287" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/cnt-import/sew/IMG/908/333908/clickz-site-search-usage.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="600" /></a></div>
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21. Encourage reviews</h3>
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Reviews will help to drive conversions but, from an SEO perspective, they help to drive your <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2436136/the-importance-of-user-reviews-for-local-seo" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">local SEO visibility</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/cnt-import/sew/IMG/955/335955/chicago-rest.png" rel="attachment wp-att-2810" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="/IMG/955/335955/chicago-rest" class="alignnone wp-image-2810" height="651" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/cnt-import/sew/IMG/955/335955/chicago-rest.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="400" /></a></div>
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22. Optimize images</h3>
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In this article, SEW Editor Christopher Ratcliff <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/02/16/how-to-optimize-images-for-seo/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">explains how to optimize images for SEO</a>, with the help of his cat.</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/02/wordpress-photo-upload-highlighting-caption-and-description.png" rel="attachment wp-att-57115" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="wordpress photo upload highlighting caption and description" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-57115" height="351" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/02/wordpress-photo-upload-highlighting-caption-and-description.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="600" /></a></div>
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23. Set up Google Analytics</h3>
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It’s free and it’s essential for you to understand customer behaviour, traffic sources and more.</div>
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Here’s a <a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/01/20/an-absolute-beginners-guide-to-setting-up-google-analytics-for-your-website" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">beginner’s guide to Google Analytics.</a></div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/02/Google-Analytics-app.png" rel="attachment wp-att-57026" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Google Analytics app" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-57026" height="262" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/02/Google-Analytics-app.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" /></a></div>
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24. Think about UX</h3>
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For one thing, <a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/03/17/its-mobilegeddon-hot-in-here-google-strengthens-its-mobile-friendly-ranking-signal/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">after mobilegeddon</a>, your mobile ranking depends on factor related to UX.</div>
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Site speed is just one. Use tools like Google’s <a href="https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">pagespeed insights</a> to learn about your site and how to improve it.</div>
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25. Optimize your <span class="s1" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Google My Business profile</span></h3>
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The basics should be there – if you have a physical store, provide opening times, directions and other useful information.</div>
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Don’t leave it at that though. Add images, regular updates and more.</div>
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26. See who is linking to you and learn from it</h3>
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You can view the links you receive through tools like Majestic and others. Are you attracting links from relevant sites? If so, which kinds of content / pages are attracting these links?</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/backlinks.png" rel="attachment wp-att-58759" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="backlinks" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-58759" height="241" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/backlinks.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="615" /></a></div>
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27. Write a unique title for every page</h3>
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On Google, you have around 55 characters to make the topic of a page clear to searchers and search engines.</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/03/page-titles-google.png" rel="attachment wp-att-58037" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="page titles google" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-58037" height="449" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/03/page-titles-google.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="615" /></a></div>
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28. Don’t expect results too quickly</h3>
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The tips here will produce results, but don’t expect overnight success. Good SEO can take time, so be patient and stick with the process.</div>
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29. Use a little PPC</h3>
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If you have the budget, PPC can deliver traffic more quickly.</div>
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It can also inform your SEO efforts – you can see which keywords work best for conversions and can help you to improve your landing pages.</div>
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30. Write your own <a href="https://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2424589/nine-valuable-tips-for-your-e-commerce-product-page-copy" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">product page copy</a></h3>
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If you’re selling products that other sites will also have, unique product descriptions can help your site to stand out.</div>
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They’re also better for conversions, as the manufacturer descriptions will not have been tested for effectiveness, whereas you can try variations and see what works best for your site</div>
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<a href="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/duplicate-product-copy.png" rel="attachment wp-att-58760" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><img alt="duplicate-product-copy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-58760" height="367" src="https://searchenginewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/04/duplicate-product-copy.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204) !important; box-sizing: content-box; height: auto; margin: auto !important; max-width: 95%; outline: none; padding: 4px; vertical-align: middle;" width="600" /></a></div>
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What have I missed? Add your tips below…</div>
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<a href="http://30%20quick%20and%20easy%20seo%20tips%20for%20small%20businesses/">Source</a></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-71882267618978208382016-04-17T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-17T06:00:07.371+01:003 Tips for Creating Engaging Paid Social Media Campaigns <img alt="engagingpaidmediacampaign.jpg" height="248" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/engagingpaidmediacampaign.jpg.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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You’re a master content creator. Blood, sweat and tears have gone into your latest creation, and you’re positive the leads will be rolling in. You sit back in your chair, prop your feet up on your desk and wait. And wait. And wait.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Where are those leads?</span></div>
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Sometimes, no matter how much work you put into a piece, the leads don’t come in as quickly as you’d like. That’s not to say your work wasn’t great (it probably was, you’re a master at your craft, after all), it might just need a little boost in the form of <a class="external" href="http://www.kunocreative.com/paid-media-guide" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">paid media.</a></div>
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But be careful. Just because you’re paying to promote a piece doesn’t mean you can throw caution to the wind and abandon all the inbound techniques you know and love. Consider these tips for creating engaging paid campaigns.</div>
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Choose your social channels wisely</h2>
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Algorithm changes to Facebook’s timeline (and soon, <a class="external" href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/6/10927874/twitter-algorithmic-timeline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>) have some marketers breaking out in a cold sweat. Instead of reaching people for free with witty, creative posts, now we have to scrape together the budget to promote our content on these social networks.</div>
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Before you dive in and start looking between the couch cushions for money for your paid social budget, take a cue from the audience you want to reach. Instead of throwing money at every social channel, consider this: On what social networks does your audience spend their time? You could discover this information through the <a class="external" href="http://www.kunocreative.com/services/buyer-insights" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Buyer Insight Process</a>, or you could look at your data and see where your content gets the most traffic organically.</div>
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Take this example from one of Kuno’s clients:</div>
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When creating campaigns for a not-for-profit organization that provides services for older adults, we found, through our use of data from HubSpot, that the majority of our content was viewed and shared on Facebook, which helped us refine our social targeting. Without this data in hand, we would have missed this valuable opportunity by assuming our audience wasn’t active on this channel.</div>
<img alt="engagingpaidsocialcampaigns.png" class="wp-image-1509290 stretch-img" data-pin-description="3 Tips for Creating Engaging Paid Social Media Campaigns" height="360" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/engagingpaidsocialcampaigns.png.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; vertical-align: middle;" title="engagingpaidsocialcampaigns.png" width="640" /><br />
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“Assuming you know which social networks your prospects prefer is a reliable way to misallocate your advertising budget. As part of a social media marketing plan, you need to spend time researching which networks your potential buyers frequent for community interaction and information. This step will save you money and improve performance later,” said <a class="external" href="https://www.siia.net/Divisions/SSD-Software-Services-Division/Programs-and-Resources/Publications/SIIAs-Marketing-in-Todays-Economy/Social-Advertising-Best-Practices-for-the-Social-Marketer" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">marketing expert Joe Chernov</a>.</div>
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Consider the kind of content you want to promote</h2>
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Remember that data you gleaned from the Buyer Insight Process or from your marketing software to see what social channels your audience prefers? Get more mileage out of that data by using it to help determine what types of content resonate most with your audience.</div>
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Whether you’re targeting your audience with whitepapers, checklists, infographics or videos, it’s important to keep in mind the value of what you’re producing.</div>
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Is this content valuable enough that someone would give their email address to access it? If not, head back to the drawing board and consider ways to improve the value of what you’re offering. Could you add a few more statistics or a sidebar with additional information or instructions? Could you produce a short companion video to go along with the piece? Is there an additional area not covered you could shed some light on?</div>
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For our not-for-profit client, we knew from our Buyer Insight research and data that our audience was active on Facebook and that a perpetual issue for older adults is avoiding entering a nursing home as they age. Our research also revealed there was little information available on how to avoid a nursing home.</div>
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We created an e-book filled with actionable ways an older adult and his or her family or friends can avoid a nursing home. We promoted it on Facebook to the specific geographic area our client served.</div>
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<a href="http://www.business2community.com/social-media/3-tips-creating-engaging-paid-social-media-campaigns-01509288#VGoVekmWuzJryHvV.97">Source</a></div>
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Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-64983366424207463582016-04-16T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-16T06:00:08.097+01:007 Productivity Hacks for Smart B2B Content Marketers<img alt="Title Image and illustration: Productivity Hacks for B2B Marketers" height="365" src="http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PRODUCTIVITY-Hacks-for-B2B-Marketers.png.png" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">It seems like our marketing “to do” list gets longer every day. The more projects and meetings on your list, the harder it is to get everything done. Here are seven tips that will boost your content marketing productivity …</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Every day, I speak with B2B marketing professionals who struggle with their workload.</span></div>
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It’s no surprise …</div>
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According to research from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, B2B marketers are producing more content than ever. In fact, 76% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they did last year. They now use an average of 13 content marketing tactics – from blogging to white papers to webinars.</div>
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Many B2B marketers produce record-breaking amounts of content without a large enough team to support them.</div>
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And they’re doing it on top of meetings, phone calls, and their other daily tasks.</div>
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One of my clients told me that he spends all day in meetings and has to give up time with his family at night, so he can finally get his work done.</div>
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This is a sad reality for many B2B marketers.</div>
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However, there are a few things you can do to keep the content machine rolling while you free up some of your valuable time.</div>
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Here are my top seven productivity tips for B2B content marketers:</div>
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1. Block out the first hour of your workday for your most important project.</h2>
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One of my clients recently used my online calendar to schedule a call with me. He joked that he didn’t see any appointments before 10 AM, so I must not start work until mid-morning.</div>
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I do start work earlier, but I just don’t take calls before 10 AM. This gives me time to get some copywriting done before calls and emails interrupt my train of thought.</div>
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Doing this sets me up for a productive day, because I get important work done first thing in the morning.</div>
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If you can manage it, cut out all of your early morning distractions. Say no to meetings. Turn off your ringer. Don’t check your email.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Your co-workers will initially try to distract you in the morning, but over time, they will learn not to interrupt you during your productivity hour.</span></div>
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Try this for a week and see if you notice any improvements in your productivity – as well as a reduction in your stress levels.</div>
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2. Ban distracting websites.</h2>
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I recently had to take drastic measures with Facebook.</div>
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I was spending too much time on the site, scrolling through my feed and checking out links that my friends posted. Soon, a “quick look” at my messages would turn into 15 minutes of reading articles and commenting on posts.</div>
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Plus, a lot of the content that I see on Facebook is very political. While it’s important to know what’s happening in the world, I felt like I was being bombarded with heavy issues all the time. This affected my mood and productivity.</div>
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So, I started to block myself out of Facebook during my workday. As soon as I sit down in the morning, I open the <a class="external" href="https://selfcontrolapp.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Self Control app</a> and set a timer for how long I want to block myself out of Facebook and other distracting websites.</div>
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Since I’ve started doing this, I’ve noticed an improvement in my mood and my productivity. I even check Facebook much less during the evenings and weekends, when I don’t limit my access to the site.</div>
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3. Roll up your email subscriptions.</h2>
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Email is a huge time suck.</div>
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According to an <a class="external" href="https://www.atlassian.com/time-wasting-at-work-infographic" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Atlassian infographic</a>, employees check their email an average of 36 times per hour. Then, it takes them 16 minutes to refocus after responding to emails.</div>
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At this rate, it’s impossible to focus on producing great content.</div>
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I’ve been using <a class="external" href="https://unroll.me/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Unroll.me</a> to manage my inbox. The app takes all of my email subscriptions and rolls them into one daily email. So, instead of getting promotional messages in my inbox every minute, I now get them once a day.</div>
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Whenever a new subscription appears in my inbox, Unroll.me gives me the option to add it to my daily roll up, keep it in my inbox, or unsubscribe from it.</div>
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Since I’ve started using this service, my inbox has been clean. It’s easier for me to see important emails since my inbox is no longer full of clutter. I spend much less time managing my emails.</div>
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4. Play.</h2>
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At Content Marketing World, John Cleese talked about <a class="external" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-b2b-content-marketing-trends-watch-2016-insights-from-rachel-foster?trk=mp-reader-card" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the importance of play</a>. He recommended that content marketers take time out to play. For example, go to a park. Paint. Build a fort. Have fun.</div>
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Playing makes you more creative, which in turn can positively impact your content marketing.</div>
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5. Meditate.</h2>
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We live in a world with a million distractions – from email to social media to click bait.</div>
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All of these distractions make it hard to stay focused.</div>
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This is where meditation can help.</div>
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As marketers, it can be hard for us to sit still and calm our minds. However, <a class="external" href="http://liveanddare.com/benefits-of-meditation/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">studies</a> have shown that just 10-20 minutes of daily meditation can help us stay focused and perform better when faced with tight deadlines.</div>
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A <a class="external" href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1979862" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">University of Washington and University of Arizona study</a> found that employees who practiced meditation had lower levels of stress and better memory when multitasking. They also switched tasks less often and remained focused on tasks longer.</div>
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6. Break your content development into chunks.</h2>
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It never fails …</div>
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I’m writing a piece of content, and the ideas are flowing. Then, my typing slows, and it takes me twenty minutes to write a sentence.</div>
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This is when I know that I need to take a break.</div>
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Stepping away from your content – whether it’s to play, exercise, or work on something else – is key to improving your productivity.</div>
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When you return to your content at a later time, your mind will be fresh, and your ideas will flow.</div>
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I’ve accounted for the ups and downs in my creativity by breaking my content development into stages:</div>
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a. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Planning:</span> Get together with your team and plan your editorial calendar for the next month or quarter.</div>
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During this time, you can also <a class="external" href="http://copywritertoronto.com/how-to-scale-your-b2b-content/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">plan how you will repurpose your new content</a>. For example, what other pieces of content do you need to support your white paper? What other channels do you want to target? Should you put a different spin on your blog post and publish it on LinkedIn? Will you <a class="external" href="http://copywritertoronto.com/content-upgrades-to-build-your-list/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">create a content upgrade</a> or opt-in offer to go with your next blog post?</div>
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b. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Research:</span> Select a topic and research it. Gather background info and statistics on the topic. Interview your subject matter experts.</div>
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c. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Outline:</span> Make an outline of your content, as this will help you organize your thoughts, so your content development process goes faster.</div>
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d. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Development:</span> Draft your content – including the design and writing.</div>
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e. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Editing:</span> Share your content with others on your team and make any necessary edits.</div>
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f. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Upload:</span> Queue your content for publication. Also, queue your related posts on your social networks.</div>
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g. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Promote:</span> Promote your content.</div>
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Having a repeatable process in place will allow you to produce more high-quality content. Plus, you’ll avoid sitting at your laptop wondering what you should publish next.</div>
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7. Don’t Do it All Yourself.</h2>
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Outsourcing your content creation can free up a lot of your time while allowing you to produce more high-quality content.</div>
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Look for partners who have the skills that you are missing in-house. For example, your product team may have amazing technical knowledge. But do they have the time to put their expertise on paper in your blog posts and white papers? You might benefit from working with a freelance copywriter who can translate their technical knowledge into compelling content.</div>
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Try some of these tips to improve your content marketing productivity. Just putting a few of these in place can help you save your sanity, free up your evenings and weekends, and allow you to focus on the big marketing picture.</div>
<a href="http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/7-productivity-hacks-smart-b2b-content-marketers-01501437#DQWh5HvCFjt2mCXK.97">Source</a>Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-68076568174062911362016-04-15T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-15T06:00:14.925+01:00All hail the Nutribullet: Why blending is the next big thing for a healthy marketing plan<img alt="All hail the Nutribullet: Why blending is the next big thing for a healthy marketing plan" height="269" src="http://www.meltwater.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2016/04/Zz0yZWI0MjM0YWVjMGZhMDVkYWMxMmY2NGMwMjdhNDlmOA.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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In the words of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/23/british-berry-sales-liquidiser-revolution-blueberries-raspberries-nutribullet" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">The Guardian</a>, 2015 was a liquidiser revolution and 2016 looks to be no different- all thanks to the Nutribullet. The blending craze is widely recognised as healthy because it encourages us to add food groups (and nutrients) to our diet that many of us usually ignore. As it turns out, variety is healthy. I’m here to make the case that the same is true for our marketing plan.</div>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Blending data refers to mixing a cocktail of insights pulled from multiple sources and analysing them to create strong, healthy marketing campaigns. Blending data isn’t a new thing. It’s just that big data analysis has become a lot easier with the use of the right tools, and so we’re seeing more and more companies adopting this strategy. Here are 3 reasons why…</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Connect the dots. Pin-point the patterns</span></h2>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Brand reputation can’t be judged by one person’s opinion, whether expressed in an article or a social media post. Blending online news and social media data allows us to connect the dots by identifying patterns to understand how our brand is perceived overall. We can take this a step further by comparing groups of people and channels to identify patterns.This is when a<a href="http://www.meltwater.com/uk/about/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">media monitoring tool </a>becomes invaluable.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We can easily compare our brand reach by channel, publication, or geography. We can compare sentiment in the news versus social. We can compare key themes associated with our brand. Making these comparisons offers much more reliable and valuable brand reputation data. When we blend them all together we get a much better sense of where we stand and how we should focus our marketing efforts.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Remain competitive</span></h2>
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PESTEL analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal) insights are what drive a competitive marketing plan strategy. A lack of attention to such trends in macro data can result in huge losses to the bottom line, a brand reputation crisis and lack of competitiveness. A scan through <a href="http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/media/2475907/sainsburys_ar_2015.pdf" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #28bbbb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Sainsbury’s 2015 annual report</a> reveals how one of the biggest supermarkets in the UK has remained at the top, and sure enough PESTEL data is included. Through being aware of technological developments, Sainsbury’s have strengthened their in-house digital and technology capabilities. Trends in the cost of raw material, consumer confidence, employment rates, inflation and buying habits all have direct impact on the company. Ultimately, their marketing plan will need to accommodate such trends if they are to remain a key player.</div>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tailor campaigns</span></h2>
<div class="p2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4d4f; font-family: brown-light; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Blending data is useful for gaining a deeper understanding of the target and identifying their sweet spot. Our audience leaves digital breadcrumbs in everything they do and it’s up to us to track them to help us see the wider picture. We can then tailor our marketing plan and campaigns, for example, by bridging the gap between online and offline shopping behaviour and experience. 2015 was the year of impressive personalised campaigns, each fuelled by understanding how to use data effectively.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t leave a sour taste</span></h2>
<div class="p2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4c4d4f; font-family: brown-light; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Much like fruit, data goes off. It’s best to keep the data as fresh as possible by updating our marketing plan with real-time insights.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Do you have any blending data tips that will help improve marketing plan success? Drop us a tweet @Meltwater</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.meltwater.com/uk/blog/healthy-marketing-plan/">Source</a></div>
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Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-68882638211530544722016-04-14T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-14T06:00:19.955+01:003 Ways to Optimize Your Website for Social Media Marketing <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px;">
<img height="360" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1453133451515-5ff7c1d0d63c?ixlib=rb-0.3.5&q=80&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&s=60122081a1d6caeee2f6c1dc4ff2eef8" width="640" /></div>
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Social media marketing is as important as SEO in this day and age. A <a class="external" href="http://adage.com/article/media/turner-reveals-marketers-millennials/302139/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">third of millennials</a> say they prefer to communicate with businesses via social media. So you need to optimize your website for social media marketing. The first mistake you should never make is viewing your website and your social media channels as mutually exclusive parts.</div>
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Yes, <a class="external" href="https://bant.io/blog/articles/can-social-media-help-you-meet-your-b2b-sales-quota/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">social media can help you meet your B2B sales quota</a>, but this only happens when you combine your SEO efforts with your social media efforts. And that involves optimizing your website. This guide is going to show you some of the things you have to do in order to get ready for social media marketing.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Connecting with Social Media</span></div>
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In order to <a class="external" href="http://blog.leadcrunch.com/how-to-generate-b2b-business-leads-through-linkedin" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">generate B2B business leads through LinkedIn,</a> you can’t just operate on LinkedIn. You must form a clear path between this social media network and your website. Including your website in the bio of your profile is relatively simple, but not a lot of companies use their website to link back to their social media accounts.</div>
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Such a simple change can make a huge difference.</div>
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Display these links prominently and don’t just install a sharing bar at the bottom of your page. This may require some additional add-ons or some more coding, but it’s well worth the effort in the long-term. There are plenty of tools that will allow you to do the same thing.</div>
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For example, WordPress comes with a range of third-party add-ons that will do this for you automatically. You want it to be easy for users to get from social media to your website and your website to social media. You also want to make it easy for them to share content from your site to their social media feeds.</div>
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Begin with the basics here. Facebook and Twitter are two <a class="external" href="https://blog.kissmetrics.com/which-social-accounts-matter/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">essential social media networks</a>, but then you have to look into other platforms. See what LinkedIn and Pinterest can do for your business.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Provide Regular New Content</span></div>
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You likely already know that you have to provide new and <a class="external" href="https://moz.com/blog/how-to-provide-unique-value-in-your-content-whiteboard-friday" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">unique content</a> on a consistent basis for SEO reasons. This is just as important on social media, though, because you always need something new to share. You have to give people a reason to actually come to your blog.</div>
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For example, the <a class="external" href="http://1face.com/new-generation-business-leaders-view-philanthropy-2/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">new generation of business leaders view philanthropy</a> as an essential marketing tool because it’s a type of content that attracts people. Sometimes they involve themselves in such efforts just to generate this new and relevant content.</div>
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In order to perform at your best on both platforms you need to go further than writing a simple blog post with a few images. Change up your content and make it as varied as possible. Other forms of content will improve the user experience and allow you to rank for more keywords.</div>
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Use video marketing for maximum effect in this day and age. It takes up the most real estate on both Google and social media. Plus, it’s been shown time and time again that videos are far more engaging, particularly to mobile users. The only downside is this type of <a class="external" href="https://blog.kissmetrics.com/ingredients-of-great-content/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">great content</a> takes more effort to actually create.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Make Your Content Interactive</span></div>
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You may notice that nothing so far has include anything to do with the technical SEO aspects. This is because they come in a distant second to the user experience. A positive user experience will always do far more for you than stuffing lots of keywords in your content.</div>
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Give people a reason to view your website and signup to it via <a class="external" href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/interactive-blog-post" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">interactive content</a>. Social media should be the start of your sales funnel, whereas your website takes the customer relationship to the next level. Rather than forcing visitors to go through long registration or purchasing processes, allow people to register via their social media accounts.</div>
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Popular commenting platforms like Livefyre and <a class="external" href="https://disqus.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Disqus</a> allow people to just sign in with their Facebook profiles. This will improve your visibility because any comments are going to be representative of both website and social media popularity, both at the same time.</div>
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Plus, many of these comments will be seen by friends on social media, so it’s likely to generate even more comments as well.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Conclusion</span></div>
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Generating popularity in both SEO and social media terms are connected to each other. You can’t treat them as two separate things. These three tips have shown you how you have to go about doing it.</div>
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So how are you going to be successful today?<br />
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<a href="http://www.business2community.com/social-media/3-ways-optimize-website-social-media-marketing-01503262#zClR5UztV6U0Xyrb.97">Source</a></div>
<br />Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-48863533004299350322016-04-13T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-13T06:00:14.169+01:00The critical importance of social customer care<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; color: #404040; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">No company these days can ignore the impact that social media has on customer service or client service.</span></div>
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Many companies have literally done away with, or heavily reduced their investment in staffed client service phone representatives and even call centers.</div>
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They understand that their customer is on social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn and Snap chat and these are the tools that these customers use to voice their opinions on a product or service, complain about issues and talk about brands, all at free will.</div>
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Without a solid <a href="https://www.clickz.com/tag/social-customer-service" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">social customer care</a> plan and flawless management, companies serving direct customers are at major risk of customer loss and worse, negative market share impact.</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/xtrackerx">@xtrackerx</a> Sorry to hear your package was stolen, Trevor! If you'd like to DM us, we can help. *GJ</div>
— Zappos (@zappos) <a href="https://twitter.com/zappos/status/717127527874080769">4 April 2016</a>
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I am happy to announce that I will be moderating the Social Customer Care session at <a href="https://www.clickzlive.com/newyork#agenda" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">ClickZ Live</a> on April 13, 2016 in Manhattan. This session is sure to be a vocal one.</div>
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As a sneak preview into this session, I wanted to share five important factors in this area and some tips from the experts in social care who will be on the ClickZ Live Panel.</div>
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Listen in to their answers to these critical decisions related to social customer care:</div>
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1. Should a company create a specific social presence (Twitter handle, Facebook Branded Page, etc.) just for their customer care area?</h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Nate Deeds – Director of Social Media Marketing at Open Table:</span></div>
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Having a support-specific social account can be great, as customers seeking help immediately get to the right team. Support requests sent to the general company account can still be replied back from the support account.</div>
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2. What is the appropriate response time in social media to customers? And what is it specifically per channel?</h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">David Basulto, CEO of Iographer:</span></div>
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During working hours, 15 minutes on twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. Five minutes on Snapchat.</div>
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3. How does a company handle the creation, management and transfer of social media care guidelines from one employee to the next and during times of transition?</h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Ian McCormick, KeyBank Director of Social Media Marketing</span></div>
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Creation and management should be handled with care, thought, and an open mind. Accept that whilst you’re developing these processes, that they may be subject to change over time. Build as many good relationship/partnerships as you can within the organization, so social has a robust support system.</div>
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Company direction can and will shift in any industry. When in a leadership position or in charge of a particular project, it’s paramount that you think on plans for succession once you’re machine is well-oiled, and firing on all cylinders.</div>
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4. How do you handle negative customer comments in social?</h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Nate Deeds, Social Media Marketing Director, Open Table</span></div>
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Taking the criticism dead on is best, when valid. Listen, identify the issue, and explain why the issue exists and what is being done to mitigate the issue going forward. However, sometimes people just need to vent. Not every negative sentiment tweet requires a response.</div>
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5. Who is your social voice? How do you set parameters for anyone involved in social to follow?</h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Ian McCormick, KeyBank Director of Social Media Marketing</span></div>
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Currently we keep our voice professional, but light, and humorous. Each interaction should be treated as if you’re talking to an old friend. The replies should not seem templated. The consumers need to know we’re actually reading what they send us.<em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"> </em></div>
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There are many critical decisions and daily actions a social media marketing team must take to keep a strong online brand when it comes to dealing appropriately with customers online.</div>
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Just as in general client services, a company that can exceed its customers’ expectations of a brand can rise above the rest.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">If you have responsibility for this function in your organization or run your own business you should join jus on April 13 at <a href="https://www.clickzlive.com/newyork" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: content-box; color: #6f94c1; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">ClickZLive NYC</a>. See you there!</em></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: content-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.clickz.com/2016/04/05/the-critical-importance-of-social-customer-care">Source</a></em></span></div>
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Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893719516833778034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4750449311101055554.post-91568246813002183242016-04-12T06:00:00.000+01:002016-04-12T06:00:25.722+01:00Something Big is Happening With Snapchat: Why Businesses Shouldn't Wait to Get Started<img alt="SnapChat_Update_2.jpg" src="http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/hubfs/00-Blog_Thinkstock_Images/SnapChat_Update_2.jpg?t=1460002868217&width=690&height=286" height="264" width="640" /><br />
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There's a funny pattern of awakening that tends to happen when a technological advancement sneaks up on us. It starts with a mess of confusion.</div>
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We don't understand the technology or its purpose: "<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I don't get Twitter. Why would I want to know what you had for lunch?"</em></div>
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It then evolves into miscategorization: "<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The iPhone is actually a pretty crummy phone."</em></div>
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We get so caught up in definitions, we almost miss the larger leap that's occurring: "<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Why would people use messenger apps when you can just text?"</em></div>
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Then, finally, we get it: "<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The iPhone is not a phone at all. It's an everything device. And Twitter is not about lunch. It's about removing the barriers to real-time publishing</em>."</div>
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While we're busy missing the big picture, a rapidly growing niche of early adopters is diving in. Early adopters don't get distracted by the need to categorize or define the technology. They just use it. And in repeated agenda-less use, the bigger picture becomes clear.</div>
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This same pattern is happening today with Snapchat.</div>
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Hang with me. Don't roll your eyes just yet. I'm going to pay it off. I've been a Snapchat doubter for a while now. Like many others, I relegated it to a fad or a niche service for a subset of a subset of the population. I'm beginning to realize I was wrong.</div>
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Snapchat is Shedding Its Skin</h2>
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First, the basics. Snapchat is a one-to-one and group <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/messaging-apps" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">messaging app</a> that has more than <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2015/05/26/snapchat-has-100m-daily-users-65-of-whom-upload-photos/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">100 million daily active users</a>. Long classified as an app in which teenagers exchange goofy self-destructing videos, Snapchat is beginning to shed its skin and evolve into something new. Last week, <a href="http://snapchat-blog.com/post/141902878020/chat-20" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Snapchat announced a 2.0 version</a> with a slew of new features, some of which will reshape the purpose of the app altogether. First, let's go through the features:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.625;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Stories now auto-advance:</span> To keep content flowing and viewer engagement up, Snapchat stories now auto-advance.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.625;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">200 stickers added in private chat:</span> While stickers may seem small, this addition brings Snapchat in parity with one of the more popular features on other messaging apps such as LINE and Facebook Messenger.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.625;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Upload photos from your phone: </span>Another crowd-pleaser, this moves Snapchat from solely an "in-the-moment app" to one that can be used to share and react to the past.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.625;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">10-second looped video and audio notes:</span> With video and audio notes, users can post genuine, human reactions as opposed to falling back on "LOL" or other anachronistic responses.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.625;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Phone calls & video calls: </span>This is where things start to get interesting. Users can place full phone or video calls right within Snapchat, so you can seamlessly move from sharing 10-second bursts and pictures to having a longer conversation.</li>
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On their own the features are interesting, but it's the message behind the features that really caught my attention. Together, these features amount to a very clear benefit: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">The removal of limits to how you communicate with others remotely.</span></div>
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Think about it: Every other app or device we use for communication requires a certain category or format of that communication. Phones are great for long-form audio. SMS is great for text and sometimes images. Other messenger apps are great for short form messages and transactional conversations. But before this release, no single app or device optimized for all the ways humans communicate: long form, short form, audio, video, text, photo, and drawing.</div>
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Which means that Snapchat, for now, is actually pretty special.</div>
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Snapchat Wants to BE Your Phone</h2>
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<a href="http://techcrunch.com/video/snapchat-2-0-demo/519615518/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">TechCrunch picked up on this</a> immediately. In a review of the new Snapchat features, TechCrunch called the app social media bedrock, saying:</div>
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Photos that self destruct in 10 seconds aren’t even the point of Snapchat anymore. With today’s launch of Snapchat 2.0, Snapchat wants to <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">BE</span> your phone.”</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">But, I already have a phone. It's the larger black box that contains Snapchat and the other apps I've downloaded. </em>Sure, that's true. But think for a moment about all the individual apps you'd need from within that phone to equate what Snapchat now enables you to do in one.</div>
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"It lets private conversations morph between mediums depending on what users want to show or tell," explains <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/29/snapphone/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">TechCrunch editor-at-large Josh Constine</a>. "Snapchat is positioning itself as the most vivid, human way to chat.”</div>
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And it's doing so in a single, simple interface.</div>
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Last fall, Designer Tony Aube wrote a fascinating essay -- "<a href="https://medium.com/swlh/no-ui-is-the-new-ui-ab3f7ecec6b3#.s4d1ezx3x" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">No UI is the New UI</a>" -- which asserts that to date, much of remote human interaction has taken place through the filter of some sort of user interface. However, messaging apps are moving us toward a near-invisible UI. Aube went on to say:</div>
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What make [messaging apps] special is that they don’t use a traditional UI as a mean[s] of interaction. Instead, the entire app revolves around a single messaging screen."</div>
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That screen, which can now nimbly move between image, face-to-face, audio, and other forms of communication, removes some of the technical congestion found in other apps -- congestion which can cloud and limit the experience.</div>
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"We’ve learned a ton about how people talk, but our goal remains unchanged,"<a href="http://snapchat-blog.com/post/141902878020/chat-20" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Snapchat explains in its launch post</a>. "We want Chat to be the best way to communicate -- second only to hanging out face-to-face."</div>
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Do You Want a Side of Fries With That Hype?</h2>
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It's easy to read all of the excitement over the new Snapchat features and think we've all been blinded by a good PR team. But this actually isn't about Snapchat at all. Rather, it's an observation on how the systems we use to communicate are evolving.</div>
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One of the best explanations I've seen of how a single technology gains adoption and in turn advances society is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Gartner hype cycle</a>. Here it is, as illustrated by, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucgaloppin/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Luc Galoppin</a>:</div>
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<img alt="6074160455_20d4203ea2_z.jpg" class="alignCenter shadow" data-constrained="true" src="http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/hubfs/6074160455_20d4203ea2_z.jpg?t=1460002868217&width=640" style="border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; padding: 8px; width: 640px;" title="6074160455_20d4203ea2_z.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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In the hype cycle, the slope of enlightenment comes after the first rush of early success stories give way to more patterned instances of how the technology can benefit society and business. In the slope of enlightenment, those benefits start to crystallize and become more widely understood.</div>
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I'd argue that with Snapchat -- and other messaging apps -- we're just starting to emerge from the "trough of disillusionment." We're just starting to see beyond individual messaging app features. We're just beginning to piece together the larger shift that's happening in the way we communicate. Likely, it's a shift that other messaging apps and devices will pick up on and adopt.</div>
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Why Should Businesses Dive in Now?</h2>
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I'm not going to sit here and tell you your audience is on Snapchat. In fact, they might not be ... yet. But there <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">is</em> a benefit to wading into this emerging channel early.</div>
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Below is an illustration -- <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucgaloppin/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">by Luc Galoppin</a> (and annotated by me) -- of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_adoption_life_cycle" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">standard adoption curve</a> in which products and technologies go through on their path to ubiquity. Note: Snapchat is currently at the tail end of the early adopter stage.</div>
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<img alt="snapchat-early-adoption.png" class="alignCenter shadow" data-constrained="true" src="http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/hubfs/snapchat-adoption.png?t=1460002868217&width=638" style="border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 8px; width: 638px;" title="snapchat-early-adoption.png" width="638" /><br />
Early adopters are both impressive and essential to technological advancement. Namely because early adopters don't feel the compulsion to classify new technologies. They just want to get in and use them. Sometimes in doing so, they create new use cases that the app inventors didn't even think about. In turn, early adopters shape second and third iterations of products, and have shaped this latest release from Snapchat. Behavior precedes strategy. And strategy that natively understands that behavior is all the more effective.</div>
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You won't necessarily understand the potential of Snapchat by reading about it. You have to get in there, follow people, and use it. So even if your audience isn't quite there yet, there's a case for trying it out with the early majority ... before the late majority arrives. That's what we did.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Want a starting point? <a href="https://www.snapchat.com/add/hubspotinc" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1db; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">HubSpot just launched our own Snapchat account</a>. You can start learning how companies use the app by opening Snapchat and searching for:<a href="https://www.snapchat.com/add/hubspotinc" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">HubSpotinc</a>.</em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/snapchat-business-update">Source</a></em></div>
Amelia Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01945550856972125350noreply@blogger.com