3 Important SEO Tips for 2017

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

As a business owner, you need to make sure your website is seen by your target audience. Especially if you do business locally, you have to do everything you can to have a good rank on a search page. This is essentially the reason why SEO is such an important skill for business owners.

Now that it is 2017, it’s important to know how you can customize your website to fit current SEO trends. Here are 3 vital tips for you to improve your local SEO ranking:

Go Mobile

If you still haven’t created a mobile-friendly website, there’s no point of being on the internet. Nowadays, a responsive website is no longer an only option. The reason is because of the immense demand by mobile users. In fact, the number of people who use their mobile device to search for a local business has far surpassed searches conducted on a desktop computer. Because of this, Google has started to rank websites that are mobile-friendly.

When you implement a mobile-friendly website, you are able to reach your target audience more effectively. So if you’re still not using a responsive website, you have to make that switch today.

Direct Data is Important

As a business on the internet, you have to know that you’re not the only one with a unique business. And even so, there are other websites that will make use of the same keywords you are using. In order to land a good position with search engines, you have to realize that direct data is important.

With this in mind, you have to provide more detailed information about your business. If you are a restaurant, this means including your location, pricing, phone number, and whether or not you offer take-out. This extra information can play a huge part in improving your visibility to other people looking for you.

Voice Search is on the Rise

In the past years, there has been a big number of voice assistant products that have been released to the public. This new technology has become very efficient as a way for people to help them locate something very quickly. Many find that it’s even faster to speak into their device instead of having to type down something they are looking for.

Because of this, it’s recommended that you optimize your website with this strategy. You should use voice search friendly phrases that your potential customers could be using.

Apart from concentrating on improving your local SEO ranking, you need to remember to work on providing quality customer experience. Throughout the years, this has always been proven as the best way you can grow your business. In doing so, you get to have an edge over your competitors.

15 Social Media Tips You Should Live By

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

If you’re planning to put up a business this year, it’s important that you also have some knowledge on how to conduct the business online. Especially with the growth of social media, you need to know how you can make this work for your advantage. Here are some social media tips that will help you grow your brand:

Tip #1: Have a Strategy

Before implementing social media channels, make sure you have a social media plan or strategy that you can follow. Otherwise, you might not be able to grow your business. You won’t be able to regularly post things on social media without a strategy to follow.

Tip #2: Differentiate Each Social Media Channel

One thing you have to remember is that not every social media channel is the same. Each one works in a different way so you have to remember to follow what works best for each one. As the business owner or social media manager, you have to learn what works best on each channel you plan to use. You should also learn when and how often to post things on these accounts.

Tip #3: Don’t Be Spammy

While the reason your business is on social media is so you can sell to your customers and attract new people, you should not spam your followers. Avoid ending your posts with “Buy Now” or “Sign Up Now” as this will hurt your reputation on social media. These words are counter-productive and will not be good for your campaign.

Tip #4: Be Consistent

Even though you should be customizing each post according to which social media channel you’re posting to, you should remain consistent. This means that you should use the same logo, brand colors, links, and other things that identify your brand. This way, your followers can easily recognize you whenever you use a new social media platform.

Tip #5: Don’t Buy Fake Followers

While it’s good to have a lot of followers on your social media channels, you should also identify whether these followers are real or fake. This is because there are so many fake profiles on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram that are used to follow certain accounts. If you are hiring a social media manager who promises you can get a certain number of likes in a short amount of time, you should be cautioned already. This is a dirty tactic that could potentially backfire on you in the long run.

Tip #6: Avoid Talking About Your Brand Too Much

The idea behind social media is to be, well, social. This is why it is good that you don’t only post things about your business. You should also take time to post about your industry and things that are related to it. Your followers might find it annoying to see you talking about yourself all the time. If this happens, they’re likely to unfollow you or see you as spammy.

Tip #7: Share Original Content Too

Even if you’re sharing the posts of other individuals you feel is relevant to your business, you should also remember to share your own unique content. Invest in a blog so your followers get more acquainted with your business. If you haven’t put up a blog yet, it’s important that you get this up online before starting a campaign on social media.

Tip #8: Make Use of Social Media Tools

Thankfully, there are a number of tools you can find online to help out with your social media strategy. These tools can help you manage your posts so you don’t have to stay connected to the Internet 24/7. Try to do more research on which tools will best work with your business.

Tip #9: Be Wary of Your Metrics

From time to time, try to see how well your social media campaign is working. This will give you a deeper look at how efficient your efforts are. Since most social media channels have their own analytics features, you can take advantage of these tools to help you see your progress.

Tip #10: Properly Use Hashtags

Hashtags are important. It’s important that you use hashtags sparingly and not at every single word you post. One or two hashtags is recommended. Anything more than that is considered overkill. You should research on the best hashtags to use so you can achieve the right results you need.

Tip #10: Engage with Your Followers

Remember to reply to all the comments, messages, and the shares you get on your social media channels. This is a good practice to follow, especially if you are a startup.

Tip #11: Identify Your Target Audience

One of the best ways you can do a good job on your social media campaign is to properly identify who your target audience is and find out where they are found. If your business targets other businesses, the best platform to use is LinkedIn. If your target includes women, Pinterest and Instagram are the best websites to use. Do a lot of research to get the results you need so you can have an effective strategy.

Tip #12: Don’t Share Too Much

You should also remember not to post too often on your social media channels. Even though you share other people’s content, you have to limit the number of posts you share.

Tip #13: Make Use of Paid Ads

Set aside a small budget that you can use for paid ads. Though this will cost you some money, you’ll be able to reach other people who do not have access to your posts.

Tip #14: Work with Influencers

Look for influencers whom you can work with to promote your business. These are individuals that have established profiles and a large follower count. With just a few posts, you can get your business noticed by these individuals.

Tip #15: Show Your Culture

Let your followers peek into your business. If you can do this, you’ll have a winning social media strategy. Your followers want to see the people who are behind your brand, letting them realize that you are human after all.

Try these tips to see how well your followers will respond to them. As always, social media is a continuous experiment that you get to learn a lot from. Don’t be afraid to explore your options and research new trends.

How Does Fake News Affect Content Marketing

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

Last year, we saw the prevalence of fake news vastly shared via social media. There have been rampant sharing of fake news camouflaged as a legit website. But even if these websites turned out to be fake (or sometimes satire), the damage has already been done. It was too late to retract such rumors as it had already been perceived by individuals as the truth. Because of this, marketers have been faced with the problem of having to deal with the effects of fake news. As for the readers, they’re left struggling with distinguishing the difference between fake news and bad news.

The truth is, fake news has always been around. The only reason we’re dealing with it right now is because there has been a sudden spike in the number of stories that were either partially untrue or meant to mislead the readers. This has been pretty evident in the recently concluded Presidential elections, as things got heated and led to the exchange of harsh words amongst friends and family members on social media.

Thankfully, both Facebook and Google have become alarmed by the prevalence of fake news. This prompted them to announce their plans of tracking down stories that were of such nature. But how does it affect content marketing? How do you even determine whether a story is fake or not? Let’s look at things deeper.

How to Identify Fake News

According to FactCheck.org, it doesn’t take a genius to determine fake news. Here are some of the things to look out for:

  • Source Credibility. One of the easiest ways to determine whether or not you’re reading legit news is to look at the URL of the page you’re reading. Try to remember the real URL names and extensions of the legit websites. Simple things like using ‘z’ instead of ‘s’ in ‘news’ can already tick you off. And of course, the extension of the domain is usually in ‘.com’ instead of ‘.website.’ or ‘.com.co.’ Remember, these websites were meant to mislead its readers into thinking they are reading something from a trustworthy news network.
  • Go Beyond the Headline. Most of the time, these websites attract readers by using clickbait titles that are sure to catch your attention. Before you believe the headline, make it a point to read the entire article. Don’t stop at the headline.
  • Look for Quoted Sources. You should also check whether or not the article is linking to another questionable website. This is because there are tons of fake news websites that link to one another. As much as possible, check that the source of the article is a real government website or another credible publication.
  • Check the Author’s Name. Take a look at the name of the author. If there is a name attached to the article, you can perform a quick search to tell you how credible that person is.

So How Does This Affect Content Marketing?

Fake news does not only affect those in content marketing, but everyone in the field of journalism. It creates a bad image for authors, writers, and editors. As a content marketer, it could also hurt your campaign as it could destroy your readers’ trust in the things they find online.

The best way you can combat this is to make sure every content you publish on your website has been fact-checked and verified. If you have any stories to pitch, make sure to do this with reputable reporters and media outlets. This is the best way you can fight against fake news.

2 Important Tips on Creating Content

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

No matter how good your article is, if it’s not getting the traffic it deserves, it might as well be buried on the Internet. But how do you make sure that your articles will be read by your target audience? After going through the different strategies online, it all boils down to how well you practice content marketing. The success of your content is not derived from your industry, your writing skill or the number of keywords you include in the article. Instead, it has more to do on how well you thought out the content, created the headline, and used the right meta description and tags for search engines to pick up your article.

If you run a content marketing agency, it’s important that you know how to provide content that people are searching for. The reason behind this is so you don’t waste time and energy preparing a post that will not be read by your targeted audience. After all, this costs you a lot of money to produce. Here are some tips to help you create content that your audience is looking for:

Tip #1: Make use of content ideation

According to studies, consumers spend up to 79 days to check out their options before they decide to make a purchase, especially if it is a big one. They do so by conducting their own research of their other options and what they can do to make this decision better. This is why you need to have your content available to them and offer valuable information. In doing so, your consumers can trust your brand. When it’s time for them to make their decision, they’ll remember your company right away.

The best way you can do this is to conduct a research of your own. This means you should take advantage of social sites and keyword tools to help you get the information you require. Apart from searching for ideas online, you can ask other people to give you ideas on what they would normally inquire about a particular product they are interested in purchasing. With this wealth of information, you can already come up with some topics to write. You can compile these ideas into your editorial calendar so you can keep producing content consistently.

Tip #2: Make the most out of your headline

Sure, you may be using the right keywords for your article, but if your headline is not interesting enough, it might not get the notice needed. When coming up with a title for your article, you have to remember to be clear with what you are presenting in your article. You don’t need to have a witty title as it does not always get people to click your article. Remember, you only have around 65 characters to work with so make each one count. Here are a few tips for a clickable headline:

  • Be descriptive. Include a bracket that summarizes your content, like [Infographic] or [Video].
  • Announce if you have added photos. Include “Photo(s)” in your headline as these perform better.
  • Use “How To” to solve a problem.
  • Create a list. This will give your readers an idea of how many items they are going to browse through in your article.

Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to producing quality content all the time.

How You Can Use Instagram Stories for Marketing

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

Just recently, Instagram introduced its newest feature called Instagram Stories. For everyone who’s been using their mobile device for the past few years, they can immediately connect this new feature as something similar to popular app, Snapchat. This is because Instagram Stories gives its users an avenue where they could share posts at a higher frequency. Instead of the typical Instagram photos being shared, Stories gives users the ability to share little moments that are not necessarily captured on a single photo. After all, there is only very little a photo can tell.

With Stories, Instagram hopes this would answer the common issue of overposting. Since these can be found on another space on the app, users can post as much as they want without worrying about taking over their friends’ feeds. As a marketer, however, how do you take advantage of Instagram’s newest feature? Find out below.

How Instagram Stories Benefits Marketers

Mostly speaking, Instagram Stories is greatly beneficial for marketers who have an active audience base on the app. If you already use Instagram to promote your products and services extensively, you’ll get the hang of using Stories. This is because this new feature allows you to create a light-hearted feed without necessarily starting all over again. You still get to relay your message to your followers but avoid oversaturating them with too many photos you shared.

Another advantage you have over using Stories is that you have more chance of being discovered by other users, particularly the ones you have not yet touched base with. Compared to Snapchat, you won’t have to continually promote your content regularly across other channels in order to be seen by people. With Stories, you have the help of hashtags, geotags, and even the Discover section on Instagram. These tools are specifically there to help increase your chances of being discovered by other users.

Will This New Feature Stick?

Looking at it from an overall perspective, Stories is an entirely different approach compared to Instagram’s photo sharing style. And considering there’s now a demand for transitory content (somewhat similar to Snapchat), Instagram Stories seems to be taking a shot on this new approach. Not to mention, there’s not much thought that needs to be put into Stories compared to a photo.

With this in mind, there’s no saying that ephemeral content would be going away anytime soon; especially since it’s an approach that has become such a success over the recent years. This gives each marketer a chance to take advantage of Instagram Stories as a new way to promote content.

What Type of Content Should You Publish?

As a marketer, you have to remember that the things you publish on your feed have a purpose—to sell your products and services. This is why you should remember to correlate this goal with the content you are sharing with your followers. Here are a few ideas on what type of content would be great to share on Instagram Stories:

  • Behind the scenes. Give your followers a look at what goes on in your office and how everyone works together to create a product. This lets your followers develop a deeper understanding of your brand.
  • Do a take over. You can partner with another establishment to document how you go about with their business and how they do with yours. This makes your audience interested in what goes on behind your business.
  • Poll on the next post. Include your audience in your decision-making process to make them feel more involved in your business.
  • Host a Q&A. Your followers love to hear what you have to say about a particular situation or topic. Indulge them.
  • Limited sales. If you are having a discount, you can highlight a particular product and let your followers know why they should purchase it.

There are plenty of other things you can post on Instagram Stories. You can try out new things and see whether or not they work for you. The important thing is that you determine your own brand and what works for your own business.

 

What Your Audience Wants to See on Your Social Media Pages

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

As they all say, content is king! But how do you continue to provide the best content when the demands for content marketing continually change over time? How do you make sure that your content marketing efforts don’t go to waste? One good thing to remember is to pay close attention to your audience. Do you still know who your audience is? Are you giving them content that’s useful to them?

HubSpot Research recently made a remark on how 2016 initiated a new phase of technology, one wherein consumer preferences and new innovations are important factors to consider for every marketer. If you are trying to improve your content marketing practices, the key to doing so is to identify if you are providing your readers the right content. So how do you determine this?

Here are some of the latest trends as told by industry experts:

 Videos

Video has largely become a vital part of content marketing. As projected by experts, 80% of web traffic will come from video by the year 2019. This will represent an impressive increase in video content and especially the amount of time people spend watching YouTube and Facebook videos.

How to make use of video content for your advantage?

  • Keep videos within two minutes in length to ensure viewers watch the entire clip.
  • Add captions and animations to your video so it’s easy for viewers to understand the message, even without listening to anything.
  • Cover breaking news, since this is something more users are interested in seeing.

 Social Media

Social media is never going to die, at least anytime soon. As a matter of fact, its audience is only growing bigger every day. To date, there are 1.7 billion daily active users on Facebook, 500 million on Instagram, 313 million on Twitter, and 150 million on Snapchat. These individuals are consuming more content compared in the past. Because of this, content creators have started to make use of these channels to connect with their target audience.

How do you maximize social media for your brand?

  • Use relevant hashtags sparingly. It’s not good to use multiple hashtags that aim to increase Twitter engagement. You can use a branded campaign hashtag for your audience to easily find content.
  • Use social media for your videos to gain more engagement through likes, shares, retweets or replies.

 News Articles

Nowadays, more and more people are using the internet to stay updated with the latest news. Based on the findings of experts, readers want to keep up with news articles; however, they don’t really read these articles thoroughly. Many readers tend to skim-read the articles or even get the gist of the content through the headline of the article.

How to boost engagement through news articles?

  • Provide an accompanying video to a long article so that those who don’t have time to thoroughly read the text can use the video.
  • Maintain your reader’s attention by using bullets, images, and by breaking up larger text paragraphs. 

Research Content

Readers are also looking for original research they can easily consume and understand. An evidence of this is proven by how successful infographics have become over the years. Your readers no longer want to spend long periods of time trying to decipher the information you provide them. Instead, they are more likely to appreciate it if you spent some of your resources providing a visual element that could prove to be useful for the content they are searching.

How does one make the most out of research data?

  • Make sure to provide effective data visualization through an infographic.
  • Remember to use color in providing the information you have collected as this improves your content’s readership and the attention span of your audience.
  • Break up text in easily digestible images. Remember, people tend to skim-read now instead of reading the entire text.
  • Provide actionable content so your readers know how they can apply what they just learned.

Information provided through an infographic can be more easily remembered by an individual compared to their reading text.

Knowing these things can help you with your content marketing strategy. You no longer have to second guess your tactics since you already know what it is your readers are searching for. In this way, you know that your efforts won’t go to waste.