Content Marketing

The Secrets of Viral Marketing: Optimizing Your Content for Engagement

Also called buzz marketing, viral marketing gets its name because it spreads through a population much like a virus – from person to person. Viral marketing involves spreading your message quickly through your target market. Social media is considered a particularly fertile area for viral marketing because of the potential for engagement with your content to amplify your message. Viral marketing is basically WOM (Word of Mouth) on steroids that also increases the trustworthiness of your message when shared by friends.

However, viral marketing is a myth when it comes to building a sound digital marketing strategy. Yet, I hear this all the time from clients and prospects;

I want you to create a viral marketing campaign that’ll really send my brand over-the-top

The myth of viral marketing

OK, first, I can’t guarantee a post, white paper, image, infographic or another piece of content will go viral and no one else can either. Nobody can guarantee an action will generate viral marketing and, if they say they can, make them back it up with some money. In other words, require a substantial discount if their efforts don’t generate viral marketing results.

Of course, I can use elements “likely” to make a post go viral (and we’ll discuss these later in this post), but I wouldn’t want to bet real money on the whims of social media folks because any number of factors conspire to reduce the virality of your marketing strategy, including many that aren’t under your control.

A good example of a campaign that went viral is Roto Rooter’s Pimped Out John contest, depicted in the image below. The image is so outlandish, folks just HAD to talk about it. Users shared the heck out of the image, commented snarky things that generated more comments, and even the media picked up on the outlandish elements of this contest, garnering an estimated $1 million in free publicity according to the Marketing Director, who was surprised with the unexpectedly high results of the campaign.

Virality

Rather than perpetuating the viral marketing myth, let’s talk about virality — that’s the advice of successful journalist, Benny Johnson of Buzzfeed.

In his presentation, Benny said you can never predict which content will go viral (hence why I suggest the strategy of creating viral marketing is a myth). You can’t form a marketing plan around something so idiosyncratic.

Virality, to a large extent, is beyond your control because it depends a lot on serendipity, as I mentioned earlier. You might publish 100 pieces of really great content only to have some mediocre piece go viral, blowing all your notions that you control virality. Among the uncontrollable factors that contribute to virality, are:

It’s a slow news day. I often see some virality around the holidays, when fewer brands publish content.
Your post appeals to someone very influential. For instance, one of my posts caught the attention of Mari Smith, a Facebook influencer, for some unknown reason and she retweeted the content. Views of that piece of content when through the roof. The same thing happened recently when Google Analytics chose a post about their platform to retweet (see the Retweet below and pardon the bad crop job), despite ignoring numerous similar posts published before and after.

Your post gets featured on an important site or covered in the media. Whenever my post gets featured on the front page at Business 2 Community, website visits spikes.

Certainly, creating great content increases the chances that your content goes viral, but it’s no guarantee.

The ROI of viral marketing

But, the bigger question is: When content goes viral, does it HELP your brand?

And, too often, the answer is: NO!

This brings me to the topic of today’s post: Myths about social media.

Next to the definition of myth in the dictionary, you’re likely to find the viral marketing myth. The viral marketing myth, believed by most digital marketers is so pervasive, I’ve even seen marketing materials touting the firm’s viral marketing prowess. Well, let me say emphatically, viral marketing is a myth!

Now, that doesn’t mean that some content doesn’t go viral — it does. For instance, I published a post on a client’s blog, shared it on his Facebook wall, and got a 1000% increase in website views when the post when viral. Dissecting the success of this post, I found it contained both a provocative title and a captivating image. The post struck a chord that MADE readers want to know more.

Of course, views aren’t conversions so we didn’t see a big shift in that critical metric.

Prioritizing Your Inbound Marketing Strategies for 2021

Marketing is a continually evolving landscape. You know this. We know this. But 2020 presented a different challenge than previous years, leaving marketers to dig deep into what they need to do to attract and nurture leads and customers.

2021 will be no different – which shouldn’t make you panic! Part of marketing is doing your due diligence, and we’ve combined resources to come up with some powerful strategies to consider prioritizing in 2021.

SMS Marketing

The popularity of SMS was already accelerating pre-COVID, but the pandemic made the importance of quick, timely, relevant messages more necessary than ever. People needed fast updates on everything, from closures to switches to remote learning. And SMS marketing provided that, plus an average 98% read rate.

SMS marketing is also useful for both leads and customers in non-COVID-related campaigns, as you can implement various campaigns that are engaging to both audiences. For example, for current customers, you can send them text reminders of appointments or meetings. For leads, you may consider sending them branding awareness campaigns or coupons that may encourage them to buy from you.

The best part? With a platform like SMSZap, getting started with SMS marketing is a breeze. You can set up your account in a few minutes, link up with your contacts in HubSpot, and send personalized and engaging messages.

Content Marketing

COVID restrictions sent most people home at one point – to shop or work, or both. This made the demand for digital consumption skyrocket. What does that mean for your efforts in 2021? Your content needs to be high-caliber and plentiful, as well as:

Interactive
Emphatic
Engaging
Relevant to current events (2020 saw everything from social change, major elections, and COVID)
Made for the diverse crowds

That translates to creating and sharing educational, quality content about your products, services, and your company to your prospects and customers. You can use various resources like blogs, ebooks, infographics, social media, and videos to deliver your messages. No matter what type of content it is, it should address your target audiences’ specific pain points at every stage of their buyer’s journey, including the awareness, consideration, decision, and delight stages.

Video

Video can technically be considered a part of your content marketing – but its importance in our “new normal” isn’t something to shrug your shoulders. People longed for some human connection that they couldn’t get in person. Think about how you can use video in your previously “typical” marketing efforts. Are you switching to more online conferences, events, or webinars? These remote types of content are not going anywhere soon.

Similarly, video is just proven to be a useful tactic. In fact, 79% of consumers reported that a brand’s video convinced them to buy a piece of software or an app. A whopping 92% of those viewers also said they shared videos with others. That alone should help you realize the value of investing in video creation and distribution.

Chatbots and Customer Support Automation

When COVID initially hit, people scrambled to cancel flights, hotels, concerts, trips, appointments; you name it. The importance of a quick and solid customer support experience was integral. But customers weren’t the only ones dealing with the consequences of such an uncertain year. Support agents were hit with an influx of tickets to their helpdesk. Fortunately, chatbots and other customer support automation helped and will continue to in 2021.

Chatbots automate specific tasks and conversations by speaking with a customer or prospect through an easy-to-use interface. They lighten your teams’ workloads by tackling more straightforward conversational functions that are necessary but can eat up time. Advanced customer service automation can offload a large portion of support tickets with a high degree of accuracy. These resources also delight users because more and more people want information as quickly as possible and don’t mind speaking over a chat application.

Social Media

2020 certainly had a prevailing theme, and it was that a lot of people were at home for a good portion of it. Because of this, more people were also on their phones searching for news and updates from their favorite brands. One of the most common places to find this is generally a company’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Brands recognized this too. In fact, social media budgets accounted for 24% of all marketing budgets during the second quarter of 2020. And the momentum kept. There’s tremendous opportunity to ride these coattails and continue engaging and re-engaging with new and existing customers through fun, engaging social media campaigns or advertising.

SEO

When the pandemic subsides, businesses with brick and mortar locations will likely want to send as many people as possible back into their stores. Local search engine optimization (SEO) can help. Try:

Optimizing your “Google My Business Page”
Including local keywords throughout your website content
Strengthening your social media presence and including location-specific content

Position Zero, or Google’s featured snippet, should also take precedence in 2021. As humans become more reliant on technology, they expect the best answer as fast as possible. Position Zero has the most relevant information that answers that user’s question without clicking on any link. Some advice on getting a featured snippet includes:

Figure out what your company can get a snippet for
Writing out the exact question you’re trying to answer in your website or blog content
Use lists or tables
Research related questions and answers – any question can lead to another!
Create high-quality content that isn’t stuffed with keywords .

Another vital thing to consider when tackling SEO is to remember that people are searching for things differently now. People are asking more questions or phrases rather than just words. They’re also using devices like Alexa or Google Home. Search engines recognize this more nuanced context, meaning, and intent to deliver results, so keep it in mind for 2021.

By: Kelly Groover

Clwyd Probert

https://www.whitehat-seo.co.uk/ This presentation was made my Karen Rafferty from HubSpot as part of a seminar at the London HubSpot User Group in London. This video will show you the best tips for implementing a great inbound marketing strategy. You can download the free eBook here: https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/tips-… The full transcript of the video can be found here: https://blog.whitehat-seo.co.uk/inbou… Slides can be downloaded here: https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/londo… A summary article covering the main points is available here: https://blog.whitehat-seo.co.uk/tips-… We propose is to start to deploy a strategy to both your sales and marketing activities in your business.

It’s important just to reiterate here that with inbound marketing what we’re essentially doing is trying to focus on attracting good fit leads or opportunities for your business. And we do that through producing meaningful content that can enable you to have meaningful interactions with potential customers. It’s about just having good social etiquette. I’m, it’s not about interrupting people, it’s about actually being helpful, being responsive. Being very human in the way that you employ your marketing and your sales strategy. Which of the strategy from the video works best for you in 2018. Let me know by leaving a quick comment below. Details of the next London HUG event #LondonHUG can be found here: https://www.whitehat-seo.co.uk/hubspo…

How To Help Your Clients With Website Content Strategy

For small and medium-sized organizations, content is usually the trickiest part of putting together a website. That often results in it being the one thing web designers are left waiting for when trying to finish off a project. Even if the overall design and functionality are a go, a lack of content halts progress.

Over the years, I’ve found myself asking why this is such a challenge. But after seeing it time and again, a few things have become clear.

First, clients are generally not content creators. Most don’t sit there and write on a daily basis. Therefore, they don’t necessarily know what to say. Or, even if they have some talking points, they might struggle in articulating them.

Then there is also the obstacle of time. People who are busy running their business or non-profit may simply have trouble finding a few hours to concentrate on writing. Content strategy takes a back seat to other tasks.

This presents an opportunity for web designers to come in and save the day. With a little help, we can get the processes of creating and organizing content moving in the right direction.

Focus on the Most Important Details

If you’re redesigning or completely rebuilding an existing website, some of the hard work may be done for you. You can look to that content for clues regarding what’s important.

Even if that existing content is messy, it can still be useful. Search out the key selling points and discuss them with your client. Present them as a means to achieve their goals for the project.

Each organization will have their own unique message to share. An eCommerce shop, for example, may want to talk about their attention to detail when it comes to customer service. Meanwhile, a medical practice will want to concentrate on their expert staff and specialties. This type of information can prove vital in content creation.

The goal is to help your client to narrow their focus. Having a better understanding of the task at hand can provide them with confidence. They’ll be better positioned to produce compelling content.

Provide Visual Guidance

Another way to help clients develop a successful content strategy is through visualization. We do this by providing templates or prototypes that outline the various sections of a page.

This offers an immediate form of guidance that your client can reference when writing. They’ll have a better idea as to the desired length of content, along with how to make it easy to digest. It takes a lot of guesswork out of the process.

Of course, they may not exactly stick to the standards you’ve set. But that’s not the point. It’s more about getting them to think in terms of how that content will be seen by users. Even if they’re not initially thrilled with the mockup, you can work together on finding the right balance.

Another side benefit is that this trains clients to take a more consistent approach. In practice, this means that although the content may change from page to page, the format doesn’t. Users won’t be treated to succinct descriptions on the Services page while being expected to read a meandering, 20-paragraph opus on the About Us page.

By providing visual guidance, clients can simply fill in the blanks. It’s more efficient and less stressful.

Promote Common Sense and Ease-of-Use

When it comes to organizing content, things can get out of hand in a hurry. And they often become extreme.

Some clients may insist on cramming a massive amount of information onto a single page. Others could be just the opposite, with secondary pages that contain no more than a sentence or two. Neither of these strategies is likely to be a hit with users.

Thankfully, a little education can go a long way. When discussing content organization, focus on these fundamental questions:

How easy is it for users to navigate?
Is all the content on a particular page truly relevant?
What is the overall point of the content, and, is it obvious to the user?
Should a long page be split up into multiple sub-pages?
Are we missing any key information?
What’s best for SEO?

By asking these questions, you have the opportunity to fill your clients in on the finer points of a user-first approach. The answers should lead everyone in the right direction.

Write It Yourself

There are certain clients who may never become comfortable with writing and organizing content. Or they may just be unlikely to get around to doing the work. This is not only fine, but it’s also an opportunity for web designers.

Invest $500 to get $2500 in a week legit and real

By offering to write the content yourself, you will take some pressure off your clients – not to mention make some extra money. It could be a win-win situation.

You may find clients who are very happy to delegate this responsibility and pay you for it. In addition, it allows them to act in more of an editorial role. They can review what you’ve done and then collaborate with you to make the content the best it can be.

However, your work will likely be better received if you put in that initial research. As mentioned above, have a discussion about the most important messaging points. This will ensure a smoother process and better end result.

A Proactive Approach to Content Strategy

As with other areas of web design, being proactive with content is often key to a successful project. Keep in mind that your clients are most likely looking to you for some guidance. Therefore, your expertise and leadership may be just what they need to move forward with confidence.

And, just maybe, it means you won’t have to wait around nearly as long for that content to arrive.

By: Eric Karkovack

Related Tags

The Digital Project Manager

How to get website content from clients without a headache? This is an age-old question that a lot of DPMs in our community are asking. Today, Alexa and I break down the approach we use to get the right files, on time, in the right format, when we manage website projects. Related Resources: When you’re done with this video, make sure you check out these related resources: Podcast: How To Get Website Content From Clients (With James Rose From Content Snare) https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/… Podcast: How To Project Manage A Corporate Website Build (With Rich Butkevic) https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/… Article: Deliver Your Next Website Project On Time With These 5 Tricks https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/… DPM Membership: https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/ Follow us on social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedigitalpr… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedigitalpm/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1809… Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedigitalpm

8 Reasons Why Your Content Marketing May Fail

Today, nearly every business is attempting to become a content marketer. The results aren’t pretty. The noise is deafening and while there’s plenty of great content, every industry is being bombarded with junk-cheap imitations of the idea of content marketing-create original, compelling, helpful content. You can trace the problem to a long list of problems.

Customers care about themselves, not you. Content marketing is not advertising. If it doesn’t deliver value, it has no value to your marketing.

In addition to content marketing, don’t forget online marketing sites. You can visit 40billion.com which is a fastest-growing network of entrepreneurs and crowdfunders. They specialize in promotion of small businesses by broadcasting and promoting to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for small businesses – including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, and even Facebook. Innovative services such as promoted company listings were created for small entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising. They also offer crowdfunding promotion and promote crowdfunders and their campaigns/projects.

Avoid Following 8 Mistakes:

1. Playing it safe

If you’re afraid to take chances with your content, you’ll travel down the middle of the road and become roadkill in the noisy media.

2. Perfection paralysis

You publish too infrequently for fear that everything has to be perfect.

3. Low standards

Too many marketers just contribute to the clutter and noise with their content. Aim high and aspire to be the premier voice of authority in your industry.

4. Talent shortage

Your content planning and creation team should comprise experienced strategists, writers, designers and producers. If you don’t have them, hire them.

5. Disconnected

Content marketing efforts backfire when they take place in silos, that is different departments and entities within your company fail to integrate efforts. You need to tell a consistent story.
Your content should provide clear direction regarding what you want the reader/viewer to do. Use a call to action that maps to your marketing objectives-every time.

6. Fire. Ready. Aim.

Enormous problem: marketers think channel before strategy. Think about the problem you are solving for your customer. Establish where your customer is, what they’re doing there and create your content accordingly.

7. Unbelievers

If your C-suite, fellow marketers, or peers don’t faithfully join the party, you’re doomed.

8. Too broad

Content marketing is niche marketing. You’ll fail trying to be the expert in everything or an overly broad subject. Focus.

Harendra Jani

About 40Billion.com

40Billion is the social network of entrepreneurs and crowdfunders – a social platform for connecting business owners and promoting the things they create. Use 40Billion to find professional contacts and projects, get affordable digital marketing and social media promotion, and show off your creations to the world. Awarded Best Small Business Marketing Platform by US Business News!

Source: http://www.40billion.com/post/71576

Why Marketers Should Integrate Video Marketing Into Their Content Strategy

There’s no denying that we’re witnessing a shift in the way content marketing is delivered. The rise of “stories” on Instagram and Facebook has changed the way brands deliver messages to their audiences. While there was once a time when long pages of text (like this) dominated content marketing strategies, today’s market is shifting toward the ephemeral, the fun and the visual.

A recent study found that 83% of marketers believe that video marketing is becoming more important for reaching and engaging new audiences. Among millennial audiences, two-thirds of social media users reported engaging with a brand after watching a video posted on social media.

Clearly, video marketing has reached maturity, and all indications suggest that it’s here to stay. We at IronMonk constantly use and recommend video marketing for our clients. One of our clients in the travel niche, for example, saw a 120% increase in conversion rates for tour packages when we created short-form videos to promote each of those tours. The company also gained 5,000 YouTube subscribers in less than a year.

In this article, we’ll discuss future trends in video content marketing and how your brand can capitalize on these growing trends in the year ahead.

What The Critics Say

Let’s face it: Email marketing isn’t as attention-grabbing as it once was. These days, our inboxes are jammed with Mailchimp blasts and “last-minute” ads for the hottest deals at every retail store you’ve ever been to.

I’ve heard critics who believe that video marketing is headed in the same direction. They suggest that the medium of video is becoming too highly saturated on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. As a result, videos command less of our attention, and eventually we’ll scroll past them without paying them a second thought.

What They Get Wrong About Video

What the critics don’t realize is that video content marketing and email marketing represent a classic apples-to-oranges comparison. On one hand, email marketing is a “push” technique that directly contacts individual prospects and customers and attempts to incentivize repeat sales. On the other hand, content marketing “pulls” new prospects to attract initial sales and leads.

An effective, diversified digital marketing strategy should include email and video marketing content. However, to suggest that video marketing will suffer from the same type of saturation as email marketing is to misunderstand the medium of video fundamentally.

The Rise Of Video Content Marketing And Its Growth Forecast

Many of today’s consumers want to be entertained. Rather than scroll through text or messages in an inbox, consumers may prefer to watch videos that are personalized to their interests. In fact, recent surveys indicate that over 50% of consumers are interested in watching videos from brands they support.

When done correctly, video content can make an excellent addition to your existing marketing strategy. According to a 2019 survey of business owners, 66% rank video as the most effective form of content for their marketing strategy.

I predict strong year-over-year growth in video content marketing engagement in the first half of the coming decade. There are two factors that point us in this direction. First, our mobile devices are becoming increasingly video-oriented; second, videos are most popular among younger demographics.

We’re all committed to continuously supporting, updating and improving all Video App Suite apps behind the scenes, with no downtimes or disruptions, ever!

Rest assured that every app included with Video App Suite will just keep getting better and better in the future. Our developers are committed to keeping up with future innovations and technical changes as needed to keep all apps performing optimally!

And don’t forget, you’ll be able to easily access any app on your Video App Suite dashboard from virtually any browser, with nothing to download or install – ever!

More than 70% of the U.S. population (subscription required) owns a smartphone. And as the number rises, more consumers will be able to access mobile video marketing. Further, a recent report found that 85% of millennials have purchased a product after watching an online promotional video, a figure higher than any other demographic. The widespread popularity of, and engagement with, video content among this generation leads me to believe that video-based content will continue to be a dominant marketing channel in the coming years.

Getting Started With Video Content

Considering integrating videos into your content marketing strategy? Before you get started filming your first batch of content, consider that there are a variety of highly engaging video formats that make for easy introductions to the medium.

Interviews: Interview an expert in your niche or field. These videos should be one to five minutes in length. We love doing these within our company and for our clients. You’ll first want to come up with a list of people who are popular in your niche, and then send them each an email requesting the interview. It’s a win-win because the interviewee gets exposure, and you get a video with unique insights.

Company Culture: This is a slice-of-life introduction video to workplace culture and environment, and should be one to three minutes in length. This is the type of video you want to promote on your careers or jobs page. You can also add it to your custom Indeed profile so applicants can see how great your company culture is.

Product Introductions: Demonstrate a new product feature and its use cases in a 30- to 90-second video. Your Instagram and YouTube accounts are thirsty for these! Make sure these are professionally produced, as they can impact your bottom line directly. You can afford a little bit of amateurism while doing interviews, but aim for perfection when shooting product videos.

Webinars: A Google Hangouts-facilitated educational video conference can introduce prospects to your sales funnel. Keep these between 10 and 60 minutes. Webinars are great for educating clients or prospects about a new product or feature. They can also allow you to answer the most frequently asked questions by your users, as well as live questions. Use them to showcase your expertise and authority!

Is Video Marketing Right For You?

With the increase in video marketing, it’s not unreasonable to think that video content might be a bubble. However, analyses suggest that video is a booming market for tech-savvy brands looking to appeal to a younger audience.

Increased conversion rates, superior reach and the ability to personalize are three main selling points of video marketing. By incorporating video content into your content marketing strategy, you can capitalize on this growing medium and engage your audience before your competition does.

Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?

Amine Rahal

Amine is a tech entrepreneur and writer. He is currently the CMO at Regal Assets and CEO at IronMonk Solutions. Read Amine Rahal’s full executive profile here.

Source: Why Marketers Should Integrate Video Marketing Into Their Content Strategy

We’re all committed to continuously supporting, updating and improving all Video App Suite apps behind the scenes, with no downtimes or disruptions, ever!

And don’t forget, you’ll be able to easily access any app on your Video App Suite dashboard from virtually any browser, with nothing to download or install – ever!

Tag: Content Marketing

The Secrets of Viral Marketing: Optimizing Your Content for Engagement

The myth of viral marketing

Virality

The ROI of viral marketing

Like this:

Prioritizing Your Inbound Marketing Strategies for 2021

SMS Marketing

Content Marketing

Video

Chatbots and Customer Support Automation

Social Media

SEO

By: Kelly Groover

Like this:

8 Reasons Why Your Content Marketing May Fail

Like this:

Why Marketers Should Integrate Video Marketing Into Their Content Strategy

Like this:

The myth of viral marketing

Virality

The ROI of viral marketing

Share this:

Like this:

SMS Marketing

Content Marketing

Video

Chatbots and Customer Support Automation

Social Media

SEO

By: Kelly Groover

Share this:

Like this:

Focus on the Most Important Details

Provide Visual Guidance

Promote Common Sense and Ease-of-Use

Write It Yourself

A Proactive Approach to Content Strategy

Related Posts

Related Tags

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: