SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook and Snapchat look a little different
It was a quiet day in the social media world yesterday – likely because the media in the United States was focused on a slightly more important topic yesterday.
But, big-time elections didn’t stop Facebook and Snapchat from quietly dropping a couple of updates. Here’s what we learned:
- Facebook’s update (kind of): It’s a feature that’s still in testing, but Matt Navarra is reporting that Facebook is testing a Reddit-style upvoting and downvoting feature in Groups. Because more polarization on Facebook is what we wanted, right?
- Snapchat is letting users publicly display follower counts. This can make it easier to see just how many people are watching an influencer’s Snapchats. If you were wondering, Kylie is the most popular Kardashian-slash-Jenner on Snap. You’re welcome.
The Crew’s take: Neither of these things are major updates, but the Reddit-style features being tested on Facebook could change how posts and comments are viewed and interacted with. It’s probably still a long way from going public, but it’s always fun to know what Zuck’s got going on behind the scenes!
SEO
Here are a couple easy keyword research tactics
Keyword research is daunting. If you don’t know where to start or what to do, you’re like the one person who’s trying to find a needle in a haystack – it’s not gonna happen.
It doesn’t have to be difficult, though. If you’ve got some ideas to try and strategies to implement, keyword research can feel more like a step-by-step formula than a shot in the dark.
Growth Content just put together a handy guide if you’re looking for some quick-win keyword research ideas. Here were our favorites:
- Do some research around alternative, comparison, and pricing pages. Comparison-style pages are huge for many brands – do some keyword research around terms for your brand and see if there’s any volume. If there is, it can help you convert some unsure customers.
- Research ‘People Also Ask’ questions. Google’s ‘People Also Ask’ section is great for users, but it’s a gold mine for keyword research. Check out what Google’s serving up, and base your keyword research and content on that.
There are a couple more tips in the full post here, if you’re interested in learning a bit more.
The bottom line: Keyword research is a lot easier when you’re coming at it with a strategy. Try using these tips to uncover some valuable opportunities!
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CONTENT MARKETING
Content marketing that closes sales: Where to start
We often touch the SEO side of content marketing.
Today, along with Steven Black, we’ll dive into the side of content marketing that not only pumps your organic traffic but also your pocket.
Indeed, according to Steven Black, “content marketing is all about answering questions, having conversations, and driving purchase demand upstream of product offer ads.”
To create content that sells, you should first understand what people want from your content:
- A sense of belonging.
- A message they can identify with.
- A community within which they can grow roots.
Effective content marketing is the kind that enriches your community and positions your brand as the leader. This is the kind of content that keeps your customers coming back.
And before you start typing any words up in Google Docs, here are some questions and points to consider in order to create sales-generating content:
- Understanding who you are as a company: How does your product or service better solve problems than other solutions available in the market? How are you narrowing whom you want to serve within a niche?
- Understanding who they are: Who and where are the communities you are serving? Are you neglecting them and letting them grow roots elsewhere? What are they passionate about? Who are the leaders? How can you reach them?
- What content can build loyalty: How do you create compelling stories that feed the passion pursuits of your communities? What are the communities most interested in?
- Communities are fluid: They grow and shrink, merge and disband. That’s why you should pay close attention to them.
- Create a process to measure the success of your content: Email subscribers, repeat buyers, community size. Whatever metric you pick, your content will have an impact on one of these. Measure it.
These are interesting points, but Steven Black ends the post with one more insight that can radically change how you create content:
“The object is not to be the expert in your niche, but rather an editor of a magazine that the people in your space want to read.”
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
AMAZON: Watch out, Amazon. A new website, called Bookshop.org, is challenging Amazon’s (very disliked by the general public) dominance over the book market. Check out this article to see how they’re doing it.
MICROSOFT: Promotion extensions are now available to qualified businesses in the United States. These let you highlight a special promotion in your ads!
SEO: Check out this article from Search Engine Journal, which breaks down Google’s explanation of DeepRank and how their algorithm is improving.
LINKEDIN: If you’re a B2B marketer, this recent report from LinkedIn is a good one to take a look at.
BRAIN TEASER
People have stepped on me – but not that many people. I don’t stay full for long, and I have a dark side. What am I?
You can find the solution here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Well, this is an interesting strategy
The U.S. election was yesterday, and the push to get people to vote this year was stronger than ever. Social media platforms were all over it, brands were closing up shop to let their employees vote – the list goes on.
Well, Nando’s (a worldwide South African chain) came up with a unique strategy to get its customers to vote: It served them bad food.
The restaurant chain offered a “mystery meal” for $3, claiming that it was on the menu to celebrate the joys of 2020.
When diners ordered the meal, they were served all sorts of disgusting food – from brownies and rice to carrot cake with mayonnaise.
The company said that the goal of this item was to show people what it’s like to have others choosing for you. The message being: Don’t let other people choose for you. Get out and vote!