Social media continues to play an even larger role in not only gaining customers, but in retaining and building relationships with current customers. Best selling author Erik Qualman reported in his video #Socialnomics 2014, that 93% of shoppers’ buying decisions are influenced by social media and that 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations, while only 14% trust advertisements.
But what about your current customers? Continue reading
You may remember Erik Qualman’s very popular video The Social Media Revolution, that was originally published in 2009 in conjunction with his #1 best selling book (and one of my personal favorite social media books) Socialnomics. His original video from 2009 brought us some eye-opening statistics, including: Continue reading
As we settle into 2014, marketers continue to reevaluate their strategies to determine how to better reach, nurture, and convert customers this year. When creating their 2014 marketing strategies, marketers are evaluating the different trends predicted by industry experts. One of the most discussed predictions for 2014 is the importance of creating highly personalized content across all different digital marketing platforms (i.e. website, blogs, social media, email marketing, etc.). In addition, a trend that I expect to continue to grow during 2014 is the importance of having an integrated marketing strategy that connects social media, SEO, content marketing, email, PPC, PR, and event marketing to create a cohesive experience for potential customers. Continue reading
Over the past year there have been a lot of changes in the SEO world, with the Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird updates the game has changed for all marketers. SEO is now the life force behind all marketing efforts, from social media, to content marketing, to lead nurturing all aspects of marketing are interconnected. But, with changes to the marketing landscape happening at every corner, many marketers are looking for advice on how to prepare for the future. Luckily, now all marketers can get advice from the experts on the future of SEO, social media, and marketing with the following infographic. Continue reading
This is a basic of marketing, digital or not. For example, If you are selling custom hunting bows, you wouldn’t advertise in the Vogue magazine. Instead, you will analyze the reader demographics and psychographics of each magazine to determine which magazines will allow you to best reach your target audience. This same process should be used for determining which social media platforms you should focus the majority of your efforts on.
The infographic below from Social Barrel analyzes the audiences that frequent ten of the most popular social media platforms to help you decide where you should focus your efforts. Continue reading
With regular algorithm updates, search engine optimization is a game with ever changing rules. What helped websites achieve top position in search rankings last year (sometimes even last quarter) is frequently no longer a high priority or even relevant to current SEO strategies. To help digital marketers better understand the factors that determine which websites rank higher in search results than others Searchmetrics, a leading search analytics technology company, recently published their Ranking Factor – Rank Correlation study. The study evaluated factors that differentiate better-positioned websites from pages placed further back in the Google.com organic search results, and compared those factors to rankings in 2012 to current rankings in 2013 to determine changes and trends. Continue reading
Social media is 24/7. Someone is always tweeting, posting on Facebook, or uploading a new picture to instagram. However, for social media managers and businesses alike, this can be quite of a challenge. We obviously can’t be online all day, even for those of us who are social media managers or strategist. But how do you know when to best reach your audience? There are a couple different ways to determine when your audience is online: Continue reading
Ever wonder how much time you should devote to social media each week? While there is no set formula, this infographic breaks down the components of maintaining and measuring a social media strategy (based on a 40 hour work week). Maintaining a social media strategy is not only about scheduling tweets and replying to mentions. Rather, social media marketing is a living process in which each component is connected to the others. From content creation, to post scheduling, to campaign development, to analytics reporting, social media is an ongoing process.
The social media work flow infographic below assigns time benchmarks for eleven components of a strong social media strategy: Continue reading
This week I was honored to present at the Social Media Club of St. Charles April event, where I spoke about social media analytics and ROI tracking.
During the presentation I covered three areas of social media measurements:
The full presentation can be found below! Continue reading
Want to be a marketer? Well, make sure you know what it truly means. To become a successful marketer it is no longer about developing a catchy ad campaign that you will shout from the roof tops. marketing has evolved into a combination of artistry and science. The modern marketer must have a strategic and analytical mind dedicated to measurable metrics but that is always craving a creative outlet. Continue reading