From the rise of Pinterest to the ups and downs of Facebook post-IPO, 2012 was a big year for social media. The infographic below, courtesy of The SEO Company and Nowsourcing, showcases some of the top social media moments from 2012, including: Continue reading
With any inbound marketing strategy, customer outreach must focus on multiple channels; and, as we move further into 2013, well-developed cross-channel targeting will become even more important. However, how do we know where to focus our marketing efforts in 2013? Luckily, the great minds at StrongMail, an email marketing and cross-channel solutions company, did a little digging for us!
In conjunction with SurveyMonkey, StrongMail, administered an online poll to learn how more than 1,000 business leaders saw their marketing strategies changing in 2013.
Indicate the Marketing Programs You Plan to Increase Spending for in 2013
Based on the survey results, business leaders across various industries plan to have even more digitally heavy marketing strategies during 2013. Responders reported that they expected to increase spending on Email Marketing (55.5%), Social Media (51.8%), Mobile (42.8%), and SEO/PPC (39.8%) this year. In comparison, only 27.4% of responders thought they would decrease spending on Direct Mail efforts. Continue reading
Unique and frequently updated content written with the user in mind is a critical component of any search engine optimization strategy. The following infographic from Brafton, an online news and content agency based in Boston, explains how content impacts the visibility of a website in search results. It delves into several factors that impact how search engines determine the relevancy of content, including:
Pinterest has become the third largest , as well as one of the fastest growing, social media websites. After launching in March 2010, Pinterest was slow to gain traction. But, after summer 2011, traffic grew rapidly from approximately 5 million visitors a week at the beginning of October 2011 to over 21 .5 million weekly visitors by the end of January 2012. Not only has total traffic on Pinterest increased, but it has also become a excellent referral source, as Inc.com saw last year when Pinterest drove as much or more traffic to their site than Facebook.
At its core, Pinterest is a visual social network that brands can use to promote their visual content. Most brands already have great visual content they can use to build their Pinterest boards, such as the images on their website, or from advertisements and brochures.
When pinning images to your Pinterest boards, there are several tricks you can use to increase both the possibility of your image appearing in search results, and the number of re-pins and link clicks back to your website: Continue reading
The Whole Brain Group recently published an intriguing infographic explaining the key components of one of my favorite marketing methodologies, inbound marketing. I was drawn to this infographic because it compares traditional and inbound marketing before delving into the 5 steps to increase traffic and convert leads into customers.
In the infographic, the Whole Brain Group breaks down the inbound marketing process into the following five steps: Continue reading
I have had the great opportunity to work with Matt Wesson, a very talented marketing content specialist and graphic designer, on the development of the infographic below about the rise of “Social Media Command Centers”.
In the recent months, many major brands have developed what they are calling “Social Media Command Centers.” These centers are state-of-the-art listening hubs that allow brands to monitor their presence on major social platforms and be ultra-responsive to conversations happening about their company. However, with all their glamor, are these command centers really capable of delivering results, or are they just for show?
The following infographic, looks at three of the most noteworthy examples of social media command centers: Continue reading
Twitter can be a powerful tool for sharing information, following topics of interest, and connecting with industry leaders. However, for many businesses (both large and small), Twitter is still that “strange” social media platform that they would like to use but they are unsure how.
There are many different approaches that businesses can take when using Twitter, such as:
The following are three case studies that showcase different ways that businesses have successfully used Twitter, as well as lessons learned while implementing these different tactics. Continue reading
Twice a year, a global platform brings together people interested in better understanding and leveraging social media for their companies or clients. Social Media Week is a bi-annual world-wide event centered around the social, cultural, and economic impact of social media. This year’s second global platform was held in 13 cities from September 24th to the 28th:
Businesses large and small have discovered how to leverage their Facebook communities to strengthen brand loyalty and communicate directly with customers. The challenges that they have faced and the solutions they have discovered along the way are just a few of the things we can learn from the companies who are successfully using Facebook as a marketing platform.
The following are three case studies that I think offer a lot of great insights on how to use Facebook for your business, as well as a few innovative ideas about how to use different Facebook features. Continue reading
How do you measure the ROI of social media? This is a question that continues to populate blogs, webinars, and conversations between marketers. However, there is not one single answer. The ROI of social media depends greatly on each company’s goals, such as:
There are a vast amount of metrics to measure the success of a social media campaign, but there is still a large amount of speculation about whether social media can have a monetary return on investment. For retail websites, the traffic from social media sites can be analyzed to determine if they are driving visitors who are “ready to shop” or those who are “just here to look”.
RichRelevance, a leading company in personalized e-commerce platforms, completed a study comparing the real traffic to retail websites from Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and whether or not the visitors were completed the desired action (i.e. purchasing a given product). They compiled their findings and insights on retail site traffic driven by social media in the infographic below. Continue reading