A recent Facebook post by search and digital marketing expert Duane Forrester spawned several comments from content creators about AI tools using their content without compensation. This was sparked by Google adding AI Overview at the top of search results, which keeps searchers on the page instead of clicking on outside resources. That concerns those in the business of creating content and selling advertising based on that content. Google traffic is the compensation to the content creator, and without that “payment,” is it “fair use” anymore?

AI Overview and ChatGPT: How They Work

Both Google’s ‘AI Overview’ and OpenAI’s ChatGPT represent cutting-edge implementations of generative AI, transforming how users interact with and consume content. These technologies utilize vast datasets, often sourced from publicly available content on the web, to generate responses and summaries that appear directly in search results or chat interfaces.

Doc Sheldon, an industry observer, voiced concerns about this rush to AI, warning, “So many folks are rushing headlong into AI implementation that little consideration is being given to the risks involved. With no shortage of bad actors around to abuse it, I foresee a number of scary possibilities.”

Similarly, Scott Fish coined the term “AI washing,” expressing his worry that “we lose the context of the original source of data. People start sharing multiple variations of that, and we look back and say where did this even come from?”

Impact on Content Creators

Content creators find themselves in an increasingly precarious position as AI technologies evolve. Kristine Schachinger, a vocal critic, argues, “They trained on people’s content without knowledge, permission, or compensation… If I have a bookstore, I cannot take all the books in that store and then have them all scanned in and regurgitate them in a different format and call them mine.”

Jim Stewart echoed this sentiment: “Using other people’s content to stop the traffic migration to ChatGPT does not look like innovation.” The traditional ad-driven revenue model, which has been the lifeline for many content creators, is under threat as AI systems draw traffic away from original sources.

Tony Wright highlighted the legal implications: “There are legit issues. Legit copyright issues. People deserve credit and compensation for their work.” As AI technologies advance, the need for a robust legal framework to protect creators’ rights becomes increasingly urgent.

Evolving Business Models and Legal Considerations

The rapid integration of AI into content creation and distribution is prompting a reevaluation of business models and legal frameworks. Duane Forrester pointed out, “It’s the companies that jump straight into the deep end who will be our canaries in the coal mine.” This sentiment underscores the need for a cautious and considered approach to AI adoption.

Keith Goode shared his perspective, stating, “We’ll pivot. We’ll evolve as we always do. Ultimately, users will determine whether or not what SGE has to offer is what they want.” This highlights the industry’s adaptive nature, suggesting that while AI poses significant challenges, it also presents opportunities for innovation and growth.

The Road Ahead

As the debate over AI’s impact on content creation continues, it is clear that the industry must navigate a complex landscape of ethical, legal, and economic considerations. Marty Weintraub offered a balanced view: “We will market as AI evolves. Really in the scope of human marketing… it’s big, AND let’s not get our undies all bunched up.”

In this evolving environment, the key to success will lie in finding a balance that respects the rights of content creators while embracing the innovative potential of AI technologies. The future of content creation may involve new regulatory measures, business models, and collaborative approaches that ensure fair compensation and recognition for creators while fostering technological advancement.

Introduction: Unlocking the Power of Conversion Tracking
In his instructional video, Ivan delves into the fundamental process of setting up conversion tracking in Microsoft Ads, emphasizing the significance of this feature in gauging campaign performance and optimizing ad spend. He underscores the importance of having access to the landing page and thank-you page, emphasizing that affiliate marketers must have control over these elements to implement conversion tracking effectively.

Requirements for Conversion Tracking
Ivan outlines the prerequisites for setting up conversion tracking, stressing the need for a Microsoft Ads account and access to the landing and thank-you pages. He demonstrates how to navigate the Microsoft Ads interface and highlights the two critical components of conversion tracking: setting up the UET (Universal Event Tracking) tag and defining conversion goals.

UET Tag Creation in Microsoft Ads
With meticulous attention to detail, Ivan guides viewers through creating a UET tag within the Microsoft Ads interface. He provides step-by-step instructions and demonstrates various options for implementing the tag, including integration with Google Tag Manager, website editing platforms like WordPress, or manual installation. Through his clear and concise explanation, Iman ensures that viewers grasp the nuances of tag creation, empowering them to implement tracking code seamlessly.

Installing UET Tag in Unbounce
Ivan showcases the practical implementation of the UET tag on landing pages using Unbounce, a popular landing page builder. With precision and clarity, he walks viewers through embedding the tracking code in the header section of the landing page and thank-you page, ensuring that the UET tag is configured correctly for accurate data capture.

Confirming UET Tag Installation (UET Tag Helper)
To validate the correctness of the UET tag implementation, Ivan introduces the UET Tag Helper extension, a valuable tool for verifying tag setup. He demonstrates how to install and utilize the extension, guiding viewers through confirming tag installation and ensuring its seamless integration with the website.

Setting up Conversion Goals in Microsoft Ads
In the final segment of his tutorial, Ivan navigates viewers through defining conversion goals within the Microsoft Ads platform. He explains the significance of selecting the appropriate conversion category, such as sign-ups or purchases, and demonstrates how to specify the destination URL for tracking. With meticulous attention to detail, Iman covers additional options for refining conversion settings, including conversion attribution models and enhanced conversions.

In a recent video, McDowell takes viewers into the heart of local search optimization, offering practical strategies to unearth the most lucrative keyword opportunities. With his signature blend of expertise and enthusiasm, McDowell demystifies the process, empowering businesses to rise above the competition and claim their rightful place at the top of search engine results.

At the core of McDowell’s approach lies a simple yet profound insight: what businesses think they should be found for may not always align with the realities of search behavior. “If it’s just based on your best guess and not on actual research, you might not be reaching anybody at all,” McDowell explains.

To bridge this gap, McDowell advocates a systematic approach to keyword research, beginning with a thorough examination of a business’s services, products, or offerings. With this foundational knowledge, companies can leverage tools like SEMrush to uncover hidden gems within their local market.

McDowell’s tutorial offers a step-by-step guide to navigating SEMrush’s keyword magic tool, from identifying intent and search volume to assessing keyword difficulty. By applying filters and refining search parameters, businesses can pinpoint high-potential keywords that resonate with their target audience.

But McDowell doesn’t stop there. In a stroke of brilliance, he introduces an alternative method that involves reverse-engineering keywords from competitors who dominate local search rankings. Businesses can glean valuable insights and craft a competitive strategy to rival their peers by dissecting the keywords driving their success.

As the tutorial draws to a close, McDowell leaves viewers with a final piece of wisdom: keyword research is a journey of continuous iteration and refinement. “Write down the ones you want to shoot for,” he advises, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning and adaptability in the ever-evolving landscape of local SEO.

In the hands of Wes McDowell, keyword research transcends mere data analysis to become a transformative journey of discovery and growth. With his expert guidance, businesses can harness the power of local SEO and unlock the door to online prominence.

As McDowell’s video ends, viewers feel empowered and excited about the road ahead. With newfound knowledge and strategic insights, they are ready to conquer the competitive landscape of local search and claim their rightful place among the digital elite.

“Although it seems like your website search ranking is all about keywords and keyword phrases, how your website performs also influences whether search engines like Google will recommend you as a quality result to its users,” the insiders revealed.

The key to unlocking this digital conundrum lies in two critical factors: page speed and user experience. Page speed, the insider explains, is a fundamental metric that can make or break your website’s search ranking. Fortunately, tools like Google Page Speed Insights offer a window into your website’s performance, providing valuable insights and recommendations for improvement.

Optimizing page speed involves a multifaceted approach, from selecting a reliable web host to optimizing images and minimizing bulky code. Implementing browser caching and investing in a Content Delivery Network (CDN) can further enhance loading times, ensuring a seamless user experience.

But speed is not the only factor that matters; user experience is equally crucial. A mobile-friendly design devoid of intrusive pop-up ads is essential for captivating visitors and keeping them engaged. Additionally, ensuring readable content and implementing HTTPS protocols with SSL certificates can bolster website security and instill trust among users.

Furthermore, the insider illuminates the significance of site structure and URL optimization in enhancing search ranking. A well-structured website with intuitive navigation and user-friendly URLs can significantly improve search engine visibility and relevance.

As search engines like Google continue to refine their algorithms, understanding user behavior and analytics becomes paramount. Monitoring metrics such as pages per session and bounce rate offers invaluable insights into visitor engagement and can further inform strategic decisions to optimize website performance.

The power of your website and search ranking doesn’t stop with user experience; optimized content that convinces search bots to rank your site is the ultimate goal of on-page SEO. By harnessing the tools and techniques outlined in this insightful video, marketers can unlock the secrets to boosting their website’s search ranking and securing a coveted spot in the digital spotlight.

Rob Locascio, CEO of LivePerson, predicts that the AI-driven conversational space will ultimately have as much impact and be as big an industry as ecommerce, search, or social. Locascio was interviewed by Jim Cramer on CNBC:

Ecommerce, Search, Social… and Conversational Space?

When I look at the conversational space I think it’s going to have as much impact as ecommerce or search or social. The ability to talk to a machine and have a natural conversation, it’s in the collective consciousness of people. We all believe the Alexa type situation should happen with every company. 

We do that with Delta and T-Mobile and all these big brands. What we’re looking at now is how do we take that to the world? LiveIntent is proprietary technology to look at the intent that a consumer is having with the brand. In terms of I want to buy something, we have a way to analyze that and then use machine learning algorithms to then scale those conversations. That’s what this is about. 

Healthcare Companies Defending Themselves From Amazon Via AI

In Q4 we signed a couple healthcare companies. They want to talk about defending themselves from Amazon because Amazon said they want to go into healthcare. The way they think they can do that is scaling the conversations they are having with their customers and creating a totally different experience. You go to a doctor, you have an experience with them, you capture that on a messaging platform and an AI will help you with whatever is wrong with you. You want to process a bill instead of calling and being put on hold, you do that through a conversational experience. 

They want to game change it. The only way they’re going to defend themselves is to get into the conversational space. That’s what they see and we’re the company they’re trusting to scale their operations with the conversational platform.

Conversational Space Is Going To Be As Big As Search and Social

The conversational space is going to be as big as search and social. I think you’ll see one day that there will be a trillion dollar company in this space and I want it to be us. The things we’re investing in right now and setting up for will allow us to do that. That’s what’s important. The Amazon’s and the Facebook’s and Apple’s, they’re in the space. Jeff Bezos made a big bet obviously in Alexa to say this is the way it’s going to be. 

It can’t just be Amazon and Alexa. It has to be other companies getting access to that technology and that’s what we are providing. Who else is providing it? We’re one of the largest companies in the world to do this. Even though we’re not big tech, we are large enough to go ahead and go after them. We are large enough to go ahead and define a space and win it.

Rob Locascio, CEO of LivePerson, predicts that the AI-driven conversational space will ultimately have as much impact and be as big an industry as ecommerce, search, or social. Locascio was interviewed by Jim Cramer on CNBC:

Ecommerce, Search, Social… and Conversational Space?

When I look at the conversational space I think it’s going to have as much impact as ecommerce or search or social. The ability to talk to a machine and have a natural conversation, it’s in the collective consciousness of people. We all believe the Alexa type situation should happen with every company. 

We do that with Delta and T-Mobile and all these big brands. What we’re looking at now is how do we take that to the world? LiveIntent is proprietary technology to look at the intent that a consumer is having with the brand. In terms of I want to buy something, we have a way to analyze that and then use machine learning algorithms to then scale those conversations. That’s what this is about. 

Healthcare Companies Defending Themselves From Amazon Via AI

In Q4 we signed a couple healthcare companies. They want to talk about defending themselves from Amazon because Amazon said they want to go into healthcare. The way they think they can do that is scaling the conversations they are having with their customers and creating a totally different experience. You go to a doctor, you have an experience with them, you capture that on a messaging platform and an AI will help you with whatever is wrong with you. You want to process a bill instead of calling and being put on hold, you do that through a conversational experience. 

They want to game change it. The only way they’re going to defend themselves is to get into the conversational space. That’s what they see and we’re the company they’re trusting to scale their operations with the conversational platform.

Conversational Space Is Going To Be As Big As Search and Social

The conversational space is going to be as big as search and social. I think you’ll see one day that there will be a trillion dollar company in this space and I want it to be us. The things we’re investing in right now and setting up for will allow us to do that. That’s what’s important. The Amazon’s and the Facebook’s and Apple’s, they’re in the space. Jeff Bezos made a big bet obviously in Alexa to say this is the way it’s going to be. 

It can’t just be Amazon and Alexa. It has to be other companies getting access to that technology and that’s what we are providing. Who else is providing it? We’re one of the largest companies in the world to do this. Even though we’re not big tech, we are large enough to go ahead and go after them. We are large enough to go ahead and define a space and win it.

“Is TikTok going to replace Google? 40% of 18-24-year-olds report that they are using apps like TikTok to search for things like lunch. The engagement on Google Maps is also starting to grow down. In addition, people are now using fewer keywords to discover. They prefer immersive experiences instead.”

“Now, things are changing quite a bit because Google is actually starting to index Instagram posts and TikTok posts. If you use Google as much as I do for my business or you do any search marketing at all, stay tuned.”

Scott Tousley, Senior Team Lead of User Acquisition for all products at HubSpot, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth Podcast by David Kelly, General Manager at Sumo Dojo. Tousley discusses how HubSpot is using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to drive leads and sales:

Surround Sound Marketing Strategy Starting to Take Off

There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas. He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website. I don’t care where it comes from. Whether it comes from search or social or referral traffic or email, it doesn’t matter. You’re always looking at how do I get more traffic to my website? The reality is that when we are trying to buy something you don’t go to one website. You go to multiple different websites when you are trying to make a purchasing decision.

For example, I’m in South Lake Tahoe right now. One search I just did recently was “best bars in South Lake Tahoe.” I wanted to see a list and I wanted to see some reviews from a couple of different websites. I also like to surf, so let’s say I’m in the market for a new shortboard. So I search for “best shortboards 2019.” First, I’ll read a listicle, then I will go back to Google and I will click on the next list. Then I will go back again and click on the next list. Then I will start to narrow my decision based on seeing the same thing over and over. Once I narrow it down I will do a versus search such as “lost puddle jumper” vs. “channel islands average joe.” I’ve narrowed my decision at that point.

We Want To Be At All Stages of the Purchasing Decision

What we are trying to do at HubSpot right now is figure out how to be everywhere. We want to be at all stages of that purchasing decision when people are searching for “what is the best blank that exists today.” Well, there are a ton of lists that are out there and a ton of review sites and HubSpot’s B2B software (has to be there). There are a lot of review sites just dominating search engines right now like Capterra, G2 Crowd, and Software Advice. A lot of those are pay to play. You have got to pay to get listed on what appears when you land via search. Most of them are.

But listicles are free. Not only are they free to get added to, but they are free to create. That’s one of the biggest things we are working on right now. How do we change our mindset from being so obsessed at driving traffic to our website? How do we make sure that HubSpot’s brand is everywhere when you are doing your product research and you are on many different websites? We actually sometimes prefer that we drive traffic to multiple different websites where we are listed versus just to our own. It’s good for social grouping.

Listen to the full interview with HubSpot’s Scott Tousley.

First spotted by Search Engine Land, the issue has been acknowledged by Google and is impacting “a majority of users.” The issue happens when users try to access the Video pages, leading to an error message and red banner. The company says there is no work around, although it is working on a fix.

We’re aware of a problem with Google Ads affecting a majority of users. We will provide an update by May 19, 2022, 6:00 PM UTC detailing when we expect to resolve the problem. Please note that this resolution time is an estimate and may change. The affected users are able to access Google Ads, but are seeing error messages, high latency, and/or other unexpected behavior.

Google had already rolled Page Experience for mobile, but is now adding the feature for desktop, and will soon use it as part of its desktop ranking system.

We’ll begin using page experience as part of our desktop ranking systems beginning in February 2022. The rollout will be complete by the end of March 2022. This ranking launch will be based on the same page experience signals that we rolled out for mobile earlier this year. We are also planning to help site owners understand how their desktop pages are performing with regards to page experience using a Search Console report which will launch before desktop becomes a ranking signal. 

To help companies prepare for the changes, the company has provided additional information to help them optimize their sites.

See below for highlights from Rand’s thoughts on the changing SEO landscape:

There is definitely this problem in the SEO space where the amount of opportunity in SEO (is lessened), because of Google entering all these business sectors and taking away of a lot of the clicks and trying to solve the searchers’ query before they ever click.

This means that you just don’t have as much opportunity to earn search clicks from this search engine anymore.

Branded Search Queries

How can we overcome that? I think the answer in SEO is pretty clear, which is the one thing that Google is not taking away from us, branded search queries. If somebody searches for StatBid or they search for Moz or they search for the North Face, that is a searcher telling Google to take me to this companies website. That’s a very very powerful undeniable signal that they want to reach your site. You’re getting 90% plus click-through rates on those.

If you can increase the number of people searching for your brand instead of drawing a smaller and smaller percentage of the people who search for outdoor jackets, because Google’s placing all these ads above the fold and trying to say these are the best outdoor jackets and having an instant answer and a featured snippet and all this type of stuff, yeah that’s that’s a big win.

Combining Classic SEO with New Stuff

I think for CMO’s and for marketing departments it’s going to be a combination of classic skill sets in SEO. First, how do we rank? How do we make sure that our site is technically optimized? How do we make sure that we’re doing good keyword research and keyword targeting? How do we create good content around all these things and solve searchers problems?

Then I think it’s also going to be some new forms of marketing that SEO’s are not generally familiar with, at least not historically. Those are things like creative that draws attention and eyeballs and interest. I think it’s a lot of storytelling. Great brands are built on the back of great storytelling and that is traditionally a big weak spot for SEO.

SEO Teams Need to Get Retooled

So yeah, I think there’s going to be a combination of new and old. That could mean that some (SEO & marketing) teams need to get retooled or new people need to be added. It could mean that agencies will have to upgrade those practices and I’ve already seen some agencies in the SEO world start to do that. I think serving existing demand is going to long-term not be as exciting as creating more demand.

According to Inc. search abandonment — where a user searches for a product but doesn’t click through to the results — costs the e-commerce industry a whopping $300 billion a year. Google is working to address that with its new tool, which has been in private preview, but is now available to all.

“Search abandonment is a costly industry-wide issue, but for startup founders and small business owners, it can be devastating,” Carrie Tharp, Google Cloud’s vice president of retail and consumer, told Inc. “With Retail Search, we’re able to help convert site traffic to sales and keep startups and small businesses from leaving money on the table.”

The tool brings the power of Google Search to a company’s own sites.

Retailers now have the ability to provide Google-quality search and recommendations on their own digital properties, helping to increase conversions and reduce search abandonment. 

Cloud Retail Search should help Google as it continues to fight for cloud market share against its larger rivals, AWS and Microsoft Azure.

The EU has taken issue with how Google displays the prices for hotels and flights in its search results. The EU’s consumer watchdog agencies want Google to show fees and taxes as part of the final price, as well as clearly identify reference prices that are used in promotional discounts, Reuters reports.

“EU consumers cannot be misled when using search engines to plan their holidays. We need to empower consumers to make their choices based on transparent and unbiased information,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said.

Google is being given two months to make the necessary adjustments. If it fails to do so, there may be further discussion and possible sanctions.

Brave has opened its search engine beta to the world, following an invite-only early access.

Brave made headlines in March when the company announced it was working on its own search engine. Brave has made a name for itself as a privacy-focused company, with its namesake browser consistently winning rave reviews for protecting user privacy.

Needless to say, the company entering the search market could result in a major shakeup of the industry, especially with Brave’s clout and reputation. What makes its entry into the market so interesting is that it purchased Tailcat, an open search engine, to serve as the basis of Brave Search. Most competitors compile results from the top, existing search engines. DuckDuckGo uses this strategy, compiling results from hundreds of sources, in addition to results from its own web crawler.

By using its own web index, Brave Search’s results are independent of the other, Big Tech companies. This puts Brave in the unique position of having one of the only truly independent search engines on the market.

The search engine, while still in beta, is now available to anyone who wants to use it. The company sent an email to early testers today, informing them the beta was now open to the public.

Brave Search Email

As one of the early beta testers, I have been using Brave for weeks now and the results have been impressive. Compared to Bing or Google, Brave’s results are easily as comprehensive, although it sometimes offers even better prioritization of those results, in terms of relevance.

Add in a focus on privacy that is second to none, and I plan to continue using the search engine on a regular basis, and probably as my default — and you should too if you value your privacy.

Give Brave Search at search.brave.com.

Google has officially launched Search Console Insights for all users.

Search Console Insights is designed to help webmasters, writers and content creators gain better insights into how their content is resonating with users. The new feature can also show where viewers/readers are coming from, including what people were searching for before landing on content.

Google made the announcement on its blog.

This experience joins data from both Search Console and Google Analytics with a goal of making it easy to understand your content’s performance. Whether you are a web content creator, blogger, or a website owner, and independent of your technical expertise, it can provide you with an overview and helpful insights on how your content is performing. This new experience will gradually be rolled out to all Search Console users in the upcoming days.

The new feature doesn’t require an Analytics account although, obviously, it will provide more insights with one.

The move follows Google’s decision to primarily include free listings on the Google Shopping tab. According to Bill Ready President of Commerce, that move resulted in a significant uptick in engagement between customers and merchants. This would seem to indicate that people are having better success finding what they’re looking for.

“Sellers of all sizes are benefitting from this incremental traffic, particularly small and medium-sized businesses,” writes Ready. “And we already see that these changes will help generate billions of dollars in sales for retailers and brands in the U.S., on an annual basis.

“Now, we’re bringing free listings to the main Google Search results page in the U.S., helping shoppers choose the products and sellers that will serve them best, from the widest variety of options.”

Given the impact the pandemic has had on the retail industry, this move will certainly help small and medium-sized businesses connect with more customers online.

The public would eat this up. They are tired of mega tech companies trying to control information and manipulate us. Bing could take advantage of this by proving that they are the neutral search engine. They are the search engine that is merely showing the results based on a pure algorithm, not their political point of view. No one really wants their information filtered or sanitized by big brother. If Bing made this their marketing message they could gain significant market share. 

After all, search shouldn’t be about ideology or political correctness or only the mainstream media. Search results should be based on non-political factors only. Tech behemoths shouldn’t determine what fake news is and then proceed to delete that news from top search results. That is subjective and leans toward groupthink, which is often wrong. Let the people decide what is real news. Many would say that Google has gone too far in “protecting” us by promoting certain viewpoints and not showing politically incorrect speech. Why would they do that? It certainly doesn’t make business sense.

This is why Bing has an opportunity to rapidly grow market share by becoming the search engine for all people of all stripes. Bing should announce that it is the free speech search engine that will display search results without inserting its political bias. It should say that it isn’t going to attempt to combat fake news because that is far too often a subjective exercise and is anti-free speech. Bing should say that it welcomes news sources from both the right and left, not just the mainstream media. If Bing became the Free Speach Search Engine, it could force Google to change.

Let the free speech search engine wars begin!

To stay ahead of your competition, it’s now essential to have a good inbound marketing strategy in place. Here are four B2B marketing tactics you should be using right now:

1. Create and Curate

Useful and well-written content is a powerful weapon in B2B marketing. Posting long-format articles and discussing issues more deeply attracts more visits to your website and leads to higher conversions. A study by Moz showed a distinct correlation between social shares and content length. 

According to the data, readers love this type of content and are more likely to share it.

You should also post articles to your blog more frequently. A Hubspot report showed that businesses that blogged 10 or more times a month enjoyed three times more traffic than those that blog only once a month.

And, you can continue to reap the benefits of your old blog posts for years to come. Assuming that they’re good, consider repurposing older posts to generate more organic traffic by sending the content to your email list or posting them on social media.

However, creating good content takes time and effort, and sometimes a company might not have enough manpower to handle this. No need to worry, though, as curating content will work just fine. It’s a strategy that some marketers have used very effectively. Content curation involves sourcing content that is already on the web and organizing it in a meaningful way for your audience. Curating helps add new content to your site, builds value, converts readers, and helps generate traffic.

2. Collaborate With People Who Matter

Connecting and collaborating with experts and influencers creates more opportunities for your brand to be shared with a bigger market. 

Look for authorities or influencers in your niche and reach out to them. Discuss how working together will benefit all parties involved. Invite an influencer to host a podcast, write a guest blog or take over your social media page for a day. This will add more quality content to your site and boost awareness of your brand.

3. Get Video Ready

Scientific research shows that most people process the information they see 60,000 times faster than what they read. So it’s a good idea to incorporate videos and eye-catching graphics in your marketing strategy.

In 2017, video became the most popular type of content on social media, and the demand for it will only continue to rise among consumers. Because of this, more companies are using the medium to showcase their product, disseminate information, teach consumers, and reach prospective clients. 

Don’t forget other visuals like infographics and slides. Infographics have become popular over the last few years because they are an effective way of communicating a lot of data within a short time. These visuals are also easy to share and can be used to recycle your content and make them fresh and engaging.

4. Improve Your Site’s Speed and Load Time

A fast website is crucial for any business. People prefer sites that have a quick loading time. Studies have shown that consumers are only willing to wait three seconds for a page to load. Any slower and they are highly likely to abandon the site and search elsewhere. Plus, Google also takes into account the site’s speed in their rankings. So if you want to keep your visitors and rank high in search engines, make sure your website is optimized for speed.

Consumers today know what they want and how to get it. If you want to capture their attention, you have to step up your inbound marketing game. Adding visuals and writing longer posts are simple tactics but they can go a long way in generating leads and traffic.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

In the first quarter of 2018, Snapchat reported 191 million active daily users—that’s a lot of potential customers. One survey also showed that 86 percent of the platform’s users fall into the 13 to 37 age group and more than seven billion videos were viewed on it daily in 2016.

Despite these numbers, businesses are still not overly fond of Snapchat. A Clutch and Smart Insights study found that only 21 percent of businesses have Snapchat accounts. Compare that to the 89 percent of companies that are on Facebook, 80 percent on Twitter, and 56 percent on Instagram.

But this means that brands have fewer rivals and more room to maneuver on Snapchat. The platform is also evolving continuously, changing its user interface, featuring Stories for up to 24 hours, and adding eCommerce features. It’s also gaining popularity among older users as the teens who started using Snapchat when it launched in 2011 are becoming working adults.

Savvy marketers know that Snapchat can be a powerful tool for rising above the competition. Here are four tips to help you tap into the benefits of Snapchat:

1. Concentrate on a Younger Audience

Snapchat developer Snap Inc. designed the multimedia messaging app for teenagers. Recent data has shown that the company is doing a great job of keeping their young demographic engaged. A Pew Research Center study revealed that 78 percent of the respondents between 18 to 24-years-old are using the app. Meanwhile, only 45 percent of the same demographic use Twitter.

You can leave your competition in the dust by learning how to catch the attention of younger consumers. While a carefully worded call-to-action can be effective, creating an intriguing story or using entertaining filters in your Snap can exceedingly better. 

In 2016, Taco Bell rolled out a comical Snap filter that turned the user’s head into a giant taco. The Cinco de Mayo promotion generated a whopping 224 million views. Now, image how that type of attention could change your business.

2. Launch Products and Push Promos

Snapchat has a high engagement rate. As a matter of fact, it gets almost 4 times higher engagement than Instagram. This makes it a great place to launch your latest products or to push promos. Makeup brand NARS launched their new product line to great success on the platform. The company drummed up excitement by giving followers a quick look at their new line. Snapchat allows you to create short, informal videos that look unpolished but relatable to more users.

3. Collaborate With Influencers

Influencer marketing is a very effective strategy. Companies can draw in a big audience because their content will be viewed by followers of the brand and that of the influencer. It’s a quick way of develop a large following in a short amount of time.

One company who successfully leveraged an influencer’s popularity was Audi. The car manufacturer partnered up with the popular show Pretty Little Liars and quickly amassed 115,000 followers on its Snapchat account.

You can also have an influencer take over your Snapchat account and make posts on your behalf for a specific time frame. For instance, music producer Pharrell once took over one of the Adidas events.

4. Keep Followers Interested Longer

Snapchat is all about drawing people in and engaging them. You’ll have better sales results the longer people stay on your page or account. Other social network platforms keep followers engaged by having them take additional steps, like clicking on a link to send them to another website.

Snapchat keeps followers interested much longer because they have integrated eCommerce features in the app itself. For instance, users can use the app to call people, make dinner reservations, grab an Uber, or explore brands and their locations.

With its impressively high engagement levels, business-friendly features and low competition from other brands, incorporating Snapchat into your marketing strategy could prove to be a worthwhile investment. 

[Featured image via Pixabay]

Pinterest has become more than just a visual search platform. It’s more of a search engine now where prospective customers go to look for products. Statistics have revealed that 93 percent of account holders use the platform to plan what they want to buy while 50 percent have actually bought something after seeing a Promoted Pin. And with 20 million monthly users, it makes sense for marketers to take advantage of Pinterest’s power.

These seven marketing tools are among the best for helping generate more website traffic with Pinterest in 2018:

1. Canva

You need captivating images if you want people to notice your Pins, and Canva is just the design software to help you achieve this. Canva offers ready to use Pinterest Pin templates with a variety of layouts to choose from. The layouts are customizable, so you can easily change the font, text, and background image. You can also add more graphics or take out elements that don’t fit with your vision or website theme. You can use the app for free and just purchase new images or assets for $1. However, a paid version will give you more designs and photos to choose from, as well as the option of saving your logo or brand to make designing a board go quicker.

2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite makes it possible for you to create boards, make a publishing schedule, and post pins directly to Pinterest from its dashboard. You can also manage several accounts using this tool, making it easier and safer for your team since you’re just using one secure workflow. This full integration on a single dashboard saves time and makes it easier to reach a wider audience.

3. PicMonkey

Eye-catching images are what sets Pinterest apart from other social platforms. Retailers and service-based companies will have more impact on this platform if they use a visual format for their content. PicMonkey is an online image editor that can help with designing and editing your brand’s images so that simple shots become more compelling. You can give photos a quick touch-up, resize images, create image quotes, and overlay photos with text. More importantly, it’s free so you won’t even need to hire a digital artist or invest in Photoshop.

4. PinFollow

You need a lot of followers to establish your brand’s credibility, influence, and popularity. One way to get more followers on Pinterest is to follow other Pinners and hope they will do the same. PinFollow will help you weed out which Pinners are not following you so you can unfollow these accounts. This will streamline your list and leave you with more loyal followers.

5. PinGroupie

One of the fastest ways to make connections on this social media platform is through groups, but finding the right group board to join is tricky. PinGroupie helps you establish the best Pinterest Group Boards for your brand. This tool lists live group boards, allowing you to reach out to the owners and see if they are willing to let you join or contribute to the board. PinGroupie also has an industry sorting feature that you can use to check what kind of content other brands are offering and see if there’s anything unique that you can provide.

6. Pinterest Analytics

This tool provides Pinterest users with the basic metrics about their Pins, like reach, impressions, and what people save from their website. It also shows how much traffic your site receives and indicates what your customers want. It’s very simple to use; just click on the stats icon on your Pins to get an overview of the essential metrics. You can use the tool to improve your marketing strategy and come up with ways to get more clicks, saves, and impressions.

7. Tailwind

Tailwind is one of the most essential tools you need to successfully market on Pinterest. This analytics and campaign management tool will help you do everything, from scheduling the content you need published, to pinpointing your most influential followers to determining the most popular pins. It can also monitor your competitors and track the engagements on your account. What’s more, it seamlessly integrates with Google Analytics.

[Featured image via Pixabay]