digital marketing – Page 5 – Online Marketing Juice

Fortune 500 Data on Social Media

As of 2018, nearly 97 percent of all Fortune 500 enterprises use at least one social media platform to promote their initiatives and foster positive communication with stakeholders. This statistic was back in 2017-2018. I’m guessing in 2021, the % change is almost 100%. Its clear that using at least one social media network, such as Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, in order to establish a good communication line with stakeholders, customers and advocates is crucial in 2021.

Determine which social platform serves your brand or service better. Whether you are a seasoned social media marketer, a marketer looking to venture into social media marketing, or a business owner looking to leverage on social media, it’s helpful to know the most popular social media sites around that will amplify your brand. Choose the most popular platform based on your company’s product or client demographics. For example, Financial Advisors would choose Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter over Instagram. Actual product Fortune 500 retail marketers that need more “visual” branding would gravitate towards Instagram or Pinterest.

Pro Tip: Don’t let your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram gather cobwebs, you need to “show up” day after day with fresh content. Instead of spreading yourself thin across 5 different sites, focus on 2-3 primary accounts. Incorporating social scheduling and automation saves time and energy. Picking and prioritizing your social networks based on your audience location. Repurpose content so your not always trying to reinvent the wheel. Build your presence and following on those accounts as much as possible. If you do not have Fortune 500 type social media resources, just pick and focus on 1 platform. Once you get the hang of it (content creation, scheduling) branch out and add another platform. You can also outsource the work to a contractor. When you outsource anything, one of the greatest outcomes is gaining expertise that isn’t currently available to you. This is especially true when you’re considering outsourcing social media management.

Mobile Responsive Web Design Challenges in 2022

RWD major challenge these days is testing your content on all Mobile browsers and provide a seamless user experience. The desktop side of RWD that will fit and scale inside a desktop browser is relatively easy as there are no more that 3-5 different types of browsers.

On the mobile side, its entirely a different story as there are 10 + mobile browsers out there in the wild (default + installed). The user might view the website appropriately in the desktop version, but when the same website is viewed through his mobile phone, it’ll look odd and janky. What you need is a “device” plan of attack. Know which device classes you intend to support before you start to code and create content.

Have both your lowest common denominator devices and your high-end device designs before you begin to code. Try to visualize a way to create both versions from one code base and Test on different mobile devices from the beginning to the end to ensure that your incremental work will display correctly in the intended devices. Its good to have a small design lab where you can set up all these mobile devices and test your content. Designing and supporting multiple mobile displays takes time and patience. Responsive Design includes the use of CSS3 Media Queries, which is supported by almost all modern browsers and it reactively determines the screen size of a device and then renders the content appropriately on the screen layout. With a set of media queries, you will be able to display different layouts on different devices.

After successfully making your website responsive, you need to perform responsive test online on multiple devices like Mobile Phones, Tablets, Laptops, Desktops to ensure the responsive web design and that content and images are adapting themselves as per the screen size in which they are being viewed on. A good plan is half of your success. This is why planning ahead every little part of your responsive website design is crucial.

Pinterest Advertising “Quick Start” Guide 2022

Know your Audience first. Catering to Pinterest’s user base is key to marketing success.

79% of the Pinterest users are female. The age distribution of fairly even between 25-54. 60% has some college, 19% Bachelors degree, 10% High School degree, 6% Less than High School, 6% Graduate degree. Pinners spend 29 percent more than non-Pinners, delivering an average of $2 in profit for every advertiser dollar.

When you’re ready to get started with Pinterest, start with a business account. First, create a business account. Start with an eye-catching profile. A great blog post can be found here on”how to set up “Your Small Business on Pinterest in 2021.”

Figure out a Content Strategy first. Foster and grow your community, build brand awareness on other social media websites, pin hi-res images and videos that will interest your customers and demographic. Host contests and encourage customers to repin their favorite products from your boards to their boards!

Types of Pinterest Ads – Promoted Pins (One-tap Pins), Promoted Carousels, Promoted Video Pins, Promoted App Pins, Buyable Pins. Story Pins. When your ready to set up the ad of your choosing, make sure you have installed the Pinterest Tag. With the Promoted Tag you’ll be able to track the actions people take on your website after seeing your Pinterest ads, including checkouts, sign ups, and searches. After you installed your Pinterest tag, the next steps are:

Choose your campaign goal > Choose your campaign budget > Create an ad group > Choose your target audience > Select ad placement > Add interests and keywords > Set your budget and schedule > Tailor for optimization and delivery > Determine your pacing > Pick your Promoted Pins > Monitor campaign performance

Pin It! Add a price on a pin. Add Hashtags (will help customers find your product), Link back to your website product page.

Create organized themed boards. Group similar images as well as similar products and multiple boards. you don’t have to be a big brand or a have a massive marketing budget to make Pinterest ads work for you. Use your creativity and your brand’s uniqueness to showcase your products and engage with your target audience.

Website Bounce Rates…Three Second Rule…

Three second rule: 57 percent of online shoppers will wait three seconds or less before abandoning a site. Website page speed is crucial.

Ideally, websites load within three seconds, or two seconds if it’s an eCommerce site. The two-to-three second mark is the turning point where bounce rates skyrocket. Some 40% of consumers will wait no more than three seconds before abandoning a site. if a website funnel isn’t converting, or it breaks down somewhere (leaks) in the middle, a website designer needs to figure out where the Google Analytics metrics drop off.

Social Media Sales in 2022

Forward-thinking salespeople are embracing a more “social” approach to break down old communication barriers such as Cold Calls, and Email = Social Media. Social selling allows salespeople to laser-target prospects, establish rapport and with their networks, and possibly even ditch the dreaded practice of cold calling.

While determining the best way to connect with prospects and help coax a consumer down your sales funnel, buyers are consistently going to social networks and the Internet to research products they have an interest in purchasing. Whether you are a B2B or B2C brand, potential buyers are looking on these social media platforms for product information. As smartphones are getting bigger form factors and faster processors, consumers are apt to looking, researching with these larger handheld mobile screens.

Here is a brief breakdown of Social Media as related to the Enterprise:

Business to Consumer = Facebook

Business-to-Business products (or services) = LinkedIn (if you have a first-level connection in common with the executive or buyer who will sign off on a PO)

All types of sales = Twitter

*Twitter is the best for “all kinds of sales” as it’s a very popular network (across all demographics) that doesn’t have privacy settings that keep you from high volume searches and actions.

Social Media Sales strategies

Twitter. Make sure you “add” to the conversation a little before directly engaging in customers:

Like (heart) a few Tweets
ReTweet one or two Tweets
Follow them

Friend, Follow, Follow Back or Connect with individuals with profiles that match you or your clients. Its VERY Important to build relationships on any Social Media platform. Not only can it help to generate leads, it can also help foster relationships with current customers.

Be in expert in your space. Provide solutions or tips and feedback to your customers or potential customers if they post a question or gripe on Twitter/Facebook. Prioritize the social channels and tools your audience is already using and that you’re familiar with, then organize those by their primary function.

Listening on social media is one of the most powerful tactics in a social selling strategy. Monitor for popular hashtags and keywords that are relevant to your industry or brand to find useful insights but also see what is being said about your competitors.

Never cold pitch on Social Media platforms. It comes off as desperate and will be ignored. If there is a conversation trending within your industry and potential customers, join in to offer meaningful commentary and interact with these potential buyers. Listening for these opportunities and finding out the pain points your potential customers are having will give sales people a feel for the conversation and allow them to add value.

Social media is “networking” more than it is “advertising”. The goal is to get them to call you (or vice versa), have an open mind about your product or service, and then make your sales pitch.

When its time to engage or pitch, follow these steps:

Ask for their email so that you can send them some info on your services.

Find them on LinkedIn and add “connect” with them.

Send a polite email and mention a conversation you had with them on Twitter or Facebook. You can also mention a tweet or Post that you “favorite” or “liked” from them.

Good Social Sales tools in this space that keeps track of conversations and engagement include:

Hootsuite. More for individuals and small business.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Enterprise grade and scalable.

Its apparent that Social Media like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are not fads anymore. These platforms are now mature options to generate leads and sales online. By experimenting with different Social Media sales strategies, you can find the best way to convert them into real quantifiable results on all levels. There are no participation medals in social selling: if you’re going to do it, you have to do it right. That means providing valuable insight to the right prospects at the right time.

Online Marketing Juice on Twitter

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I cover digital marketing and social media strategy. Keep you up to date on the latest in SEO, Financial Advisor Marketing, Social Media, Digital Marketing & Tools, Website Design & Optimization, Landing Page tips, Content Strategy, Automation, #FINTECH, and much much more!

Quick List of The Best Digital Marketing Weapons (Tools) in 2022

Digital Marketing tools are constantly evolving and changing. They deliver benefits to any organization willing to build up a digital marketing team. Benefits include enhanced credibility, fast and easy access, increases customer relationships, feedback and reviews are easily tracked, cost effective, and can reach an enormous mass of people in a short amount of time. The below is a short list of digital tools in a ever changing digital marketing environment.

Google Analytics. Enough said on this one. Google Analytics is a free web analytics tool offered by Google to help you analyze your website traffic. Fundamentals of working with report data to advanced segmentation and analytics intelligence. Key for measuring and tweaking your marketing campaigns. Google keeps adding more and more functionality each year.

Google Keyword Planner. Once known as the Google Keyword Tool, Keyword Planner is a tool that every search marketer needs to familiarize themselves with and get to know inside out. It is a great way to discover new keywords to target in your campaigns, understand how searches across keywords have changed over time, see suggested bid estimates to help plan your Google Ads budget and more. You can extract valuable data about the demand and competition level of keywords you wish to target organically. The tool will also suggest similar keywords to the one in your query to give you alternative, relevant options for your keyword targeting. The Google Keyword Planner can come in handy whether you’re building your very first keyword list or looking to expand and/or switch directions in your keyword and content strategies.

SEOquake. This is a great Firefox extension. SEOquake is a free SEO extension by Semrush which helps you accelerate your SEO efforts on the fly. SEOquake provides you with key SEO metrics for a specific page, along with other useful tools such as the SEO Audit tool, the Keyword Density report, Internal/External link analysis, and even social metrics.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud. A powerful tool that lets you monitor specific keywords and phrases that are dominating conversations across the social media sphere. Marketing Cloud is also a platform for delivering relevant, personalized journeys across channels and devices — enabling marketers to deliver the right message at the right time throughout all phases of the relationship. Marketing Cloud includes integrated solutions for customer journey management, email, mobile, social, web personalization, advertising, content creation and management, and data analysis.

Traackr. Traackr is the system of record for data-driven influencer marketing that marketers use to invest in the right strategies, streamline campaigns, and scale programs. Traackr includes dynamic influencer lists, automates metrics-driven influencer mapping so you can instantly identify the right people for your projects, real-time listening, sentiment analysis, geo-targeted searches, and shows you all of your influencers’ relevant content in one place so you never miss an opportunity to reach out to them and be part of the social conversation.

TweetDeck or HootSuite. Free tool lets you simultaneously manage all your social media accounts from a single interface. Although it excels with Twitter, you can also effectively manage your Facebook, LinkedIn, or Foursquare profiles.

MailChimp. A really easy, dynamic email marketing platform. Your opt-in subscribers will be able to easily connect to social networking pages in order to share your email marketing campaigns. You’ll also be able to use social networking in conjunction with your email marketing. In one click, you’ll be able to send out an email campaign and update your social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Delicious, with your latest information. You can also see who has tweeted about or liked your business.

SurveyMonkey. I use this one a lot in my own projects. If you have questions about your products or services and you need immediate feedback, SurveyMonkey is THE best web-based survey solution.

SEOmoz. Anything SEO oriented, use this site. Analytics for all your in-bound marketing. There are a lot of free tools and paid ones as well. I use this site and tools daily for years. This site is an incredible value-add to your digital marketing efforts! Moz builds tools that make SEO, inbound marketing, link building, and content marketing easy.

Wistia. Is video marketing part of your digital marketing strategy? If so, you may want to think about professional video hosting from a company like Wistia. Video is a great way to communicate with your subscribers, prospects and customers. Wistia provides your business with a ton of great tools that you can use to measure your video’s engagement as well as make your videos more interactive. Wistia is designed exclusively to serve companies using video on their websites for marketing, support, and sales. Essentially, Wistia is ideal for “on-site” videos.

Pardot (Salesforce). Pardot is a marketing automation solution that helps companies create meaningful connections, generate more pipeline, and empower sales to close more deals. Pardot is Salesforce’s B2B marketing automation solution. If you’re a business who sells to other businesses (or B2B), Pardot can automate your marketing activities and unite your marketing and sales departments so that they can work better together.

A/B Website Testing in 2022

You have two versions of a website landing page (A & B) and you want to test each one to determine which is the best and produce the most conversions. A/B testing (also known as split testing) can also tests different elements like logos, colors, call to actions (buy now!), placement, headline, layout of website, images, amount of text on pages, etc.

Think of A/B testing (or split testing) as a methodology that enables marketers to compare a variety of test samples against a baseline control sample (the existing element) to identify and measure which element is most effective in achieving desired outcomes. A/B testing begins with a core baseline (A) and a variation (B) or alternative version. A & B are tested simultaneously to measure which version is more successful.

After you decided what to test, grab a good tool for the project. Google Analytics has a A/B testing feature called Content Experiments (Google Optimize). You can access Content Experiments (Optimize) by logging into your Google Analytics account, opening the profile you want to run an experiment in and click the Standard Reporting tab. In the left menu click Content, then Experiments, then start experimenting.

Other great A/B testing tools include Optimizely, VWO, and Convert Experiences.

Tips: When doing website A/B testing, never ever wait to test the variation until after you’ve tested the control. Always test both versions simultaneously. Don’t let your gut feeling overrule test results. The winners in A/B tests are often surprising or unintuitive. Know how long to run a test before giving up. Giving up too early can cost you because you may have gotten meaningful results had you waited a little longer. Make your A/B test consistent across the whole website. If you are testing a sign-up button that appears in multiple locations, then a visitor should see the same variation everywhere. Do many A/B tests! An A/B test can have only three outcomes: no result, a negative result or a positive result. The key to optimizing conversion rates is to do a ton of A/B tests, so that all positive results add up to a huge boost in traffic and conversions.

Both A/B are extremely valuable for your business. A/B Testing makes one thing crystal clear to marketers – you don’t know what works with your end-user until you test.

Small Business: Instagram Should Not Be Ignored in 2022

I shared the above graph way back in 2017. Instagram has become a critical platform for product marketing, particularly small business. The Instagram platform is evolving and raising the bar. Forward to today and the 2023 forecast below:

Instagram is a great way to tell a story and find customers. Once you’ve got a story going, an audience will grow organically (as pictured above). A key ingredient with Instagram is using # Hashtags to get your business found by customers. Hashtag marketing makes your posts searchable and gets your business found by local & national customers (especially relevant on Instagram where you can post 10+ Hashtags per post). Growing a dedicated following on Instagram won’t happen overnight. But the bright side is that Instagram users are very active and love to engage. The option to switch to an Instagram business account and use Instagram tools for checking insights and running advertisements has been life changing for small business (SMB).

With Instagram ads, you can reach new customers and extend your reach with customizable, trackable advertisements. You can target specific demographics, link to your website and collect valuable user data that can help inform your other social media marketing campaigns. Instagram is the ideal choice for SMB‘s. You can engage with your customers, advertise your products and build awareness for your brand of service!