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The Future of Content Strategy

Content Marketing Strategy
March 10, 2021/by
The Future of Content Strategy Content marketing has seen a lot of changes during the past few years. Many of these changes can be attributed to the rapidly evolving search landscape as well as a huge shift in the way people are actually discovering content. New, more sophisticated search algorithms, changes in how people use search engines, and new ways that marketers go about actually developing their content are just a few of the contributing factors and outcomes. All that said, many marketers still experience the same pain points that were commonplace more than five years ago: "I struggle to measure the ROI of the content I create." We create great content, but we still don’t seem to rank high in Google for our target keywords." "So, I’ve done my keyword research. Now what?" As a response to these problems — specifically the second one — a lot of marketers will create more and more content. Unfortunately, creating larger volumes of the same underperforming content will often result in the same underwhelming results — just at a greater expense. In fact, adding more content to a poor existing site architecture can make it even harder for Google to find and rank your content. That’s not a situation any marketer wants to find themselves in. The answer to these problems spans way beyond the number of blog posts being pushed out each week; the real problem lies in the way that most content strategies are...
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RFQ vs. RFP: What’s the Difference?

RFPs
March 6, 2021/by
RFQ vs. RFP: What’s the Difference? Have you ever shopped for something online, compared prices, and read reviews until you knew you were making the right decision? That's similar to what businesses do when they need to purchase something as well, except it's a slightly more formal process. In the business world, the process includes having vendors or companies submit RFPs (request for proposal) or RFQs (request for quote) so you can compare their products and services. These documents help businesses decide which vendor they want to buy from. It's similar to when we, as consumers, shop online and look at prices and reviews to compare, say, new phones. Below, we'll discuss everything you need to know about RFQs -- from what they are, to how to write one, to how it's different from an RFP. In an RFQ, you'll find a vendor's costs, payment terms, and product specs or details. Most businesses use an RFQ when they know exactly what they're looking for, the budget they want to spend, and are ready to make a purchase. If you know what type of features you want to see, you plan to choose a vendor based on price, and you don't need a service plan or supported contract, an RFQ might be right for you. When you have a bunch of RFQs, you can properly evaluate all the solutions based on price, quickly. Now, what's the difference between an RFQ and an RFP? While an RFP gives more detailed...
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What Marketers Need to Know About YouTube Shorts

Youtube Marketing
March 6, 2021/by
What Marketers Need to Know About YouTube Shorts Did you know that the first video published on YouTube was only 18-seconds long? Since launching in 2005, the video giant's founders have learned time and time again that content doesn't need to be long to engage audiences. Now, following a five-month beta test -- as well as the success of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other viral video platforms -- YouTube's rolling out a short-form video feature of its own. YouTube Shorts -- a YouTube app feature that rivals TikTok and Instagram Reels -- began its first round of testing in India last September. The beta feature enables users to see and create 15-second videos with musical overlays. Even in its most basic beta form, the Shorts feature has already seen solid performance in India. In late February, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced that videos on the India-based Shorts player receive 3.5 billion cumulative daily views. When You Can Access YouTube Shorts Some YouTube app users in the U.S. have already started to see Shorts roll out on their smartphone app.  A recent post from YouTube's Chief Product Officer Niel Mohan mentioned that the Shorts beta is expected to be fully released in the U.S. throughout March. While there's no word on a global launch yet, Pichai told the press, "We are looking forward to expanding Shorts to more countries this year." With YouTube Shorts' U.S. launch upon us and a global launch likely in the near future, marketers are wondering...
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The Plain English Guide to Demand-Side Platforms (DSP)

Media Planning
March 6, 2021/by
The Plain English Guide to Demand-Side Platforms (DSP) As a marketer, you might be focused on creating organic content most of the time. But you should keep in mind that paid advertising is just as important. When you manage the paid ads for your business, you can go through individual ad managers such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads. However, that's not the only option. You can also use demand-side platforms (DSP), which are automated, as a way to purchase and manage your online ads. In fact, did you know that in 2020 $46.86 billion, or 88.7% of all US mobile display ad dollars, were transacted via automated means? This means that a majority of marketers paid ads used DSPs as a way of purchasing, managing, and tracking online advertising. Below, let's review all the basics about DSP advertising. With a DSP, you can purchase mobile ads on apps, banner ads on search engines, and video ads on Facebook, Instagram, Google, and even more platforms. Instead of using both Google Ads and Facebook Ads, for instance, you can purchase those ads in one place on a DSP. The purpose of this is to make ad buying faster, cheaper, and more efficient. Now, let's dive into how DSP platforms work and why you should use one. DSP Advertising So, you might be thinking, "How do DSPs work?" DSP's work by using programmatic advertising, which is the buying and selling of ads in real-time through an automated system. With real-time...
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The Ultimate Guide to Branding in 2021

Branding
March 4, 2021/by
The Ultimate Guide to Branding in 2021 Products are never just products, right? Coca-Cola is more than a soda. Starbucks is more than a coffee. Ray-Ban is more than a pair of sunglasses. Glossier is more than a tube of concealer. Interacting with these products provide experiences, and we buy them with that experience in mind. Better yet, the companies that create and market them know exactly the experience they want you to have when you make (or consider) a purchase. That’s why they create a brand. From the language in their Instagram caption to the color palette on their latest billboard to the material used in their packaging, companies who create strong brands know that their brand needs to live everywhere. They know their names extend far beyond the label. The result? These brands are known, loved, and chosen out of a long lineup of options. Who doesn’t want that? I know I do. That’s why we built this guide — to equip you to create and manage a strong brand that’ll help your business be admired, remembered, and preferred. Use the links below to jump ahead to sections of interest, and don’t forget to bookmark this guide for later. What’s a brand? Before I dive into the importance of branding and how to build a brand, let’s go back to basics: What is a brand? A brand is a feature or set of features that distinguish one organization from another. A brand is typically...
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7 Best Marketing Attribution Software for 2021

Marketing Reporting
March 4, 2021/by
7 Best Marketing Attribution Software for 2021 Determining which parts of your marketing efforts drive conversions and sales can be one of the messiest areas of marketing. But it's also one of the most important — assuming you want to increase ROI, revenue, brand awareness, conversions, campaign success, and more. This is where marketing attribution comes into play. In this blog post, we'll cover the definition of marketing attribution, the three main types of marketing attribution, and seven marketing attribution reporting software. Here are four examples of the benefits of marketing attribution: Determine the most effective areas to focus your marketing efforts and budget. Understand your target audience and their needs. Improve your chances of reaching and resonating with your audience with personalized experiences. Increase ROI. Three Types of Marketing Attribution and Software No matter which benefit you're trying to derive from marketing attribution, there are three main categories of marketing attribution — keep these in mind when setting your attribution goals and deciding which software is ideal for you. 1. Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) Multi-touch attribution identifies which of many possible customer touchpoints is responsible for a sale. It’s important to realize that while most MTA programs include some channel data, they’re designed to test specific touchpoints. For instance, a multi-touch marketing attribution tool may evaluate your touchpoints in the following ways: First-Touch Model: A first-touch model assigns all of the credit to the first webpage or digital asset that...
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2021 YouTube Demographics [New Data]

Youtube Marketing
March 3, 2021/by
2021 YouTube Demographics Chances are, you’ve probably spent an afternoon falling down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos. I certainly have, and I think I’d be pretty embarrassed to see the total amount of time I’ve spent on the platform. While it’s a great source of entertainment, YouTube has also proved itself to be a valuable tool for marketers. In fact, 70% of viewers bought from a brand after seeing content on YouTube. And, with a global user base of more than 2 billion people, it’s also safe to assume that your target audience is on the platform. However, just as it is for all social networks, building a presence on YouTube requires understanding which segments of your audience are already there. Having that information makes it easier to create content that speaks to their interests, maximize ROI, and achieve general marketing success. In this post, we’ll go over key YouTube statistics you need to know for 2021 to help you succeed in your marketing efforts. 2021 YouTube Demographics Below, we’ll go over the most critical YouTube statistics that show marketers how global audiences are using the platform. General YouTube User Demographics YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. (Hootsuite) YouTube accounts for more than 25% of total worldwide mobile traffic. (Sandvine) YouTube has 2+ billion users, making up almost one-third of the entire internet. (YouTube for Press) These 2+ billion users are present in...
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Why You Should Use Early Bird Registration for Your Next Event

conferences
March 3, 2021/by
Why You Should Use Early Bird Registration for Your Next Event A few years ago on Thanksgiving, my entire family flew to my sister's house, except for me. I couldn't afford the plane ticket, so I stayed home. When I looked at their pictures on Facebook, I was upset that I missed out on the trip. That concept is called the fear of missing out (FOMO). FOMO, while upsetting when I missed my family trip, is actually a great marketing tool to use when you're planning an event. Usually, people don't start registering for events until the last minute. As a marketer, you're probably wondering, "How can I get them to register earlier?" A great way to sell more tickets faster is to use FOMO as a way of motivating your audience to buy tickets through early bird registration. Today, let's learn how early bird registration can help you sell more tickets to your events. The idea behind early bird registration is that people won't want to miss out on a deal. Plus, this tactic taps into your audience's sense of urgency. So if you have people on the fence about whether or not they want to go to your event, then an early bird registration might be all you need to nudge them in the right direction. However, for an early bird discount to work, it needs to be of great value. The package shouldn't just be slightly cheaper. In addition to the discount, maybe early bird...
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