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7 Emerging Technologies in SEO and Their Applications

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Did y’all ever watch the Windows 95 launch? It was wild, but it was warranted. Sure, Windows 95 is antiquated now, but it was a game-changer when it launched. Steve Ballmer couldn’t contain himself and even Bill Gates busted a few moves on stage during the excitement at launch.

Great new technologies are worth celebrating. They make our lives easier by creating efficiencies we never had before. Get ready to do your own celebration dance because Moz is showing us 7 emerging technologies in SEO and their applications.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Google is on top of its game when it comes to delivering search results. While more often than not we get the answers we’re searching for, sometimes Google has trouble. Perhaps we’re just asking too confusing of questions. 🤷‍♀️ Google’s Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) algorithm is all about studying the intent of a query to deliver the most relevant result. Since marketers can’t optimize for BERT for the time being, the best practice is to continue publishing content that accurately addresses queries.

Natural Language Generation (NLG) for short-form content

Google has proven to be quite the wordsmith. Good thing it’s here to help with any writer’s block. Feeding a keyword or phrase into a natural language generator can deliver you useful headlines, blog outlines, meta descriptions, and much more. NLG won’t write your whole piece for you, but it could be the spark that helps you to dive right into your writing.

GPT-3 for automated content creation

While NLG is useful for outlining topics and coming up with short-form content, Generative Pre-Trained Transformer Number 3 (GPT-3) fills in the gaps. Last September, The Guardian posted an article written entirely by AI, and readers had no idea. With the wealth of knowledge across the web to reference, GPT-3 can write like a pro. Tools like OthersideAI will help you tailor email responses faster. While this technology may not nail your brand voice, it’ll leave you with an acceptable draft you can fine-tune to your brand standards.

Read on for more emerging technologies.

Facebook Retargeting Ads: The Best Strategies You May be Missing

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Some things have a way of working themselves into our daily lives. Smartphones are a notable example, and more recently we’ve seen somewhat of a bidet renaissance. Or how about face masks? A year ago you might just have seen a small handful of people wearing them in stores, but the number grew quickly before wearing the mask became a requirement for shoppers.

These things, for a variety of reasons, take hold and it becomes difficult to think of a future without them. They begin as something unfamiliar, but through the power of marketing and sheer exposure, they transform into necessities. It’s similar to the power of retargeting. See something enough and you’ll surely give it some consideration. AdEspresso is here to help you harness the power of retargeting with the best strategies you may be missing.

Creating a Non-Rushed Sales Funnel

We’re all eager to hit the ground running with Facebook Ads. However, it’s best to steadily build a presence with your target audience and spark interest over time. Run ads specifically for brand awareness and then you can dive into a retargeting campaign for those who interacted with your ad.

Showing Customers Items They Loved

When people have a need or interest in something, it may be only a matter of time before they buy. Serving ads for products you know people have already viewed on your site will help move people across the finish line. Create an audience of users who have viewed a specific URL, but exclude those who have visited the order confirmation page. This will help ensure you’re not targeting users who already purchased.

Re-Engaging Lost Customers

Selling to your customers is great since they already know your brand and some of your offerings. Find your long-lost customers who may be interested in a new offering and get them back in the funnel. Drill down in your email platform or CRM for customers who haven’t engaged in a while and target them with a special offer. You know, for old times’ sake.

Don’t miss the detailed explanations of how to implement these strategies in Facebook Ads Manager.

Maximize Video ROI: 11 Clever Ways to Repurpose Webinar Content

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

The three Rs are great to remember and practice when we can. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. What’s not to love? Whether you’re using reusable bags at the grocery store, saying goodbye to plastic straws, or even creating your very own Frankenstein’s monster in your basement with miscellaneous limbs and organs you “found.”

Okay, so maybe we shouldn’t recycle everything, but you should absolutely recycle your content to give it new life. Wistia is demonstrating how to maximize your video ROI with 11 clever ways to repurpose webinar content.

Host webinars as evergreen content on your website. Webinars take a lot of time and effort to produce. Ideally, everyone who registered will attend, but things always change in peoples’ schedules. Keep your webinars available on your site in a dedicated place so people can watch them whenever they please.

Write a blog post or series around webinar topics. Pick out some of the topics you covered in your webinar. These topics are great to expand upon in blogs and this offers an additional format for people to consume your content. At the very least, you can outline everything you covered in the webinar. But exploring all the avenues connected to your webinar is worthwhile.

Create bite-sized graphics. Who doesn’t love a great infographic? The intersection of data and design is a beautiful place. Take some stats or ideas featured in your webinar and wrap them in a fun graphic that reflects your brand. Create non-intimidating bits of content that can easily be shared.
Divide key webinar moments into short video clips. For many people, the workday is a race against the clock. A small video snippet taken from a larger conversation is a great way to give people a taste of a topic or get right to a section they’re interested in without scrubbing through a long video.

We couldn’t hit them all, so continue along for the rest.

How to Tackle YouTube Copyright Issues

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That sounds great and all, but there has to be a limit. I mean, take identity theft for instance. It takes some serious mental gymnastics to conflate identity theft with flattery. Take the difference between “I stole your SSN,” vs “I love your hairstyle!” Imitation clearly isn’t the sincerest form of flattery in this case.

Of course, that’s a simple example. Things get trickier when someone wants to use their favorite song in a video. It’s not malicious – they just love the song. But the creator has every right to have the content removed. To break it down further, Agorapulse is talking about how to tackle YouTube copyright issues.

What Does Copyright Automatically Protect?

Any original content you publish belongs to you. If someone uses your content without permission, Google can remove it if they don’t respond to your request to take it down.

How to File a Copyright Claim as a Creator

If you find someone has re-uploaded some of your content, you can click on the “Copyright” section of YouTube Studio and quickly submit a copyright claim to have the content removed. Google is fairly proactive with these claims, but best to remain patient.

How to Protect Your Content Proactively

If you have a ton of content on YouTube and people are constantly re-uploading your work, you can submit your content for protection under YouTube’s Content ID tool. This will allow YouTube to scan through your videos and flag uploads that feature your content.

How to Tackle Copyright Claims Against You on YouTube

Typically, when your content is flagged you’ll get some options to rectify the issue. You can trim out the section under question or replace the audio in that section if it’s a music rights issue. If you feel you were flagged in error or perhaps YouTube doesn’t know you have the rights to a particular song, you can make your case for approval.

Read on for tips on avoiding copyright claims.

The 9 Most Inspiring Influencer Marketing Campaigns of All Time

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

Back in school you probably learned about everything from ancient Greece to the industrial revolution in your history textbooks. Those books didn’t cover notable marketers and campaigns, but maybe they’ll include those in future editions.

Today, Jeff Bullas is schooling us on the 9 most inspiring influencer marketing campaigns of all time, so bust out your notebook and put your cellphones away. Unless of course you’re reading this on your phone.

Hilton’s Seven Urban Wonders Campaign

Pre-pandemic, Hilton wanted to show off its presence in Abu Dhabi, Sydney, London, Shanghai, Vienna, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Influencers were tasked with showing off great eats and attractions within walking distance of Hilton’s hotels. (Count us in!) The campaign paid off with 110,000 brand likes, almost 2,000 positive comments about Hilton, and a 4.62% engagement rate.

Diageo and Nick Offerman

Remember around the holidays a few years ago when a Yule log video of Nick Offerman sipping whiskey made the social media circuit? Diageo was the mastermind behind this viral sensation that puts us at ease just thinking about it. The goal was to attract a younger audience to the Lagavulin Scotch brand, so YouTube was the channel of choice. The video racked up 2 million views in just a week plus 17,000 new subscribers.

Nike and What’s Inside?

People are curious creatures and we love behind-the-scenes content. Nike partnered with father-son duo Dan and Lincoln Markham who have a popular YouTube channel in which they cut things open to reveal what’s inside. After meticulously putting together the 2017 Nike Air Vapormax, Nike had What’s Inside? go behind the seams and show viewers the anatomy of the shoe. The result was over 7 million views and a pair of unusable kicks.

Check out six more great influencer marketing campaigns to take inspiration from.

Improve Your Facebook Ad Quality Ranking with These 7 Tips

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Veruca Salt turned out to be a bad egg in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Between the good or bad rating she could have received on the golden goose egg scale, she fell into the less distinguished group.

Perhaps your new Facebook Ad is your golden egg that will drive great results, but Facebook has its own scale to determine if that’s really the case. Even though you want conversions now, it pays to trust Facebook’s score and work to improve it. Here are 7 tips from Databox to help you improve your Facebook Ad quality ranking.

Incorporate video ads. Video is dynamic and can easily captivate your audience. Through video, you can deliver your message in greater detail and even show examples of how your product or service has benefitted others. The more easily people can see and understand how your offering works, the more easily they will trust you.

Don’t run your ad too often. If users see your ad too many times, they might think of it as spam and hide or block it. This negatively affects your quality score, so best to strike a balance with how often you run your ad.

Avoid clickbait and use high-quality content. This one should be a no-brainer. High-quality content will always prevail over clickbait. While clickbait is certainly effective for clicks, those clicks probably won’t turn into the types of conversions you’re after. Go for the gold with your content and it will pay off.

Be straightforward. Ever put a dollar in a vending machine only for your selected item to not dispense? It’s the freaking worst. Ensure your ads bring people where they’re expecting to go when they click. Keep your message simple and on-brand and make sure the landing page feels like an extension of the ad rather than something completely different.
Test as often as you can. Don’t stop iterating. Even if you’re pleased with the performance of your ad, there is always the possibility of improving it further. A higher click-through rate will result in a lower cost per click. Test different images, captions, colors, videos, etc.

Read on for the last 2 tips.

Best Practices to Secure User Opt-In on iOS 14

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

You know, the idea that garlic keeps vampires at bay was probably just something made up by parents trying to get a picky child to eat garlic. Big bummer for vampires if it’s true though; garlic is delicious. Come to think of it, vampires can’t come into your house unless they’ve been invited in. Great way to cut down on the stranger danger.

It’s kind of similar for digital marketers and iOS 14. In this case, we’re the vampires 🧛‍♀️ needing consent for ad tracking on the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework. Sure, tracking isn’t quite as easy as it once was, but iOS 14 isn’t a wooden stake for us marketers. Here are some best practices to secure user opt-in on iOS 14 courtesy of Branch.

Test a prompt that provides context to Apple’s modal. This part is all about transparency. When someone downloads an app you wish to track, they will get a notification asking for tracking consent. The two options for the user are “Ask App Not to Track” and “Allow.” Prepare users for this by explaining why your tracking provides for a better experience. This will give more context before users are met with Apple’s consent notification.

Explain the value proposition of opting in. While people may initially like the notion of an extra layer of privacy, they may not recognize what this will mean for their full app experience. If the app is free or low-cost, then let users know you’re able to provide the app for free or low-cost because of your ability to track. Mention that tracking allows for a more personalized experience with relevant ads.
Optimize the timing of your ask. Make sure you’re in the good graces of your user. Better to ask mom and dad if you can meet up with your friends after completing all your chores (you can only be so sneaky.) Refrain from asking in the middle of a task. Think about where within a user’s flow they will be most willing to give tracking consent.

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How These 14 Companies Are Celebrating Black History Month

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

We all look for leadership in one way or another. It’s important to identify examples we appreciate and strive to follow them. Human beings are copycats and we always have been. Today Comparably is showing us some great examples of how some companies are celebrating Black History Month. Take a page out of one of their playbooks and think about ways you and your business can celebrate.

GE Power

GE will host a Black History Month speaker series through its GE African American Forum. This speaker series will highlight the impact African Americans have had on the company’s history as well as reflecting on ways their impact will continue to strengthen the company and the communities GE serves. GE will also participate in some volunteer events for a number of causes such as Brumby Elementary, which provides food for over 350 students’ families.

Adobe

It wouldn’t be an Adobe event without some great performances. Adobe is kicking off with entertainment from Black musicians, dancers, and creatives before launching into a panel of Black Women Creatives co-hosted by their Women at Adobe & Black Employee Networks. Outside the organization, Adobe is supporting underrepresented creatives through various campaigns and showcases.

Who What Wear

This organization will increase its employee donation match to 200% to support the fight for social justice and combat racism. Their social media will highlight Black History and their own Black employees and their stories. They will also hold virtual meetings to discuss takeaways from a series of films from Black creators that employees can watch during the month. Furthermore, company lunches will be covered when sourced from Black-owned restaurants.

Keep reading to learn about the many ways different companies are taking part in Black History Month celebrations.

How to Get Better Content by Documenting Your Content Creation Process

FEBRUARY 10, 2021

Socrates must be rolling in his grave due to the world’s reliance on writing. A true purist, he felt people would become forgetful of their own memories by keeping thoughts externally. You do you, but we’re not about to pick up the phone and call to respond to every email we receive. Heck, how about taking an order for a large group at a restaurant without a notepad? We’re keeping a pen handy for sure.

When it comes to defining processes, a game of telephone isn’t going to translate well at the end of the day. That’s why Convince & Convert is telling us how to get better content by documenting your content creation process.

Make the Process Clear, Simple, and Accessible. You may know your process inside and out, but what does it take to communicate that process to someone else on your team? If your current documentation isn’t straightforward, then nobody will effectively replicate it the way you want them to. Write out your steps simply and save it in a place people can easily find it without having to Slack you over and over asking for it.

Define Your Business Success Metrics and Content Objectives. Content has to be intentional. Your content should directly support your business goals. Clearly define what your business goals are, then write out how your content will serve those business goals. This will help you to craft your content in a way that meaningfully furthers your objectives.
Document Your Brand Guidelines. The purpose of documenting this whole creation process is to keep everyone on the same page. To achieve this, content creators have to know how to stay on brand and stick to the brand’s style. Ensure your brand guidelines are just as easy to find as your content creation process because it’s an important part of it.

Did you get all that? Don’t worry, you won’t need to memorize it all, because Convince & Convert has the rest of these tips conveniently written out.