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The 3 ingredients to a successful push notification strategy

MAY 4, 2021

Doorbells are the original push notifications. Residents of a home are immediately alerted when someone is at the door, and the guest can easily communicate their presence to whoever is inside without hurting their knuckles. Before doorbells, it was truly a hard-knock life.

Whether it’s a pizza delivery or the neighborhood kids ding-dong ditching, there’s sometimes an expectation of who is at the door when the doorbell rings. But no matter who it is, their goal is for you to open the door. In this sense, ringing a doorbell is similar to sending a push notification. With the right notification, users of your app will gladly click through to your app. To help you out, Appcues is sharing 3 ingredients to a successful push notification strategy.

Personalize works. If your app lives on someone’s phone, you don’t want to sour their experience with endless meaningless ads. Utilize the profile data your users have provided to tailor push notification messages to them. In addition, behavioral data regarding how they typically interact with the app will allow you to see what actions they will likely take again. Use both profile data and behavioral data in tandem to your advantage. They give you the insights you need to personalize notifications to the individual user.
Align push notifications with your in-app messaging strategy. Make the user experience seamless. Whatever push notification you send, make sure the message corresponds to the in-app destination. If your push notification suggests it will take the user to a package-tracking page, then don’t send them to the home screen.
Lead users to in-app value. Your users are going to ignore your push notifications if your app isn’t easy to use. Why should they bother? User experience is more important than ever, and consumers have tons of choices to accomplish their needs. If your user knows your app is user-friendly, then they’ll be more likely to follow a push notification into the app.

Check out some great examples of push notifications in the full article.

How to Use & Reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

MAY 3, 2021

You just can’t put a price on some things. Grandma’s pancakes: to die for. Running into Bill Nye at a cafe and learning about the chemical reactions of roasting coffee beans: a treasured memory and newfound knowledge. The new shirt you bought after you spilled coffee all over yourself because you were so flustered by your Bill Nye encounter: $25. Totally worth it. Science rules, y’all!

While you pay a price to maintain and improve your business, it’s easy to forget that you pay for your customers as well. Your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is simply how much money it costs to gain a customer. Of course, the goal is to do more than break even on this cost. Follow along with Ahrefs as they cover how to use and reduce Customer Acquisition Cost.

How to use CAC

Use CAC in relation to LTV (Customer Lifetime Value). If you’re paying more to gain a customer than your customer pays you, then you’ll have a bit of trouble sustaining your business. Ideally, you’ll want your LTV to be at least three times greater than your CAC to keep a profit. Of course, there are other costs to account for.
Use CAC in isolation for performance ad channels. CAC is difficult to measure across all channels. Google likes to attribute conversions to ads that directly drive those conversions, so use CAC for those kinds of performance channels.

How to reduce your CAC

With SEO and content marketing. We’re preaching to the choir here, but mixing paid efforts with organic efforts will yield better results, and it can help reduce your CAC. An effective SEO strategy will cover all the marketing funnel stages, while PPC is best used for someone ready to buy. If you’re with someone throughout their journey, they won’t need as big a push from PPC to cross the finish line.

Learn more CAC reduction tips as well as some of the problems with CAC.

Are You Ready for Mobile-First Indexing? 5 Things to Check Now

APRIL 28, 2021

Netflix knows what’s up. And we’re not just talking about how this powerhouse streaming service is continuously cranking out awesome shows and movies. Netflix knows how to get that content in front of people. They quickly gained an edge over Blockbuster when they saw the potential for sending DVDs directly to our homes. Then, they changed up their business model to provide the streaming service we all know today.

You have to go where the people are. If you don’t, you’ll get left behind. Netflix knows this, and Google knows it too. That’s why Google is taking a mobile-first approach to indexing. People are searching more on mobile than on desktop. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! WordStream is sharing 5 things to check now to ensure your site is ready for mobile-first indexing.

Make sure Googlebot can access and render your content. The meta tags should be the same on both versions of your site. The good news is most websites do this by default, but it’s worth checking in case a developer set up your site differently.
Make sure content is the same on desktop and mobile. Just because people are using different devices to access your site doesn’t mean they’re looking for different content. Make sure your headers match up and keep in mind that you could lose traffic if you intentionally decrease the amount of content on mobile pages.
Check your structured data. Content on your site isn’t the only thing you’ll want to match on desktop and mobile. You’ll want to verify your structured data is consistent across the two versions of your website.

Read on to learn more about following Google’s additional recommendations and staying on top of mobile errors. Happy indexing!

How to Boost the Performance of Every Blog Article You Write

APRIL 27, 2021

It seems there’s a new rocket launch every other day. With the number of players in the space industry, it’s a race to establish infrastructure for satellite networks, moon bases, ISS upgrades, and more. These are all tremendous feats of engineering, but they accomplish nothing without a big boost.

Spacecrafts are pretty neat on their own, but they have purposes to fulfill and they need boosters to get them to where they need to go. Your blog is the same way. You write a piece of content to serve a purpose, but it can’t do that without getting in front of people. Convince & Convert is showing us how to boost the performance of every blog article you write.

Add a Section Where You Answer Related Questions. While you craft a piece around some keywords to answer a question on a topic, there will typically be many questions left unanswered. Find out what those questions are and answer them as they pertain to your topic. You can implement an FAQ beneath your article to rattle off answers to some of those outstanding questions.
Create and Embed Videos. Video grabs attention. It’s as simple as that. This growing medium provides readers with another way to digest and share your content. Start publishing videos with new blog pieces to get more eyes on your content.
Diversify Your in-Content Calls-to-Action. Every site has a goal. Yours might be selling your products and services, increasing readership, or gaining new subscribers. Your CTAs help move your readers toward your goal. Hopefully, you already have CTAs on your pages, but you can also implement social sharing buttons, a mailing list subscription form, and push notifications within the browser to alert people when new content is published.

Get the full scoop from Convince & Convert.

Facebook A/B Testing Tips: 12 Tips for Improving Your Tests

APRIL 26, 2021

Online shopping is easier than ever, but shopping in-store has its advantages. If you’re looking for new outfits, you’ll want to try before you buy. We’ve all received clothes in the mail that either didn’t fit or didn’t look quite right on us. Plus, how would you go about shopping with friends online? It’s just not as fun.

Narrowing down your shopping selection to two outfits and trying them both on is the old school A/B test. It’s still you either way, but which outfit is more you. Speaking of A/B testing, Databox is sharing 12 tips for improving your Facebook A/B tests.

Limit the changes you make. Obviously, we all want to find the right formula that works best, and there are many variables to test. While you can certainly take the time to test all your variables, only do so one at a time. If you test two or three variables at once, you won’t know which one may have played the biggest role in the success or failure of the test.
Take advantage of the Facebook algorithm. Nobody knows Facebook like Facebook. The platform knows who your audience is, so it’s worth taking advantage of what Facebook has to offer to reach your audience, namely Campaign Budget Optimization.
Consider the time frame. A/B tests put your ads out into the real world and report results back to you. To gather quality results, you must allow enough time for the tests. Four days tends to be the sweet spot, so start with that and adjust accordingly. A smaller audience may need more time, while larger audiences can stick to the lower end of the spectrum.
Consider human psychology. People process information in a “think, feel, know” format. Appeal to the way people think and you’ll have more positive results in attracting their attention.

Read the full list of tips from Databox.

5 Types of Bad Backlinks You Don’t Want

APRIL 25, 2021

The way your mom talks about you vs the way your ex talks about you is vastly different. Mom touts you as the brightest and most talented person in the world – if moms could interview for jobs on our behalf, we’d all be Fortune 500 CMOs. On the other hand, what your ex says about you might be less endearing.

Sure, there are advantages in not listening to what people say, but what people say can definitely affect you for better or for worse. You can think of backlinks as people talking about you. Some are welcome, but others you’ll want no association with (please stop DMing me.) Neil Patel is helping us take note of 5 types of backlinks you don’t want.

Links From Spammy Sites. Sometimes you’ll find a backlink from a site that has absolutely nothing to do with you. Worse yet, sometimes the site contains inappropriate content that could serve to tarnish your reputation if things get out of hand.
Links From Link-Mill Websites. Building up a repertoire of backlinks helps you gain authority in Google’s eyes, but the links have to be authentic. There are plenty of places you can pay for links, but many of them don’t offer any real value that will work in your favor. Focus on creating high quality content and the links will come.
PR Release Links. It’s exciting to announce something new for the world to see, and a press release is a great way to garner attention. However, a keyword-heavy press release filled with backlinks is not the kind of press release that will help your SEO.

Study up on the last two types from Neil Patel.

How to Promote Your Eco-friendly Initiatives on Social Media

APRIL 21, 2021

We live on a pretty neat planet and we’re glad to share it with y’all. Our world deserves a tremendous amount of respect for its numerous abilities. Heck, the transitions from the Hadean Era (in which our beloved globe was covered in hot lava) to the *more recent* Ice Age (which ended about 11.5 thousand years ago) illustrate Mother Nature’s knack for successful rebrands.

Earth is likely going to be around much longer than we will, so it’s up to us to make sure we’re good guests. If your brand is on board with leaving the world better than you found it, then people will love hearing about the steps you’ve taken to become more sustainable. PromotionWorld wants to help you get the word out with some ways to promote your eco-friendly initiatives on social media.

Create campaigns that raise awareness around sustainability. When you invest in creating products and services with sustainability in mind, be sure to quantify this in some way your audience will understand. For instance, highlight how you’ll plant a tree with every purchase, power your offices with solar energy, etc.
Give your customer the badge of a hero. Make your customer the hero of your story and they’ll want to support the story. Post content highlighting the positive impact of purchasing one of your products. Change starts at the individual level, and that means your customer.
Show behind-the-scenes of your sustainable action. While you talk the talk, show your audience you can walk the walk too. Social media is the perfect forum for a video diving into the tangible sustainable practices you’re invested in. If your initiative is to save water by using recycled materials, show people how much water is being saved. Or share some photos of where and how you’re planting those trees you promised.

Everyone can get on board with sustainability. Don’t miss the remaining promotion strategies.

9 Mistakes to Avoid When Marketing or Hosting Your Next Webinar, According to Experts

APRIL 20, 2021

2020 showed us that Zoom has quite a learning curve for some people. Perhaps your entire team watched in horror as a colleague thoroughly cleaned their nose with the camera still on. There are also those who haven’t yet mastered the mute function as the train rolls by every morning.

It happens to the best of us, and it can be embarrassing. Best to move on and hope your own Zoom incident won’t haunt you years into the future. But when you go from attending Zoom calls to hosting webinars, you’ll want to ensure all goes without a hitch. Hubspot is sharing 9 mistakes to avoid when marketing or hosting your next webinar.

Your webinar isn’t valuable. It’s not easy to provide people with insights and knowledge they haven’t seen or heard elsewhere. But if you know something people don’t know, then your webinar will be much more valuable. If there’s no clear or unique takeaway, then what’s the point of hosting the webinar in the first place?
Your webinar is too sales-y. Of course you have something to sell. People attending your webinar already know this. But they’re attending because they want to learn something valuable, not listen to an hour-long sales pitch. Give them content related to your offerings but not about your offerings.
You’re pursuing too many goals with one webinar. Your webinar must have a singular focus. This will ensure the content all stays relevant around the core topic, and you’ll attract people interested in learning more about the topic. If you try to do too much in your webinar, it may seem scattered and lacking a primary focus.
You’re not acknowledging the realities and limitations of the format. While people tune into your webinar, they’re probably tuned in to other things as well. Anticipate that people will multitask while viewing your webinar. Keep the most important bits concise and front and center as they are not to be missed.

Read on for more avoidable webinar mistakes.

28 Marketing Certifications That Will Take Your Career to the Next Level

APRIL 14, 2021

Do you know what the best part about Snapple is? It’s the fun fact under the lid. But the ice tea is pretty great too. How many drinks actually teach you something while you consume them? While fact #17, “The Bee Hummingbird weighs less than a penny,” may not be the kind of knowledge that advances your career, it may just make you the MVP at your favorite bar’s next trivia night.

It feels good to learn. Whether it’s a quick fact, a YouTube tutorial, or an in-person class: knowledge is power. To help you maintain your learning journey, CoSchedule is sharing 28 marketing certifications that will take your career to the next level.

Digital Marketing Institute. DMI offers more than just courses and certifications. You’ll find a community of more than 130,000 members and over 25,000 certified professionals. It’s a widely recognized platform to expand your marketing knowledge.

Google Digital Garage: Fundamentals of Digital Marketing. Google is the perfect starting point for those just getting started in digital marketing. While taking notes and memorizing and understanding key concepts is necessary for any course, this one emphasizes applying the knowledge to real-world situations.

Facebook Blueprint Certification. Looking to explore the ins and outs of advertising on Facebook and Instagram? This is an excellent place to start. You’ll find a series of certifications for different proficiency levels.

Cornell Digital Marketing Certification Program. If you prefer the kind of structure online school has to offer, then this course will be a good fit. You’ll have a dedicated instructor to aid in your learning and classes will include no more than 35 students. You’ll create digital marketing plans, learn about emerging technologies in the field, and grasp the overall digital marketing landscape.

There are so many courses for your consideration, so read on to find the perfect fit.