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Earn Press Coverage for Your Brand in 5 Steps

APRIL 13, 2021

Let’s face it, marketers are professional attention seekers. It’s not a bad thing. Some things need the attention of others, and we’re going to do everything we can to get that attention. Whether it’s a paid search ad, an organic social post, or even a sign on a bus stop bench, we want somebody to see it.

When you want the whole world (or just part of it) to see what you’re all about, press coverage is a huge help. While any press may be good press, we’re talking about the kind of press you plan for – not the press you get when a hacker takes over your Twitter. Here’s how to earn press coverage for your brand in 5 steps from Moz.

Ideation. Before you even decide on your piece of content, figure out what kinds of press outlets you’d like to see coverage in. Are they national news outlets or industry-specific sources? Furthermore, what headlines would you like to see? Working in reverse will help you better define the means to the end you wish to pursue.
Producing a content marketing campaign. Determine what question you want to answer in your content piece and think about what kind of data you’ll need to back up your answer. Will a survey allow you to collect the data you need? Perhaps a history of a topic’s popularity on Google Trends can show you its wavering relevance over time. Pick the best source of data to accurately inform your readers.
Design and copywriting. Organizing your data and using it to tell a compelling story is a must. Think about how you can present your data and story in a chart or infographic as well. These sorts of graphics are constantly used in press coverage, so don’t miss out on creating a well-designed and easily shareable graphic. Include your logo so people will know who created it even if it isn’t linked to you.

Press on for the remaining steps.

Relevant Messaging Ideas: Be Refreshing

APRIL 12, 2021

Imagine being stranded in the middle of the desert and stumbling upon a vending machine selling bottles of sand. First of all, who did you wrong to end up stranded in the desert? Second, what evil person fills bottles with sand and keeps them stocked in a deserted vending machine? It’s the perfect place to make bank on Cactus Cooler. Anyway, as you can imagine, the bottle of sand is the furthest thing from refreshing.

When you’ve been wandering the desert, the last thing you want is more sand. It just tends to get a little monotonous, and it’s important to change things up. The same goes for your messaging: doing the same thing over and over will only get you so far. Here are some refreshing messaging ideas from Nonprofit Marketing Guide to help you stay relevant.

Have an opinion. The effort to remain neutral is completely understandable. However, it leaves much to be desired in the way of getting to the core of your beliefs. After all, don’t your patrons want to know who you are and what you stand for? Give them a chance to get to know you by voicing opinions that matter to you. You don’t need to isolate people who like pineapple on their pizza – just find something relevant and important to your organization.

Try humor. Laughter is good for the soul and allows people to easily connect and relate. Of course, you should exercise good taste when using humor in your messaging. Steer away from anything that might get a laugh at the expense of others and keep it fun and entertaining.
Do something other nonprofits don’t (even if they should). How can you change up your routine a bit in a way your patrons will enjoy? Think about the typical practices a nonprofit will use for fundraising and make tweaks to stand out a bit. Do you make calls seeking donations? How about making a few calls just to thank people who have already donated?

Don’t worry, we won’t leave you high and dry. There are still more tips to explore.

What Is Cross-Promotion? 11 Ideas for Your Marketing Campaign

APRIL 11, 2021

Teamwork makes the dream work. It’s exactly why we’ve seen the astounding successes of the world’s best duos. Think Batman and Robin, Bob Ross and paint, or even PB&J. On their own, these people and things are perfectly capable, but together they are greater than the sum of their parts.

Your brand can have the same effect with the right cross-promotion strategy. Finding the right strategic partner will help you become an even greater force within your current market and markets you’re just starting to dip your toes into. G2 is sharing 11 cross-promotion strategies for your next marketing campaign.

Run a co-branded contest (and boost it with paid media). People like free things – especially if the free thing in question is valuable to them. A giveaway or contest is a proven method of gaining signups and attention. A co-branded contest will reach a larger audience, so the right partner with the right audience will help you strategically grow your own audience. Be sure to run paid media ads to promote your contest to aid your organic efforts.
Get booked as a guest on top-rated podcasts. Keeping an active podcast is hard work and takes a lot of time. Reaching out to a podcast host can help them save time trying to find a guest. Search for “podcasts” on LinkedIn and filter by your industry. This way you can quickly find podcasts relevant to your audience.
Endorse influencers on your blog. Influencers provide an effective way for brands to connect with audiences. While partnering with influencers for certain campaigns is beneficial, sometimes all you need is a mention. Including an influencer in a blog boosts their brand and in turn, they could boost yours by sharing your content. Let influencers know when you mention them in content.

See more strategies from G2.

International SEO Strategy for Non-Dominant Language Audiences

APRIL 6, 2021

If you’ve ever traveled somewhere people speak a different language than your own, then you know from experience how challenging it can be to navigate everyday things like getting around or ordering food. And behind languages are cultures with unique histories that ultimately culminate into what we witness as observers.

SEO may seem so fairly uniform and standardized. While this is true to an extent, you’ll find the need to adapt your strategies when your web presence transcends geographic borders. To shed some light on international SEO, Search Engine Journal is sharing strategies for non-dominant language audiences.

Create Content in the Target Language

No surprise here; to communicate with your target audience, you’ll need to make sure you’re speaking their language (literally). If your site is already built out for English speakers in the US, you can easily use the same site to target American expats living in France.

Use Hreflang Tags to Help Content to Be Discovered by Your Audience

A little fuzzy on Hreflang tags? These tags tell Google which language and country a specific page is intended for. For example, “en-us” is an Hreflang tag indicating the English language in the United States. There are a few ways you can use these tags to fit your needs.

Target English speakers in France. If your Hreflang tag is currently “en-us”, you can just use “en” to target English speakers everywhere, including France. But if you have a specific site or page just intended for English speakers in France, you could use “en-fr”.
Target French speakers in the US. The Hreflang tag follows the same language-country format, so in this case, we would use an “fr-us” tag.
Exclude French speakers outside of France and the US. Hreflang tags don’t offer exclusions, but you can achieve this by excluding IP addresses outside the locations you’re trying to reach.

Read on about localizing the language for your audience.

A guide to creating product positioning statements

APRIL 6, 2021

How many of y’all tried your hand at breadmaking early on in the pandemic? Food was flying off the shelves, so a little DIY went a long way. If you’re a sourdough lover, you’ll know you need a starter before you can begin baking.

A product positioning statement is just like your sourdough starter; you use it to craft the perfect messaging for a campaign. Let’s launch into Appcues’ guide to creating product positioning statements.

What is a product positioning statement? A product positioning statement serves to define your target audience and how your product or service helps this target audience. It’s important to have a product positioning statement so your organization can align on messaging regarding your products.

To give you an idea of how it should look and help you craft your own, Appcues has a simple template you can use.

[Your product’s name] is the [market category] that provides [benefit that sets your product apart from the competition] for [target user group] who [need/want X solution].

You don’t have to limit yourself to this, but it can help you craft your statement with all the necessary components. Try to keep yours under five sentences.

Some things you’ll need to know before you write your own:

Name your product. You guessed it – a product positioning statement will need to incorporate the product’s name. How else would anyone know what it’s about?
Market category. Which industry does your product fall within? Before you solidify this, make sure you define it the way your customers would define it. In other words, use your customer’s terminology to define your market category so the message will better resonate with the customer.
What’s the benefit. Here, you’ll lay out how your product helps customers and why it’s better than what your competitors offer. It helps to do a competitive analysis of your competitors’ products so you can better elaborate on your biggest differentiators.

Keep reading for more tips and examples from different brands.

Tools and Best Practices for A/B Testing Your Ad Copy

APRIL 4, 2021

“If you build it, he will come.” Originally a quote about building a baseball diamond in a cornfield, it has morphed into a general mantra about attracting people with some sort of creation. It does make us wonder – if Kevin Costner built his baseball diamond in a poppin’ location, might he have attracted some more ghosts of baseball greats? All we’re saying is a cornfield is great and all, but why not test a few other places as well?

Testing brings out great results. That’s why AdEspresso is covering the best practices for A/B testing your ad copy.

A/B copy needs time & money to work. Sometimes you need to fire off an ad immediately, and that’s okay here and there. However, it’s always best to allow a couple of weeks so you can adequately test your ad and determine which combination of copy, creative, and delivery option works best. If you can afford the time and have the funds to test, you’ll maintain a better Return on Ad Spend with your optimized version.
Do you know your power words? Leonardo di Caprio’s name on a movie poster is sure to sell tickets. While you may not have an upcoming collab with the veteran A-lister, certain words used correctly in your ad can have the same effect. Words like “easy”, “effective”, “free”, “guarantee”, and many others make your copy more compelling.
Numbers excite people in many different ways. This isn’t so much about slashing your prices as it is about presenting your prices in an optimal way. Your audience might respond better to “Save 40%” than they will to “$60.” Think about the different ways you can present your price, then test them.
We all love a good story. Stories resonate with people. It’s why we all love them so much. Use them to your advantage in your ad copy and make the reader the focus of the story to ensure it hits home.

Just a few more tips left in this article, so don’t miss them!

7 Dead Simple Ways to Reduce Bounce Rate

MARCH 31, 2021

What’s the worst party you’ve ever been to? Was it the one you thought was a costume party so you showed up as a hotdog for your niece’s graduation party? (Such a cruel joke.) Or maybe it was the high school reunion with lackluster attendance. The best thing you can do at a bad party is leave.

If your website was a party, what does it offer that makes people want to stay? Take a gander at these 7 dead simple ways to reduce bounce rate from Moz.

Be intentional. While people land on your page for different reasons, it’s crucial to satisfy the intents of their visits. Some people are looking for info and some are ready to buy. It’s always best to have a piece of content to satisfy each intent. But when it comes to broadening intent satisfaction, make sure your visitor can easily and quickly find what they’re looking for if the page they landed on isn’t it. Include related articles near the top to serve various intents.
Make sure your CTAs don’t suck. Your CTAs will be more powerful when they directly relate to the keywords that draw in your visitors. This means if someone initiates a search comparing computer models and they end up on your site where you’ve put together a comparison, you’re better off with a CTA reading “Browse All Computer Models” rather than one reading “Browse Inventory.” Find out which keywords your pages rank for and use those keywords in CTAs.
Reduce rage and dead clicks. Ever click a button or link on a site and it doesn’t do anything? Sometimes it’s not a link or button at all, and that’s the problem. If it’s not supposed to be clicked, make sure it doesn’t look like it should be clicked. Conversely, if people are clicking something that isn’t supposed to be clicked, then make it clickable.

That’s not all! Head over to the afterparty and read the rest.

The Facebook Boost Post Button: How to Use it and Get Results

MARCH 31, 2021

The Facebook Boost Post Button: How to Use it and Get Results

Everybody needs a boost here and there. Like when it’s 2:00 PM and your eyelids are growing heavy. A quick snack, a walk around the office, and maybe even an espresso shot or two (because why not) will give you the boost you need to push through the rest of the day.

Facebook posts benefit from boosts too. Not because they get sleepy, but because at a certain point they’ll plateau in reach and engagement. To help those posts thrive, Hootsuite is covering how to use Facebook Boosted Posts to get results.

What does it mean to boost a post? A boosted post begins its life just like an organic post. But after it’s posted organically, you can opt to spend some money to push it to a greater audience.

What do I gain from boosting a post? Organic reach on Facebook is declining. While it’s incredibly important to keep posting quality organic content, you’ll see more results when you pay to play. A boosted post will help you reach the right people and it only takes a couple of minutes to get up and running. Furthermore, you’ll see all the analytics surrounding your boosted post, which will help you refine your marketing strategy in the future. As a bonus, you can even extend your reach into Instagram.

How to boost, better.

Tagged in a post? Boost it. You can boost more than just posts you’ve created. If you have influencers making branded content on your behalf, then you can boost those posts too. Just head over to your Facebook Page Insights and into the Branded Content section to find eligible posts to boost.
Successful post? Boost it. Some of your organic posts may already get a lot of engagement as is. Posts like these are perfect for boosting since they have already demonstrated success in their initial limited reach.
Got data? Learn from it. With any form of ad, you’ll experience a bit of trial and error. Consider what you’re expecting to achieve from a boosted post so you can weigh your analytics against your goal.

Check out the rest of the tips!

How Marketers Are Optimizing Their Email Marketing, According to Research

MARCH 29, 2021

Slow to get moving in the morning? Get some coffee in your system. Bam. Optimized. Usual traffic on the way to work? Leave 5 minutes earlier. There. Optimized. Locked yourself out of your house? I wish we had more for you than our sympathies.

Optimization makes things better. It makes us better. It makes our work better. And the sky’s the limit. Today, Convince & Convert is revealing how marketers are optimizing their email marketing with research to back it up.

What is email optimization?

It’s a simple question, and there’s no need to overthink the answer. Email optimization is whatever you can do in your email marketing to make recipients happier while increasing ROI and conversion rates. So what are the bigger challenges email marketers face when it comes to optimization?

Maintaining an engaged list takes the lead with 45% of marketers surveyed indicating this as the number one challenge.
Reducing spam complaints came in second place with 37% of marketers surveyed selecting it as a difficult objective.

While these are two different concerns, emphasis on the first one can help alleviate problems with the second. In other words, improving the relevancy of content will help with engagement and will decrease the perceived spamminess of an email.

Get the Fundamentals Right First

Don’t put the cart before the horse. Optimization begins before you send the email. Lock down the design of your email and make sure it looks good across desktop, mobile, and different browsers. Breaking down what marketers said in the Email Marketing Optimization Survey:

Design was at the top of attributes to test prior to launching email campaigns with 43%. The design needs to work and create an easy flow of information.
Deliverability was next with 36% of those surveyed saying it was one of the most important attributes. Deliverability is crucial because without it you won’t have any engagement at all. Go figure.

There’s more where that came from, go see the rest!