The Daily Carnage

The savvy marketer's hub for industry news, insights, resources, and culture.

Today’s Issue

The Popemobile 🛞

And other stories.

Issues

View All

How to Ask for a Referral to a Potential Client [+ Free Email Templates]

JULY 19, 2020

Customers are everything. Aside from the obvious, the Wharton School of Business found that a referred customer has a 16% higher lifetime value than a non-referred customer. Hubspot is here to tell us how you can go about asking for a referral.

Before jumping into how to ask, we must first determine who we’ll ask. Do this by identifying your advocates. Think of customers who you’ve shared a long, positive relationship with.

Once you’ve identified some good candidates, first ask if they’re willing to give feedback, which you can turn into a testimonial for your website. After collecting some testimonials from willing customers, it’s time to ask for a referral.

How to Ask for Referrals

Build value first, then ask. Don’t jump the gun. This is your customer, so show them the unparalleled service you offer before you ask for anything. Share relevant content with them and keep them up to date with your products and features that will benefit them.

Offer incentives for referrals. Although your great service helps, a little push in the form of a reward always lends an extra hand. Offer items like Amazon gift cards, discounts on invoices, or a donation to a charity of their choice. Tell them the first 10 to respond with a referral will receive the prize. This helps to expedite the process.

Share their work, too. It’s crucial to always generate goodwill. Be consistent about passively, yet proactively, referring them by sharing their blogs, publicizing their product launches, or leaving positive reviews. It’s a two-way street after all.

These are just half of the tips Hubspot offers, so give the rest a read. You’ll also find 45 great templates when asking for referrals.

Social Media and Local Search: How to Optimize Your Profiles for Local Customers

JULY 15, 2020

When it comes to geographic barriers, increasing visibility on social media for products and services can be a bit more straightforward for eCommerce businesses. But what about businesses that are bound by a specific location in their customer acquisition efforts?

AdEspresso breaks down social media and local search so you can see how to optimize all of your profiles and on-platform content for local customers.

Rule number one, it’s important to always include location data in your profiles.

In your Facebook “About” section, enter your business’s exact location. This will generate a Google Map so users can get directions.
Instagram is very similar; input your business location when setting up your business profile.
On your LinkedIn Company Page, enter your location when editing your Page, and the location will appear immediately under your Page name.

Rule number two, add location-oriented keywords in your content.

You should always include location-oriented keywords in your “About” sections on social media. It’s just as crucial to include these keywords regularly in social posts and content. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube are some of the most frequently-used search engines, so make it easy for local prospects to find you in their localized searches.

Rule number three, use location-based hashtags.

Keep in mind that hashtags act as clickable portals for topics that users are interested in. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags, so allocate at least 10 of these to location-oriented hashtags.

Rule number four, Create sister accounts if you have different branches.

You don’t want to confuse customers and prospects. Setting up accounts for each business location allows you to easily create location-specific content. People will be able to quickly see different locations as they search. Just make sure your branding is consistent across accounts.

Get the full scoop from AdEspresso. Smash the button!

How to Perfect the One-on-One Interview

JULY 15, 2020

There’s so much to learn from talking with people or just listening to others’ conversations. Be it podcasts, news networks, YouTube, panels, or Q&As, it’s clear we’re inspired by conversation.

There is no shortage of opportunities when it comes to sharing your own conversations with your audience. Content Marketing Institute wants to help you perfect your one-on-one interviews so you may deliver quality content composed of rich conversations.

How to prep for the interview

Research, research, research. Knowing who you’re talking to is critical. Look into their background, area of work, publications, and accomplishments. Finding existing interviews can give you an idea of your future guests’ conversation style.

Think about your line of questioning. It’s okay to keep an outline with questions, but don’t expect to follow it. Write down points you’d like to learn more about to guide your conversation.
Don’t share questions in advance. You don’t want your guest to sound rigid or scripted, so keep it conversational. If your guest must have questions beforehand, then just give the bare bones.

How to hit your stride

Lob the first question. Start with an easy question that doesn’t tread on uncomfortable subjects. This one is intended for you and your guest to relax and adjust to the interview setting and format.

Deviate from the script. It’s okay to take detours during your interview. Unexpected and rewarding discoveries are often made this way. Of course, there is such a thing as deviating too far.
Consider unusual questions that probe. Ask outside-the-box questions for outside-the-box answers. A weird question that throws someone off at first can be a good thing.
Appreciate the role of silence. Silence is a powerful tool and it prompts responses. Give your subject time to formulate answers. Be patient with silence.

CMI’s guidelines will surely up your interview game. Read on, crew!

Influencer Marketing: What Is It and How to Build a Solid Strategy

JULY 13, 2020

Does it make sense to invest in Influencers within a marketing strategy? Glad you asked.

Turns out, Influencer Marketing Hub found that businesses are making $5.20 for every $1 they spend on influencer marketing. And that’s one exciting stat if you ask us.

Plus, consider the fact that people buy from people. To us, that’s the biggest reason why Influencers are such an effective strategy.

We’ve noticed some chatter in our Facebook group about influencer marketing and today, SEMrush is guiding us through a few strategies starting with the different types of influencers.

Micro-Influencers: the every day social media user with between 1,000 and 10,000 like-minded followers.
Macro-Influencers: aka celebrities with hundreds of thousands+ followers. But its also pretty expensive.
Nano-Influencers: less than 1,000 followers but highly engaged niche.

Now, SEMrush’s 6 steps to building a solid influencer marketing strategy.

Have a clear understanding of what will or will not work by setting SMART goals. For example, focus on Reach when building awareness on a product or service to a new audience.
Define a target audience and make sure it aligns with the influencer before you form a partnership. Otherwise, it’s like Ed Sheeran on Game of Thrones. It’s fun but makes zero sense. Focus on building a highly engaged fanbase instead of yelling to the masses.
Identify your campaign messaging that closely aligns with goals. Include how the influencer can assist in that messaging, too.
Don’t begin negotiations with influencers without setting a budget. An overall budget for an influencer partnership will involve compensating the influencer as well as products/services to gift. To get you in the right ballpark, WebFX offers this pricing expectation for each social platform.

- Facebook: $25 per 1,000 followers
- Instagram: $10 per 1,000 followers
- Twitter: $2 per 1,000 followers
- YouTube: $20 per 1,000 subscribers
- Snapchat: $10 per 1,000 followers
- Blogs: $60 per 1,000 visitors

Grab the last two steps from SEMrush for an effective influencer marketing strategy!

Visual Design For Non-Designers

JULY 13, 2020

Many marketers have a love-hate relationship with visual design. On one hand, when something looks great and audiences agree, we’re thrilled. On the other hand, not everybody has an eye for design or has the budget needed for a dedicated designer.

Social Media Examiner understands this plight and offers a guide on visual design for, well, non-designers. But let’s start with three main challenges:

Not enough time to create all the necessary content.
Feeling a lack of skill to efficiently create visuals.
Not knowing what to post or where to begin.

Now, that we understand the barriers. Let’s work on taking them down one step at a time. Here are four things to keep in mind when focused on design.

Stick to the elements of the template. Is there anyone who doesn’t use templates? They’re designed to speed up processes. When you work with a visual design template, don’t rush to change everything at once. Start with bringing in your brand colors, logos, and fonts.
Switch Like for Like. Maintain some consistency in your template. If the template uses bold font, don’t switch to a light handwriting font. Choose something similar and on-brand. If the template has three colors, maintain three colors total even if you decide to change the initial colors.
Incorporate contrast. Be sure not to complicate this one. Use light font colors on dark backgrounds and vice versa. Ensure that the eye knows where to go.

Size matters. If you swap out an image in your template, maintain the original image size. You could also use photos with similar compositions as those in the template.

Luckily, there are plenty of recommendations for design templates, collaboration tools, and creative inspiration. Read on to get the whole scoop!

The Facebook Boycott: What Small Businesses Need to Know About #StopHateForProfit

JULY 8, 2020

There are many questions popping up lately in our Facebook group about #stophateforprofit. In case you aren’t familiar, this campaign began mid-June by Color of Change in partnership with the NAACP, ADL, Sleeping Giants, Free Press, and Common Sense Media.

So far over 100 advertisers joined the call to halt ad spend during July. Color of Change shared its hope that “losing ad revenue for one month may cause Facebook to reconsider how it has ignored the demands of Black users and civil rights organizations.”

With WordStream’s help, we’re getting a better understanding of #stophateforprofit and the various ways we can take action.

Determine how to participate in the #StopHateForProfit

When deciding if your business can participate, WordStream recommends asking yourself the following 2 questions…

Can your business afford the potential loss in lead/customer generation?
How does pausing spend for a month impact your ability to ramp back up?

More so, don’t forget about your audience. One of the best things you can do right now is to listen to your fans. Whether you’re a big business or a local shop, do this by monitoring comments within paid and organic social channels.

Let’s cover the alternatives to Facebook Ads if you can halt your spending.

Reallocate your budget toward Google Display ads.
Consider putting your advertising dollars into local news ads.
Run video content through Youtube advertising.
Donate to programs that support black empowerment and antiracist initiatives.
Reinvest into a fund for matching employee donations to antiracist organizations.

Now, what if you can’t afford to pause your Facebook ads.

Pause your ads for a short, select amount of time rather than for the whole month.
Donate a percentage of profits from Facebook ads to a civil rights organization.
Collaborate with a niche influencer

We know y’all have been trying to figure out what to do. Hopefully, this article by Wordstream will help you!

How to promote your blog on social media

JULY 7, 2020

If you’re regularly cranking out new blog posts, then you’re probably eager to grow your readership; it’s a no brainer. Growing readership, however, takes some serious attention. Social media is just where that attention ought to go, and Ashley Grant talks about how to promote your blog on social media in this GoDaddy post.

Facebook

Don’t only share your own content. Mix it up with other links your audience will enjoy. Provide value above all.
Don’t share too frequently. Try not to share posts more than 60 times per month if you have fewer than 10,000 followers. Even if you have more than 10,000 followers, “clicks per post peaked between 31 and 60 posts per month” according to Hubspot.

Instagram

Maximize your Instagram bio. Unless you have more than 10,000 followers, you can only add your website or blog link in your bio. Get the most out of your bio link with Linktree. This way you can offer a variety of your blog posts in just one link.
Experiment with post frequency. People who use Instagram more will show up in the news feed more often. Test out different post frequencies until you arrive at the sweet spot for your audience.

Twitter

Cushion your shoutouts. If you mention someone in regard to your blog, don’t put their Twitter handle at the front of your tweet. If you do, then only people who follow you and the person you tagged will be able to see your tweet. Instead, put the handle in the middle or at the end of your tweet where more people can see it.
Keep posting. Twitter is fast and noisy. If you’re trying to get your content out there, keep posting the link, but change the rest of the tweet.

Pinterest

Use search-friendly descriptions. When promoting your blog on Pinterest, use a description similar to your blog’s meta description.
Make the most of boards. Post your blog’s pin to a relevant board on your Pinterest page. This will help Pinterest gather an idea of what category your blog post falls under.

There are plenty more tips here covering the above channels as well as LinkedIn and YouTube, so read on for more of what Ashley and GoDaddy have to say.

Google Ads CTR: What’s Considered “Good” and How Can You Increase It?

JULY 6, 2020

We’re tackling click-through-rates this AM. Specifically, when it comes to Google Ads (GA), and Databox is here to help with all the details! Buckle up, crew ’cause this ride is taking off.

First stop, let’s get clear with click-through-rate. It’s the rate of people clicking on your ad after seeing it. Next, the golden question. What’s a good CTR? After interviewing 88 paid expert marketers, Databox found a satisfying CTR is between 4% to 5%. But ultimately, this rate varies on scenario or industry.

But what happens if you’re not satisfied with your CTR and you want to improve it. Here are some tactics for you!

Prioritize Your Quality Score. Google describes this metric as an overall rating on user experience that your ads and landing pages provide when users search for your keyword(s).

A high QS means a higher ranking for your ad, which will help your CTR. Working to improve your Quality Score can include adjustments on keywords, ads, or landing pages. So keep an eye on factors like

Ad relevancy when someone searches for a particular keyword.
The landing page matches what the ad is offering and vice versa.

Create separate ad groups for each location. An ad group is where you set up your targeted audience. And leveraging a geo-targeted ad can be a really effective technique to increase accuracy.

One strategy is adjusting the default setting from “Users located in or interested in your specified geographic location,” to “Users in the geographic location you specify.”

Use negative keywords to weed out irrelevant queries. The goal isn’t to reach the masses. You want your campaign’s search intent to align with the user’s search intent. This is where negative keywords can help because it narrows the pool.

We only got to 3 tactics, but Databox covers several more. Smash the button, folks!

How to Create a PR Calendar With a Simple Template

JULY 1, 2020

Today’s feature from Coschedule is all about the key components of a Public Relations Calendar. Working with this kind of calendar not only organizes your PR efforts, but is an incredibly useful tool when collaborating with your marketing, sales, or exec teams.

Let’s start with the What. Essentially, a PR calendar maps out your to-dos for the result of securing media coverage.

Your calendar should be as overarching as to align with your business plan. And still, show detail like breaking down project tasks in a manageable timeframe. For example, a PR calendar could include deadlines for journalist quotes or shipping dates for sending out product samples.

Moving to the Why. The business, marketing, and content calendars have separate goals from a PR calendar but show a complete picture when aligned together. CoSchedule shows it as…

Business calendar – the foundation
Marketing calendar – first layer or how you communicate your main calendar to customers through things like launches and campaigns.
Content calendar – second layer or shows what content you’ll use to implement those campaigns.
PR calendar – final layer or shows how you’ll use publicity and visibility to amplify your marketing messages.

And on to the How. Getting started with a PR calendar involves:

Finding the calendar format that works best for your team. Your options are a spreadsheet, a basic digital calendar, or a dedicated editorial calendar tool. CoSchedule has the pros & cons.
Identify content types to implement and amplify PR coverage. This could mean pitches, events, organic social posts, print collateral, and others.
Determine your publishing frequency whether it’s “earned” or “owned” media. Come to a decision by establishing your team’s collaborative capacity (and don’t forget about adding buffer time), and seasonal trends that have the most impact on your business.

Smash the button to hit the ground running with a PR calendar!