The Daily Carnage

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How to Use User Generated Content to Drive Sales

JUNE 10, 2019

The proof is in the pudding. Or so they say.

How about letting your users create the pudding?

We’re talking about UGC or user-generated content. We’re assuming you’re familiar already, but if not, user-generated content is content that promotes a brand that was created by an end user and not the brand itself.

UGC is an extremely powerful way to build trust among prospective customers and drive conversions. In fact, consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view user-generated content as authentic compared to content created by brands.

Why should you use UGC?

Encourage authenticity: No matter how hard you try to make your content seem genuine, consumers will always be a little skeptical. When your customers are the ones creating the content, the game changes. Take BMW for example. They created the hashtag, #BMWrepost, which encouraged folks to share their cars in the wild. This gave BMW the opportunity to curate content based around their own customers.
Drive Purchases: UGC gives customers the ability to visualize what a purchase might look like before purchasing it. Zenni Optical tries to overcome the friction of purchasing glasses online by showcasing users using particular frames right on the product page. It helps potential customers get an idea of the size, shape, color, etc. of the frame before they buy it themselves.

Build Trust: What you see is what you get, right? Not always. Airbnb has faced its fair share of horror stories about their service. Through sharing content directly from guests, potential customers can see firsthand how others are satisfied from using their service.

Ready to fire up a UGC campaign? Learn how to foster UGC by clicking the button below. 👇

6 Things to Check Before You Publish a Post

JUNE 10, 2019

Happy Monday folks.

We’re back at ya with our crowd favorite SEO Monday section.

Today, we’re talking about 6 things to check before you publish a post.

Let’s face it…

Writing quality content that ranks is no joke. It’s time-consuming and sometimes feels like an uphill battle.

We’re assuming you’ve already done the hard part. Your keyword research is complete, your article is structured properly and you’re finally ready to hit the publish button.

Make sure to check these 6 things before you share your article with the world.

What’s the Main Topic?: Do a quick scan of your article. Can your reader instantly tell what the main topic is? Make sure your subheadings fit the topic of your post.
Length of Paragraphs: Readers get overwhelmed looking at lengthy paragraphs. Ideally, you’ll have 5-6 sentences per paragraph.
Are There Internal Links? Internal links are important. Consider linking to similar articles or cornerstone content.
Did You Include a CTA?: What do you want folks to do after reading your article? Make sure you’re including CTAs on all articles.
Did You Use Transition Words?: Transition words are words like ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘so’ and ‘because’. These words make it easier for your audience to understand how your ideas are connected.
Categories and Tags: When done correctly, categories and tags will help your SEO. Learn how to properly set them up here.

What’s in a Welcome?

JUNE 6, 2019

Email marketing is valuable. You know this already.

Giving your personal email these days is like sharing your flask at a dry wedding (or something like that).

Here’s the thing though…

Over 50% of businesses don’t send a welcome email. That’s pretty staggering.

Here are a few simple tips for writing welcome emails.

Welcome and Thank Your Subscribers: Back to the flask analogy. If you’re sharing your flask with someone, there’s a good chance you’ll spend a few minutes getting to know them. Email is no different. The average open rate for a welcome email is 50%. This is your chance to set the tone. When someone signs up for your list, make sure you send them a personalized welcome email. The goal is to make them feel special.
Set Expectations: Let your new subscriber know what they can expect from you moving forward. How many emails will they get? How can they learn more about you? Your goal is to provide clarity.
Don’t Do Too Much: The average welcome email sequence is 4-5 emails. Your first email should be focused on a high-value action. You’ll use subsequent emails to educate and share your story.
Don’t Overthink the Design: It’s easy to get caught up with the design. We’re not suggesting clipart graphics, but consider keeping it simple. There’s nothing wrong with a logo in the header and text below it.
Get Social: Here’s a low-hanging fruit. Include your social links in your welcome email. This will give your subscriber a chance to connect with you outside of email.

How to Streamline Your Content Operation

JUNE 5, 2019

Do any of these sound familiar?

Hunting down artwork in email attachments
Never having the latest version of an upcoming post
Waiting until the last minute for copy

Content marketing teams have a lot to think about. It can get messy fast, really fast.

Having a streamlined approach for your content team is paramount to success.

Here are a few tips to streamline your content operation:

1. Define your process: This is one of the most important phases to streamlining your content. There has to be a structured outline in place that will be executed on for each new piece of content. The outline should include who is doing what and when they are doing it.

2. Create an asset library: Whether you’re a two or twenty person content team, everyone needs to know where the content lives. There are a lot of platforms that handle this, but we’re biased towards Airtable. Creating an asset library will save you a ton of time and clicks in the long run.

3. Share your content calendar: Nothing is worse than frantically slacking someone from your team at 2am about the upcoming feature. To combat this, plan your content on a digital calendar and attach your teammates.

4. Meet on a regular basis: We’re not talking a 30-minute meeting about your new binge-worthy feed on Netflix. Plan a weekly meeting to make sure your team is on track with the outline implemented in step one. Staying on track will keep the team focused and in turn make things run more efficiently.

Lead Gen Techniques for B2B Marketing

JUNE 4, 2019

Looking to generate some new leads?

Ya, you are.

Let’s look at some tactics for lead gen using paid social platforms, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Lead Gen Form Ads: Head over to Facebook and fire up a lead generation ad. These ads are great for content promotion, demo signups and qualifying leads. The beauty of lead gen ads is that they automatically pre-fill the form with user-data. This makes the process as simple as one click for your user.
Account Based Marketing Lists: Account-based marketing (ABM) takes a slightly different approach than your traditional lead gen campaign. ABM identifies and targets a very specific prospect rather than casting a wide net. LinkedIn ‘Matched Audiences’ feature allows you to target contact lists, account lists, and website retargeting. ABM is a great way to align your sales and marketing teams.
Nurture Funnels: Nurture funnels are a great way to stay in front of potential customers. They do take some time to set up but can be extremely effective when coupled with other strategies. You’ll need a strong, relevant content offering to kick things off. Next, create audiences who’ve hit specific pages. In order for a nurture funnel to work, you need to have a clear understanding of your offer to a cold, warm, and hot customer. The offering will need to be different at each stage.

4 Warning Signs for Your Content Marketing

MAY 29, 2019

How many times have you heard “content is king?”

Probably quite a bit. Especially if you’re in the marketing space.

By no means are we knocking content. It’s important, but…

Producing content to produce content is the wrong approach. It all comes down to quality. If you’re doing content marketing right, it takes time.

Let’s take a look at 4 warning signs for your content marketing. If any of these apply to your brand, it’s probably time to revamp your content strategy.

Keyword Research Isn’t Part of Your Process: Keyword research isn’t the sexiest part about content marketing, but we’d argue it’s one of the most important factors. In order to align your content and SEO efforts, you need to know what people are searching for and the topics they’re talking about. Takeaway: Add keyword research to your process.
Your Content is Being Found, but Not Read: Oh hey, Google Analytics. If you’re pushing out content on the regular, you need to get comfortable with Google Analytics. Two important tracking metrics when it comes to content marketing are ‘Bounce Rate’ and ‘Time on Page.’ Takeaway: Consistently track these 2 metrics. They’re a great indicator as to how your content is being received.
You’re Behind the Times: Trying to develop new ideas and topics on a daily basis can feel like a grind. It’s crucial to stay up to date on trending topics and the latest news. Takeaway: Set up Google Alerts for industry related news. Browse and participate in forums through Quora and/or Reddit.
You’re Always Promoting Something: Let’s turn to the tried and true 80/20 rule. 80% of your content should be informational and educational while 20% should promote your brand. If you’re always promoting your product or service, you will lose readership. Folks don’t always want to be sold to. Takeaway: Focus on solving the challenges your audience is facing. Don’t go all salesy on them.

Get More Instagram Followers

MAY 27, 2019

How would you like to gain over 1k followers per week on Instagram? That’d be solid, right?

Neil Patel recently published an extensive post on how he “gains 1,260 Instagram followers per week.”

We’re certainly not guaranteeing 1k followers per week, but there are some great takeaways worth sharing.

Check ’em out.

Publish Long Videos: Video is important. You know that already. If you’re looking to see an uptick on your IG profile, consider adding long-form videos to your content strategy. Not 60-seconds long, minutes long. You’ll need to use IGTV, but that’s exactly what Instagram wants. Action item: upload a long video to IGTV and select the ‘post to preview’ option. Instagram will post the first 60 seconds on your feed and push the viewer over to IGTV. You should see a serious boost in engagement.
Ask for Likes: If folks are liking and engaging with your post, IG will show it to more people. #AlgorithmLife. Sometimes, you just gotta ask for a like. Action item: Include a “Double Tap” CTA in your post (the actual photo). Use this tactic sparingly.
Post More Stories: It’s easy to become inconsistent on Instagram. IG likes to see stories posted every day. Action item: Use a combination of photos and videos and try to consistently post upwards of 10 stories per day.

Check out more of Neil’s tips below.

To Podcast or Not to Podcast

MAY 22, 2019

You’re already sharp because you read the Daily Carnage.

If you wanna be even sharper, you should consider adding a podcast to your content strategy. Yep, we’re going there.

Here are 5 reasons to consider adding a podcast:

Competition is Low: For comparison sake, there are 80m Facebook business pages and only 700k podcasts. When you niche down, that number shrinks even more.
Easily Digestible: Podcasts require little effort on the listeners’ end. They can listen while they workout, drive to work, etc.
Mobile-Friendly: 69% of podcast listeners are on their phones. Wrap your head around that for a second. As we continue to shift to a mobile-first mentality, why not take advantage of mobile-friendly content (like a podcast)?
No Slowing Down: According to Statista data, there were 48m weekly podcast listeners in 2018. That’s expected to be 115m by 2021. Don’t wait to jump on the bandwagon.
Loyalty: Think about your favorite podcast at the moment. Have you checked out the host(s) on social media? Audiences have the ability to connect and engage like never before. Start now and establish a strong, loyal audience before it’s too late.

Must Have Elements for Your Welcome Email

MAY 21, 2019

We’re gonna go out on a limb here and guess you’re using email marketing in some form or fashion. Go you!

Today, we’re taking a look at how you’re welcoming new subscribers (aka subs).

Welcome emails are important, very important. So important that they garner an average open rate of 34% according to several studies.

Here are a few ways to make sure your welcome email is on point.

Timeliness: To combat short attention spans, send your welcome email out immediately after someone subscribes. Your email service provider (ESP) should have an automation feature that will send the welcome email automatically after someone subscribes.
A Clear Subject Line: To avoid confusion from the get-go, consider using the word ‘Welcome’ in your welcome email subject line.
Use Personalization: A reader is 26% more likely to open your email if you personalize it. Do this by capturing their first name on your email submission form.
Guide Your New Subscriber: If you’re successful in getting an open on your welcome email, it’s imperative to direct the reader on next steps. It could be as simple as linking to your best content or offering them a free ‘get started’ guide.
Ask For a Follow: Here’s an easy one. Include a link(s) to your social media channels.
Deliverability: Nothing worse than ending up in spam. Consider including a one-liner in your email that prompts the user to mark you as a ‘safe contact.’