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Understanding CTV vs. OTT Streaming Ads

JANUARY 2, 2022

We all know traditional TV is on the outs in favor of digital streaming options. With that, advertising has had to adapt to our new media habits. So let’s break down the big differences and benefits to two streaming advertising methods: Connected TV (CTV) ads and Over-the-Top (OTT) ads.

Here’s your snapshot:

So let’s break it down even more…

Digitilized TV Vs. Linear TV: First, what’s the difference between then TV types? Traditional, or linear TV, is broadcasting content live directly to the TV receiver and usually means subscribing to the traditional cable or satellite provider to access the content. Advertisers purchase specific spots for the content. Digital television is the streaming of television using digital encoding, and advertisers can instead purchase spots based on a user or group as well as content-specific spots.
What is CTV? Connected TVs are TVs that are connected to the internet or devices (like Roku) that connect to internet-enabled apps. Connected TV (CTV) ads are often shippable ads that embed targeted advertising into user interfaces.
What Is OTT? OTT or “over-the-top” content is pulled directly from the internet and streamed. OTT providers include Netflix and Hulu, but many networks are also launching their own OTT services such as Disney+.
Understanding CTV Vs. OTT Terms: OTT is the content delivery method (like Netflix) and CTV is an internet-connected device (like Apple TV). Both of these can include things like in-stream video ads, interactive pre-roll ads, and home screen placement ads.

Here’s another snapshot on those platforms:

For more examples and details on streaming ads depending on platforms, check out Adcore’s full article.

What is Keyword Cannibalization?

DECEMBER 29, 2021

Multiple pages on your website ranking for the same keyword might not always be your best SEO strategy. When you have multiple pages ranking for the same keyword, you force your pages to compete with each other.

This is called “keyword cannibalization.”

This is often the case for very general terms that are the content stars on every page of your site. While you do want to maintain the use of broad terms, you also need to use longer-tail keywords to hone in specific pages.

How do you know you have keyword cannibalization?

Simply create a keyword matrix by listing all of your site’s important URLs, their meta info, and their keywords. Look for how many duplicate entries there are.

How do you fix keyword cannibalization?

Consolidate that Content: If you have pages focusing on the same broad keywords, they could likely be combined.
Restructure Your Website: A simple solution could just be a little organization. Often you can take your most authoritative page and turn it into a landing page.
Create New Landing Pages: Or you might need to make a unique landing page to serve as your authoritative source page that links to all of your variations from there. That way you target broad keyword terms with your consolidated pages, but long-tail keywords on your variations.
Find New Keywords: If your page structure is already solid, revisit your keyword strategy!
Use 301 Redirects: Don’t go heavy-handed with this one, but using 301s might help you consolidate content by linking less relevant pages to a more authoritative one.

See the full list of examples and details on keyword cannibalization at the Search Engine Journal’s post.

5 Words of Encouragement for Marketing on TikTok

DECEMBER 28, 2021

TikTok had a banger of a year in 2021. And advertisers noticed. Sprout Social took the plunge earlier this year and reported on their experience with it. They took us step-by-step through their TikToks and their marketing strategy.

Here are their five big takeaways as words of encouragement for anyone waiting to advertise on TikTok:

There’s always a niche. Regardless of your industry, product, or audience, there is likely a community for it on TikTok. Find it by deep-diving into hashtags, trends, and keywords.
Look to competitors and peers for inspiration. Like we said, there’s always a niche and someone likely is already capitalizing on that niche.
There are a lot of variables. You’re going to see some fluctuation. Take note of the variables that differentiate your TikToks that will inspire your next TikTok.
Take advantage of TikTok’s native features. Using sounds from the TikTok library increase the likelihood of your video being shown in someone’s For You Page. TikTok’s amazing for accessibility features like captioning.
Don’t sit and wait! Don’t wait to be discovered on TikTok, spread the news and cross-promote on your other social channels. Spread that content love.

Check out Sprout Social’s full post on the type of TikToks they made and for more details on their TikTok marketing journey.

7 Tips for Using Your LinkedIn Profile for Personal Branding

DECEMBER 27, 2021

We don’t have to be the ones reminding you that 2022 is around the corner, but it is. With just a few days left in 2021, there’s no better time to not just update your LinkedIn, but upgrade it.

Here are 7 ways you can be upgrading your LinkedIn profile to act as your own personal branding website:

Get It Up to Date: Duh. But have you done it? Many people start with their images. What’s more on-brand for you: a professional headshot, or something candid?
Add a Welcome Message: Like we said, start with the visual-heavy things. You can now add a video to your profile image or record an audio greeting that lives on your profile page. Does anyone else remember these MySpace features?
Feature Your Posts (and More): Take a look at your past year of posts and see if there’s something worth sticking around on your profile. In fact, check out all of the possibilities under the “Add Section” button of your profile.
The Tricky “About” Section: It’s time to spice up that bio. Do this by explaining how you add value instead of credentials. Keep it personal and in your own voice.
Maximize Your Experience Section: Add supporting media files to your experience like video, images, podcast episodes, case studies, etc.
Create a LinkedIn Newsletter: This is a relatively new feature on LinkedIn. Instead of linking out to a blog, you can create content right on LinkedIn for your existing followers and subscribers.
Ask for Recommendations: Sometimes this can feel awkward to ask for a recommendation from past clients or coworkers, but you never know until you ask! Your personal brand includes what others can say about you, too.

Take this list step by step and see what you can do to boost your LinkedIn profile and inject your own personal brand voice. Check out the full Entrepreneur post for more ideas of how to upgrade your LinkedIn.

Step-By-Step Guide for How to Start a Podcast

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Podcasts have grown to be one of the top sources for entertainment and sharing content in the past few years. Everybody’s doing it! But getting one started means taking the right steps.

Step 1 – Ask Yourself the Big Q’s: Other than it being so popular, why should you start a podcast? Keep in mind, podcasts are not for everyone or every brand. BUT most podcasts cater to a niche audience, so they can create content that targets their core audience. The next steps will help you out with the next big Q – how?

Step 2 – Do Your Prep Work: This is the most important step for figuring out what your podcast will be.

Start with thinking about your audience
Then move into the deets like your name, description, frequency, and episode length.
Determine your format with who is doing the speaking (solo, duos, multiple hosts, or call-ins/interviews)

Step 3 – Time to Get Technical: You can either rent studio space and they will have all the equipment for you, or you can grab them yourself. The essentials are a microphone, audio recording software, and a (preferably soundproof) space.

Step 4 – Make It Happen, Captain: Once you have everything prepared (including your script), you can record and get your podcast ready to edit. Editing can make or break how professional your podcast sounds so this is when to determine if you need to hire an editor or do it yourself to the best of your ability.

Step 5 – Time to Distribute: Most platforms need square artwork at least 1400 x 1400 in the RGB colorspace at 72 DPI. Distribution is one of the key elements to supporting your podcast is finding a reliable place to host your episodes like Buzzsprout or Anchor.

Step 6 – Monetize It!: Only do this once you’ve established a listener base, otherwise you’ll be wasting money. You might have to repeat some planning steps to grow.

See the full guide on Findstack’s post for more examples and ideas for your podcast preparation.

Mistakes and Best Practices Brands Need to Know About NFTs

DECEMBER 21, 2021

At least once or twice a week, we have been filling you in on a brand releasing NFTs or virtual “Metaverse” happenings. More and more big brands are taking advantage of crypto and NFT trends, typically as a retail channel. We’ve been seeing the same structure happening, and while some strike it big, some fall flat.

Here are a few things companies need to know to avoid common mistakes of NFTs:

How an NFT looks doesn’t matter too much: The artistry of the art is not what makes an NFT valuable. Instead, designing an NFT project should center around things like scarcity, innovation, and community. Many brands mistake that for just creating something quirky or really specific.
So what is a community in regards to NFTs?: Communities aren’t about companies, they are about ideas. NFT’s are sort of like a club membership (or sometimes an inside joke) that act as social currency to a community. The big mistake companies make is not establishing a community before releasing NFTs.
Early buy-ins have higher value: While many brands are rushing in blindly to NFTs and the metaverse. Metaverse-native brands are currently more valuable than existing corporate brands in this new arena. It’s supporting that idea of building community before launch, because “real-world” brand recognition does not always translate virtually.
NFT projects should change over time: The best NFT projects are constantly evolving and owners should be listening to their community for more changes.
Not every brand and product should have NFTs: But it seems every brands thinks they should. But most products should never have an NFT. Many brands are also rushing their NFTs. Yes, the market is saturating quickly, but innovative projects take time!

Check out CoinDesk’s full article for specific brand examples and more details about doing NFTs the right way.

Crash Course on UTM Parameters + 5 UTM Tracking Tools

DECEMBER 19, 2021

UTM parameters are super helpful for tracking your marketing initiatives. While many marketers use them often, they might not be using them effectively. Time to strap in for the UTM crash course.

What are UTM parameters again?

UTM parameters are a set of five parameters that you can append to a URL that contain information about your marketing campaign. The five parameters are:

utm_campaign: The name of the marketing effort (e.g. launch, sale, etc.)
utm_source: Identify the source of the traffic (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc.)
utm_medium: Identify the medium used by a visitor to come to your site (e.g. email, social, cpc., etc.)
utm_content: Identify content or call to action (e.g. buy now, learn more, etc.)
utm_term: Used for paid search keywords.

To UTM or NOT to UTM?

Yes, totally use UTMs for: paid campaigns, social media marketing, email, print campaigns. Why? These types of sources are what need tracking since you can see the direct performance of your paid channels that have a single starting point.

No, you don’t need to use UTMs for: internal links, organic search, and natural refferers. Why? UTM parameters override a lot of that tracking information built into search engines or your own website’s analytics tracking sources and journeys.

How to manage your UTMs:

Wherever you are using to build your UTMs usually offers data tracking, but you can also do this manually in GA or spreadsheets. However, here are some other tracking tools to keep your UTM’s in one place:

Smart UTM Manager
TerminusApp
CampaignTracker.io
UTM.io
UTMLinkManager.com

Terminus has a 5 chapter course for beginners and experts all about UTMs. Check out the full course for all of the details in between like the different types of UTMs between social media and email.

4 Social Advertising Trends to Plan for in 2022

DECEMBER 15, 2021

It’s recap AND trend predictions season. Advertising can be a tricky beast as it is, but now more than ever we can see what’s working from the data. So after see what’s been going on the past year, AdWeek put together their top predictions for 2022. Let’s dive in:

Shopping journeys will become more complex: Shopping journeys are already hopping between channels and we expect to see more of it. As consumers spend more time on social media, they also have multiple touchpoints with a brand before making a purchase. The year 2022 will be the year of diversification and implementing a true multi-platform social advertising strategy. This will allow brands to meet their customers at every step of their shopping journey.
Creative will be more critical than ever: Creative has been undervalued in terms of personalization, and it’s coming back with force. Expect to see brands investing in their creative strategy more heavily. And the key to finding the right creative direction and best-performing ads is a robust creative testing plan. Testing will go hand in hand with this emphasis on creative.
Brands will open the data privacy dialogue: With the new privacy regulations, brands will be boosting the transparency and conversation about their data privacy with users. When consumers click “opt-in” or “track cookies,” they typically don’t understand why and that’s gonna change. Smart advertisers are going to build more trust and loyalty by simply opening the dialogue more.
AI will dominate, but with human touch: AI is booming but human touch is still required to make it effective. For 2022, expect to see more AI innovation and adoption in ad tech, with human augmentation playing a critical role.

What do you think of these predictions? See the full post in more detail at AdWeek.

The Science Behind Downtime and Creativity

DECEMBER 14, 2021

We asked you guys, “do you think you give yourself enough downtime?” And these were the results:

41% – Sometimes. But not as much as I need.
33% – WTF is downtime??
26% – Yes. I make it a priority.

So almost 75% of you are not getting enough downtime in your life. Well, science is saying you gotta do something about that. And that something is nothing. It is essential to make time to do nothing so you can stay sane, maintain your creativity, and boost your productivity.

Downtime is a big part of work-life balance that many people are neglecting, especially in creative industries. Marketers, creators, developers, and everyone in between get stuck in cycles of work, work, work, and then maybe some play, but no actual breaks.

The Definition of Downtime:

Downtime is unstructured time with no goal in mind and no targeted focus of attention.

Have you been doing downtime wrong? Podcasts, TV, and background noise might be our great ways to escape or speed up tasks, but experts say that doesn’t count. They suggest embracing the mind-numbingness of a task to give your brain a chance to chill.

The Science of Doing Nothing:

Studies show that thinking relies on two different brain networks, each with its own way of processing information. So how do you make them work together?

Brain network number 1 is the central executive network. This is the task and goal-oriented part of your brain. Brian network number 2 is the default mode network, also known as the imagination network. It comes to life when you’re not paying attention to anything in particular. Hence what makes downtime so important.

To get the most out of your networks, you have to let go and let your imagination network activate.

We get it. That’s not an easy thing to do in this busy world. Check out the full Forbes piece to learn more about ways to embrace downtime and the science behind supporting your creativity by doing nothing.

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