Listen
Understanding the Facebook & Instagram Algorithms
We’ve got a familiar topic today about the (in)famous algorithms that rule the big social platforms. But, there are some unfamiliar tips in today’s Listen that will help you increase the organic reach of your posts on both Facebook & Instagram.
Tons to cover so let’s get to it:
- (1:37) Engagement — Both the good ‘book and the ‘gram show your fresh post to a small audience of your followers. If they engage, then more of your audience gets to see it. But, here’s a new feature: on FB, if your posts aren’t getting a ton of engagement, you’re going to start seeing bundled posts, which will lump all of your posts together. Not great.
- (4:04) Relevancy — This one’s straightforward. The platforms rank posts based on what they think you’re interested in.
- (5:13) Relationships — Both IG and FB focus on posts from friends and families first. Pretty obvious, but this means that word-of-mouth is still vital for brands on Facebook.
- (6:24) Timeliness — Even with the algorithms doing sorting and ranking, the timing of your posts still matters. You should still be trying to post when more of your audience is online.
- (8:17) Searches — If users are regularly searching for a specific brand, both platforms are going to organically serve up those brands’ content more often.
- (9:32) Shares — This might be the most important ranking factor for the algorithms. Sharing something is wayyyyy more meaningful than just clicking that thumbs-up.
- (11:02) Time Spent — This means the amount of time that a user spends looking at a post. More time spent = a higher ranking.
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Read
9 Customer Retention Strategies From Real Brands
What’s better than getting new customers and subscribers? Keeping them, duh! Sure it’s super exciting to get attention from new fans and customers, but when customers keep coming back, it results in a greater ROI and costs a lot less. Like, upwards of 25 times less.
Of course, customer retention is easier said than done — especially when there are so many new things to try these days. That’s why the best strategies are all about inspiring loyalty.
In today’s Read, HubSpot takes a close look at 9 different types of customer retention strategies and how some of the biggest brands are using them to build their loyal following. Better yet, they tell you how you can apply these tactics on a smaller and more relatable scale.
Below are just a few:
- TOMS: Begin with a mission. Sometimes a brand inspires loyalty not through tactics and systems, but through what they stand for. Toms “One for One” policy is one of those missions.
- MeUndies: Use gamification and referral programs. As one might guess for an underwear subscription, MeUndies has a lot of personality. Not only is their referral program tight, but they also have a unique “nudge” button that you can use to motivate your friend to make the purchase. In other words, they’ve found a way to use their current customers to reduce cart abandonment!
- Amazon Prime: Use subscriptions to bolster the experience. Amazon Prime is so much more than what it was intended to be (just faster delivery). It’s now free shipping and gives you access to exclusive content. All that goodness comes with a price, losing about $1-2 billion in revenue every year. But since they’re selling things everyone wants, they make up for it in increased purchases.
- Apple: Create a divide between you and your competitors. We all remember the “Mac vs. PC” campaign, right? Apple certainly made a name for themselves as the cooler, more approachable brand. Wonder what Steve Jobs would think about these horrifying animated emojis.
Watch
Funny You Should Ask…
Google is putting the “ad” in “shade” with their latest spot teasing the release of the new Pixel smartphone.
That ain’t the only thing getting teeeeased in this 30-second ad.
In the wake of Apple’s iPhone X announcement — swiftly followed by mass public outcry ranging from face-recognition fear to “wtf happened to the iPhone 9?” to “ LOL, HOW much is it?” — Google took this opportunity to drag its competitor.
Given its timely release, subtle delivery, and the brilliant use of Big Pun’s ‘90s hit, “Still Not a Player”, the ad makes a statement in a great way. In a way that makes you think that, when your iPhone eventually 7 kicks the bucket, you won’t have to settle for the X or whatever the hell is next.
Here’s what we want to know: will they still make an “S” version? The iPhone XS?
…The iPhone Excess.
“Time is a created thing. To say, ‘I don’t have time’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.’”
Lao Tzu
