If the majority of your marketing efforts are targeted toward men, then you may want to think twice. According to Women’s Marketing Inc., women control a whopping 85 percent of the purchasing in the United States. Need a little more convincing? Continue reading “Boys Drool and Girls Rule: Why You Should be Marketing More Toward Women”
Holiday Shopping Made Easy with Social Media
Searching for the perfect holiday gift to spoil yourself or that special someone? Instead of scouring hundreds of stores only to come up short, try checking out your social media feeds for some holiday shopping inspiration.
According to a recent infographic by Crowdtap, a collaborative social marketing platform, almost 65 percent of shoppers use social media to search for gifts, while 70 percent purchase items they’ve found on social media. Moreover, social media and peer recommendations have proven to have an enormous influence on the habits of holiday shoppers.
In fact, 90 percent of recently surveyed participants said they trust social media recommendations more than any other form of advertising, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Shopping for holiday gift ideas on social media is like having all your closest friends shopping with you except there are no long lines, pesky salespeople, or crowds of unruly shoppers.
Continue reading “Holiday Shopping Made Easy with Social Media”
Top Five Content Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
There’s no doubt that content marketing is the most popular inbound marketing strategy on the block. In fact, 93 percent of B2B marketers utilize content marketing, while 58 percent plan to increase their spending in this area in 2014, according to Content Marketing Institute’s “B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends” report.
Although this burgeoning strategy has shown no signs of slowing down, there are still many mistakes being made by companies big and small. Below are the top five content marketing mistakes and ways in which businesses can avoid them. Continue reading “Top Five Content Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them”
From the Prehistoric Age to the Social Media Craze: Marketing Comparisons and Similarities
Imagine for a moment being a caveman in the prehistoric times. You’re creating cave paintings and sending out drum and smoke signals to effectively communicate or relay messages to your community or those around you. It could take days or weeks for your message to be properly relayed – if it gets relayed at all.
It’s almost unfathomable to think that at the time, these were the most sophisticated methods of communication available. Believe it or not, but today’s modern marketing methods still cling close to these prehistoric roots in some pretty notable ways. Of course, they can differ just the same, as depicted by an infographic from Optimal Targeting released today.
The Hidden Menu to Content Marketing
Now I’m not big on fast food but I have to say that I have a complete weak spot for Chipotle. I just can’t resist stopping for a quick bite to eat anytime I drive by that Chipotle Mexican Grill sign. As a matter of fact, I’m a frequent customer. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I learned that my favorite fast food chain actually has a secret menu. At first I was confused, wondering how could I have not known about this? Then as I began to inform everyone else about my discovery, I learned I wasn’t the only one. I began to wonder what the point is of having a menu that you’re keeping your customers from seeing. I realized that these restaurants may be getting somewhere with their marketing strategies. Continue reading “The Hidden Menu to Content Marketing”
Instragram Incorporates Video
Instagram revealed this week that it will be rolling out video to its users. As noted in a blog post:
Over the past two and a half years, Instagram has become a community where you can capture and share the world’s moments simply and beautifully. Some moments, however, need more than a static image to come to life. Until now those stories have been missing from Instagram.
The new video feature comes with thirteen filters which allow you to change the colors and feel of each video. The addition of video seems like a natural fit for Instagram, which focuses on everything visual. Businesses will now be able to share more interactive, behind-the-scenes moments and users are sure to download fun videos to share with their friends in short, 15 second clips.
With online video accounting for 50% of mobile traffic, it’s no wonder that social networks are jumping on the video train – and this number is predicted to grow to 55% by 2016. For businesses, this can mean huge marketing opportunity, especially when you factor in that 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions.
What kind of impact will video have on Instagram? When Vine was introduced to Twitter, it didn’t seem like as natural of a fit. I predict video being more widely accepted on Instagram.
How will you use video in your Instagram strategy? Let us know!
Everyone Needs a Friend
“We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.”
If you are an ‘80’s baby, you definitely know this quote because the person associated with it was as soothing as a warm fuzzy blanket and those footy pajamas we all used to wear. “The Joy of Painting” was on PBS and was a hit for more than a decade. Well not really a hit for today’s TV standards, but definitely a great educational show.
“Gotta give him a friend. Like I always say ‘everyone needs a friend,’” Bob Ross would say as he paired a tall green lazy tree next to a lonely bush.
The Dangers of Inconsistent Branding
Do you hate it when someone spells your name wrong? Like when they add an “h” to the end of Sara or assume that Jamie is always—unequivocally—written as Jamie. In my case, I see a variety of misspellings for my name from Kari to Cari to Kerry. Drives. Me. Nuts.
So why do we get so bothered when someone misspells or mispronounces our name? Because our name is quite possibly our chief identifier. It’s what makes us who we are. It’s what “brands” us, as we marketing folk say.
Why Animal Memes are Marketing Gold
The concept of an animal meme is simple: take a photo of a cute or silly looking animal, add a witty caption, and then share it on the Internet. It’s been around for years, it’s over played, but yet you still read every one you come across. Let’s break down why memes work. Highly consumable and easily sharable content (an image in this case)… check. Short, easy to read text… check. A dash of humor… check. We have ourselves a winner.
Online users are gravitating more and more towards rich content. We see this through the explosion of networks such as Pinterest and Instagram, which are made up almost entirely of images and very light on text. Blogs that contain images typically resonate better with readers than those without. Social media posts which contain an image or video see high engagement rates.
Martha Stewart Joins Match.com – And How It Can Help Your Business
After plugging her new book, Living the Good Long Life last week, Martha Stewart revealed to NBC’s Matt Lauer that she was looking for love on Match.com. “I’ve always been a big believer that technology, if used well, can enhance one’s life. So here I am, looking to enhance my dating life,” she writes in her online profile.
Rumors have swirled that the domestic diva is not actually looking to find her match, but rather seeking publicity to sell more copies of her newly penned book. After all, her Match.com username also happens to also be “thegoodlonglife.” Whether or not the rumors are true, she has been successful in creating a buzz.
Continue reading “Martha Stewart Joins Match.com – And How It Can Help Your Business”