Twitter ended the year on a fascinating run

12/31/2017

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Twitter ended the year on a fascinating run

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It’s been pretty easy to point at Twitter and, with each quarterly moment when it discloses its financial guts, let out a long exasperated sigh.

Twitter since going public at a now in retrospect astounding valuation has for much of its public life been quite the disappointment to Wall Street. But then something interesting happened in the back half of 2017: it went on a rather spectacular run, and though ending on a bit of a slump, it looks like it could finish the year up more than 25 percent — which, by Twitter terms, is pretty good.

Much of that is thanks to a (finally) good report in October this year and a blessing from a Wall Street firm, but we could potentially chalk up getting to those events to some actual things Twitter has done. The product updates haven’t been absolutely transformative (like the earth-shattering bump to a 280-character limit per tweet), but since the introduction of the algorithmic timeline last year, it would seem that Twitter is getting slightly less allergic to changes to its core product — even if it alienates part of its very loud user base.

Twitter has also seemingly begun taking more action when it comes to enforcing new rules around harassment and abuse, a problem that has been hounding the company for years and is even more visible this year. Earlier this month it said it would begin enforcing new rules around how it handles hateful conduct and abusive behavior. Twitter’s strategy here has been often opaque, and while it’ll take a while to reach some kind of middle ground, it’s actually doing stuff.

And doing stuff, it seems, is currently enough for Twitter to figure out how to get a nice up-and-to-the-right-ish chart like this one:

While these stocks — especially volatile ones — will swing often, sometimes the general idea is to try to gauge the future potential of the company. For Twitter, that means it’s going to have to figure out a way to re-ignite growth and get users coming back and using the platform. It has some very deep core issues, and sometimes seems to flip-flop on its own actions and have troubles communicating. But if Twitter is somehow able to right this ship, it may have an opportunity to get that growth engine moving again.

Most executives will probably give the boilerplate “we are committed to delivering long-term value for shareholders” argument for stock swings in the near term, but those swings are really significant for the company. It’s the closest thing to a near-term public barometer for the company’s success, which means it does a lot for employee morale. And it also can be significant for attracting talent, as the company may need to offer more generous compensation packages to rip people away from companies that are high-growth or well-established.

Twitter, going forward, it appears, needs to keep doing stuff. It’s made a lot of moves in the video space in addition to building business tools — like a video-centric ad format. And it certainly has done that to some extent, trying to extend its pitch as a real-time communications platform to video. It needs to continue cracking down on harassment and abuse if it’s going to attract new, more casual users. It needs to keep making tweaks to its products even under the risk of alienating some of its users to make it more user-friendly. In short, there’s a lot of stuff to be done.

What’s arguably the richest part of this whole story, however, is that Twitter now has roughly the same market cap as Snap following its back-of-the-year run. Hovering at around $18 billion, it’s the tale of two runs here: Twitter found some way to turn its story around, and Snap is still having some pretty dramatic issues telling its story to Wall Street. Both have the specter of user growth over them, but somehow Twitter has been able to at least throw a rock in the opposite direction to get the attention of investors temporarily.

Will Twitter get its wish of finally escaping the MAU? Probably not. But for now, it looks like Dorsey and the rest of them have figured out at least some small way to sell the promise of Twitter to Wall Street and get them on board for the time being.

Featured Image: Yana Paskova/Bloomberg/Getty Images

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December 31, 2017 at 10:08AM

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How to Take and Edit Photos Without Hiring a Professional

12/29/2017

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How to Take and Edit Photos Without Hiring a Professional

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No matter what type of business you have, you need to be using high quality images as a promotional tool.

You can distribute these pictures across all your marketing channels.

Share them on social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Add photos to your website to make it look more professional.

You can even send images to subscribers on your email marketing lists to make your messages more visually appealing.

Incorporate photos into your blog posts to break up the content and make it easier for people to read.

I like to use visuals in my blogs to illustrate what I’m talking about.

High quality images can add credibility to your website.

While there’s nothing wrong with using images you find online, nothing speaks to the customer like original photographs.

Taking your own photos means they are unique. Someone won’t be able to say,

“Oh, I’ve seen this picture somewhere else before.”

Ultimately, putting the perfect picture in the right place can help you generate more traffic and leads, which was identified as the top challenge for marketers in 2017.

Here’s the problem, however. Professional photographers are not cheap.

Your company has enough expenses to worry about, so you shouldn’t be paying for a service you can do yourself.

The other problem I see is original images often look terrible.

That’s no good either. You don’t want any low quality images to be associated with your brand.

It looks unprofessional and will result in a negative perception by your current and prospective customers.

If you fall into one of the above categories, I can help.

I’ll show you the right tools to take and edit photos without spending much or needing to hire a pro.

Get the right equipment

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on camera equipment.

But you shouldn’t be taking pictures on one of those cheap disposable cameras either.

Find a middle ground.

A sufficient camera might just be in your pocket right now.

Currently, 77% of adults in the United States own a smartphone.

As a business owner or marketing expert, you probably have a smartphone.

The cameras on the majority devices are fairly decent.

If you’re in the market for a new phone, it makes sense to get one with a great camera.

There are tons of online review websites, such as Tom’s Guide, that give you detailed information about various devices depending on what you’re looking for.

Here are some of the best devices in 2017 for different categories reviewed by their experts:

Best overall smartphone camera – iPhone X
Best features on a camera – Galaxy Note 8
Best camera for landscape photos – LG G6
Best camera for selfies and low-light images – Samsung Galaxy S8
Smartest phone camera – Pixel 2 XL
Best smartphone camera for videos – LG V30

These are good places to start looking.

But do some research on your own before making your purchase.

You may even own one of these devices already.

If you’d rather use a camera than a cell phone to take pictures, that’s fine too.

Here’s a comparison of some cameras ideal for beginner photographers:

As you can see, the prices range from about $400 to $800, which is reasonable.

Professional photographers may be charging you more than that for a day’s work.

Brush up on some basic photography skills

Now that you’ve got a proper camera to take pictures with, you need to master some simple photography concepts.

Learn how to use the various tools and picture modes on your device.

For example, let’s say you’re using an iPhone to take pictures.

You’ll notice an option called “HDR Mode.”

HDR stands for high dynamic range. Here’s how you turn it on:

When should you use it? For every picture?

The HDR mode works best for outdoor photographs and landscapes.

That’s because both of these usually have some bright as well as dark areas. Without the HDR mode, some details can get lost between the light and dark contrasts.

But it takes your camera longer to process HDR photos.

If you’re trying to take images in a rapid succession or photograph a moving object, you’ll want to keep the HDR mode off.

You also need to consider where you plan to take photos.

Conditions—whether inside, outdoors, in the sun, or in the dark—will dictate how you take them.

For example, it’s tough to capture an image if the sun is directly behind the subject.

Unless you have a professional camera, the picture will come out either super bright or too dark, depending on what you’re focusing on.

You also need to learn when it’s appropriate to use the flash on your camera.

The composition is important as well.

You need to understand how the subject should appear in your photo.

One of the most common photography concepts of composition is the rule of thirds:

Imagine your camera frame is broken up into nine sections of equal sizes.

Some cameras have these horizontal and vertical guides to help with your composition.

You want to position your subject where those lines meet.

The example above has the subject positioned in the left third of the screen.

But let’s say you’re taking a picture of a landscape instead of a person or object.

In this case, you’ll want to align the horizon with the upper or lower third of the frame as opposed to the left or the right, like in this example:

As you can see, this makes for a much more appealing picture.

Another basic photography tip is natural framing.

Let’s say you’re taking a picture of a building that has pillars or columns.

It makes more sense to position your subject between two pillars as opposed to in front of one.

Here’s an example of a bridge creating a natural frame:

If you see the opportunity to capture a natural frame when you’re taking pictures, use it.

In the above example, pretend that the top of the image was cut off. It wouldn’t look as natural. But including the entire frame makes it appear more professional.

Something else you need to consider when you’re taking pictures is what you’re focusing on.

If you are photographing a person or specific subject, it’s imperative they are in focus.

Sometimes it’s a cool effect to have part of your photo in focus but the background blurry.

Photographs that have symmetry and patterns are visually appealing and professional-looking as well.

Check out this photo of the Taj Mahal:

All the elements are symmetrical, and the building is still positioned in the top third of the picture, so it follows all the rules.

There are tons of other photography rules you can follow to make sure you’re taking great pictures, but following these is a good to place to start.

You can do some more research about photography basics or even take a class. Both of these options are considerably less expensive than hiring a professional.

Plus, it’s always beneficial to learn a new skill applicable to your business.

Use Canva

Once you’ve taken the pictures, you’ll need to edit them to minimize any imperfections, making them look as professional as possible.

Canva is an image editing tool. It’s one of the best options you’ll find online.

You can edit pictures directly on their website or download a mobile version of their software for your iPhone or iPad.

I like to use Canva because it’s super diverse.

You’re able to access many different features all in one place.

Canva has multiple templates for your images, depending on where you want to distribute them.

For example, do you promote your company with paid advertisements on social media or other mediums such as Google AdWords?

Canva ensures your image is sized appropriately depending on the type of advertisement you’re running.

If you attempt to do this on your own, the image could be distorted, blurry, or even illegible. So it’s best to use professional editing software for this.

One of the best parts of Canva is it’s free.

You may encounter a couple of features that cost a few bucks to access, but you can do all your basic edits without having to pay for anything.

For those of you who want access to everything on the Canva platform, I’d recommend upgrading to their Canva for Work package.

It’s only $12.95 per month, and you can save over 20% if you pay for the full year upfront.

You can try it free for 30 days to see if it’s worth it.

Again, this is way more cost effective than hiring a professional photographer to edit your pictures.

Try PicMonkey

PicMonkey is another one of my favorite editing tools.

It’s really easy to use, and uploading your photos is a breeze.

They also have a mobile app in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, so it’s perfect for both Apple and Android users.

If you’re taking pictures on your smartphone, it’s easy to edit them directly from your device without having to upload them to a computer.

PicMonkey has great photography tutorials.

They cover some of the basic concepts I discussed earlier and teach you how to use different functions of their software.

But overall, I think it’s pretty easy to use.

These are the top features of PicMonkey:

editing tools
touch ups
collages
designs

It’s pretty much everything you could need to edit the photos you took on your own.

The collage tool is perfect for showcasing different products or features on your website.

You can create one simple image with a combination of the photos you took.

Here’s an example of a really cool collage on the Square website:

You can create something similar for your business with PicMonkey.

Create infographics with Piktochart

Sometimes you don’t need to take a photograph to have an original image on your website.

Build an infographic.

It’s a great way to increase engagement on your website or blog.

In fact, people are 30 times more likely to read an infographic as opposed to plain text.

Infographics can also increase traffic to your website by 12%.

Visual content gets liked and shared on social media three times more than other types of content.

The Piktochart website has all the tools you need to create customized infographics.

You can even use your own pictures as background images.

Find other ways to incorporate those original photos into your infographic so you’re not forced to use those cartoonish designs if that’s not your style.

They have a free membership for basic features.

You can also upgrade to a $15 per month or $29 per month plan with extra features.

But try the free version first to make sure you’re happy with it.

Conclusion

Unique photos can give your website, blog, emails, and social media pages the final touches that appeal to your customers.

You don’t need to hire a professional photographer to take and edit your photos.

That’s a waste of money.

You can do all of this on your own without spending much at all. It’s easy.

Just make sure you have the right equipment.

Get a smartphone that has a great camera. Or you can start off with an actual camera designed for amateur photographers.

Next, familiarize yourself with some basic concepts of photography.

Refer back to the points I outlined earlier as a guide for composition:

rule of thirds
natural frames
symmetry
focus

Once you’ve taken pictures, you can use editing tools on your computer, smartphone, or tablet to touch them up and make them look more professional.

Use tools such as Canva, PicMonkey, or Piktochart to get started.

Follow these tips, and you’ll be snapping and editing photos like a pro in no time.

What are some other tools you use to edit your photos like a professional?

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December 29, 2017 at 10:05AM

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Th U.S. needs to create civic social networks

12/29/2017

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Th U.S. needs to create civic social networks

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Rep. Rick Crawford Contributor

Rick Crawford, Representative for the 1st District of Arkansas, served in the Army and started his own agri-communnications business before running for Congress where he sits on the House Agriculture, Transportation, and Intelligence Committees.

Whether an elected official is school board member in a small town or a U.S. Senator representing an entire state, constructive dialogue enables those leaders to engage the people they serve.

Communication between the electorate and their government representatives has increased dramatically during the last decade, and social media has played a significant role in that expansion. From Silicon Valley to rural Arkansas, policymakers are struggling to keep up with and make use of these technological advances. However, the social media platforms we have today usually do not create the kind of productive discourse useful for accurate representation and good government.

Meanwhile, citizens across the country are already utilizing social media to communicate directly with companies like American Airlines and Taco Bell to receive real-time, unfiltered feedback. Shouldn’t citizens be able to do the same with elected officials?

Unfortunately, the incredible volume of highly politicized, paid advertising and misinformation diminishes the possibility for authentic communication before it even starts. The American people and their government need a new platform – or a serious modification of existing platforms – to engage each other in a more effective way.

Let me explain.

Most people equate government to politics and vice versa. In truth, there are actually two legally distinct sides to each elected office in Washington — the official side (duties of the office) and the political side (campaigning).

Generally speaking, those two sides cannot — and should not — be mixed. For example, I should not be using official time and resources to fundraise and engage in political campaigns: I need to spend that time talking to my constituents (not just political supporters) and representing their views in the policy-making process.

The division between official and political is reflected everywhere, including social media. For example, I have both official and political Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Each of them serves a unique purpose.

I use my official accounts to listen to my constituents, explain my policy positions, take criticism, share my public events, and in general engage as many people in Arkansas’ 1^st as are willing to listen.

Like any for-profit enterprise, the social media giants operate under models that generate profit for their investors. That model creates a few problems for government officials trying to communicate with constituents in productive ways. As for-profit businesses, the social media companies are happy to take ad money, including money of politically motivated groups who exploit red-hot political topics, misleading news, and national headlines.

Because those political entities and activists have the resources to spend big on targeted messaging in the same space that we are trying to talk to our constituents, meaningful dialogue simply can’t compete and is drowned out. And while I celebrate the success of these companies, their current commercial model should not be confused with a public-serving governing platform.

Our Constitution protects freedom of speech (including angry citizens protesting on social media), and that paid political advertising will remain. However, political advertising doesn’t leave much room for official communication with our constituents, communication that could inform the policy-making process and move us forward as a nation.

Imagine you’re one of my constituents testifying in a committee hearing. You’re trying to tell me how a law under consideration affects you and how the law could be made better. Think how frustrating it would be if a television was on in the background spewing out incredibly loud, irrelevant, or misleading information about the people in the room and the laws we’re talking about. Distracting at best, disastrous at worst if it means we can’t communicate with each other in a helpful way. This is what happens to elected officials and their constituents on social media every day.

I’ve lately worked with my communications team to monitor my official Facebook page in a way that allows a respectful exchange. But as a small government office with limited resources, we can’t compete with the enormous amounts of money and political advertising that drowns out civic, “official” dialogue in users’ feeds.

The political and official spheres are separate for a reason. Politics can be a dirty business, the truth isn’t always honored, polarization is encouraged, and mistrust is rampant. The official side should be a space where as much politics as possible gets left behind, a place where data and testimony drive the policy-making that affect us all. I have no doubt that the same great minds who are actively driving new platforms for commerce and engagement can formulate a new product (or adapt an existing one) that allows elected officials to engage the American people in a civic environment without paid ads and political spending.

I’m not sure what the updated platform should look like. Do we need a new platform, a “GovBook”? Or perhaps just a “civic search,” or “citizen mode” that we can toggle off and on in our current feeds? Or is it enough to label and flag political content as such? I’m not going to postulate further because I truly don’t know what it should look like, but as an elected official experiencing this problem right now, I know that platforms can and should change for the better.

What I do know is that we should put our collective minds together to create an idea-based debate in a space where money doesn’t overwhelm and distort the process. If we can do that, we’ll see better public policy, better relationships between officials and the electorate, and an overall improvement in government communication.

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December 29, 2017 at 08:56AM

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Using Facebook Ads to Turn New Customers Into Repeat Customers

12/29/2017

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Using Facebook Ads to Turn New Customers Into Repeat Customers

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Looking for tips on building customer loyalty?

Need innovative ideas to generate more revenue?

To explore how to use Facebook ads to turn your new customers into loyal fans and repeat customers, I interview Maxwell Finn.

More About This Show

The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It’s designed to help busy marketers, business owners, and creators discover what works with social media marketing.

In this episode, I interview Maxwell Finn, the co-founder of Unicorn Innovations, a Facebook ad agency that specializes in customer acquisition. His clients include Pat Flynn, Kevin Harrington, 3M, and American Express. His online course is called Facebook Ad IQ Academy.

Max explains why treating repeat customers differently from new customers helps reduce Facebook ad spend.

You’ll discover specific ad sequences for targeting new customers versus repeat customers.

Using Facebook Ads to Turn New Customers Into Repeat Customers featuring insights from Maxwell Finn on the Social Media Marketing Podcast.

Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below.

Listen Now

Listen now: Play in new window | Download

Here are some of the things you’ll discover in this show:

Using Facebook Ads to Turn Customers Into Loyal Repeat Customers

Max’s Story

Max’s grandfather and father (both entrepreneurs) built the largest privately owned commercial real estate company in the world, and that led to Max’s pursuit of marketing. Back in 2006 and 2007, Max used SEO and Web 2.0 to help their agents build their brands and make more money.

Because Max wasn’t passionate about the real estate world, he decided to work with software as a service. Right out of college, he became involved with a startup that raised a good amount of money and eventually had 500,000 users.

After learning about ecommerce through his work with the startup, Max began working with Kevin Harrington after Kevin’s time as an investor on Shark Tank. Kevin was a huge public figure, incredibly influential, and brilliant, Max says, but didn’t have the online presence that fit his persona as a star and successful entrepreneur. Max and his partner, Jeremy Adams, helped Kevin and that work naturally evolved into their agency.

At the agency, people asked Kevin for help with their products and all of those products needed online marketing support. That’s where Max and Jeremy came in. So Kevin brought in a product, sourced it, and got it on TV. Then Max and Jeremy helped with the funnels, marketing, Facebook ads, Shopify store, and so forth. Their partnership was a perfect match that allowed them to offer clients a full range of services.

Max Finn, Jeremy Adams, and Kevin Harrington do full service for people who need help developing and promoting products.

Max Finn and partner Jeremy Adams helped Kevin Harrington with his online presence, which led to Quantum Ventures.

Max has been working on the Facebook ads side for about five years and has invested heavily in it since day one. Today, Max and Jeremy are running their own agency, Unicorn Innovations, and in addition to client work, they offer digital courses.

Listen to the show to discover why the 2008 recession was an interesting time for Max to begin his career in marketing.

Benefits of Targeting Current Customers

Many marketers and business owners have a flawed assumption that when someone becomes a customer, that customer will always buy from the business because their product and followup are so incredible. In reality, the business still needs to compete for customers. Other companies will try to get the customer to leave your brand and go to theirs. One transaction isn’t enough to build loyalty.

If, for example, you’ve been drinking Coca-Cola for two decades, your grandparents drank it, and your parents drank it, moving to a different brand is harder. However, after a first-time purchase, your business doesn’t have that kind of brand equity and loyalty. It’s really important not to neglect your customers.

There’s not much brand loyalty after only one purchase so don’t neglect your customers.

When you reach out to customers, Facebook ad retargeting offers advantages over email followup. If you’re great at email followup and you’re lucky, you get 20% to 25% open rates. So out of 1,000 customers, 800 to 850 of them don’t get your email messages.

However, Facebook paid media enables you to take control of the delivery and open rate. You’re paying to ensure those 1,000 customers see your special deals, thank-you videos, and contests.

Max says it’s at least five times more difficult and costly to acquire a customer than it is to resell to an existing customer. Max works hard and puts money into acquiring a customer. Then reselling to them is five to seven times easier. He’s amazed that businesses don’t invest much time and cash into this customer life cycle.

Listen to the show to hear my thoughts on repeat customer loyalty.

Examples

For Cyber Monday, Max’s company offered a season pass for their courses. With the offer, existing customers could pre-pay for the upcoming year, and the price was $1,000 for $10,000 of value. The company showed Facebook ads for this offer only to customers (not to cool or warm traffic) and had a 37.37x return on ad spend. The ads cost just $300 because they targeted a small list of customers and brought in about $12,000.

Times of year with seasonal impact (the holidays, Cyber Monday, Black Friday) are perfect for special deals or introducing new products. The numbers for cold traffic won’t be that great. However, if you balance cold audiences with customer audiences (where you have these 10x, 20x, and 30x returns) and look at the campaign as a whole, the numbers start to work.

Max believes in multi-touchpoint marketing because the customer or prospect engages in different places. In addition to Facebook and Messenger, his company still does a lot via email. If his company sends an email on Monday that introduces the season pass, they’ll know who opened the email but didn’t click the offer and then target that group as an audience on Facebook.

When you target current customers, ad spend is less and return is more.

Max’s company ran targeted ads promoting their Cyber Monday deal only to customers.

Max and his team make sure they have a cohesive approach to targeting prospects or customers in these different places, rather than shooting blind on each platform. A lot of people do email, Facebook, Twitter, and Messenger in their own bubbles. They don’t have an overall plan that flows from one platform to another and uses each platform in the most valuable way.

Another example is the 7-day cart open for Pat Flynn’s Power-Up Podcasting course. Pat runs Smart Passive Income and has a very loyal tribe. This loyalty makes for a lot of repeat lifetime customers.

Max and his team broke this campaign into cold and warm traffic. One campaign targeted lookalikes, interests, behaviors, and demographics. The other campaign targeted people on Pat’s waiting and email lists, as well as people who bought previous courses and trip wires.

A trip wire, Max elaborates, is a lower-priced product, usually a piece of the full product. For instance, it could be a module or a video from a course. So instead of pitching a $700 product to a new subscriber, you offer a $20 or $30 product and say, “If you like this, we have an entire course with 100 more videos just like this.” The trip wire eases people into the buying process and shortens the jump from free to big-ticket.

People who buy a sample or lower-cost product tend to convert at a higher rate.

The podcasting course campaign covered every step of the funnel. Those campaigns did 15x, 20x, and 30x returns and helped balance out the 1.5x to 2.5x returns that businesses get on average when marketing to cold traffic, especially in short time windows.

When I ask if people who buy a sample or lower-cost product tend to convert at a higher rate, Max says yes, as long as your product is good. If your course or product is bad, you won’t have good results. But, if you’re like Pat and have high-quality content, the trip wire audience converts significantly higher than cold traffic.

Another example Max gives is the founder thank-you video. It’s one of the best ways to transition new customers. Max has created these videos for all of his own clients and their businesses.

Film a 30-second thank-you video and run it as an ad for 2 days after someone makes a purchase. You get incredible feedback because people feel like you care about them. It’s all about building a relationship, loyalty, and goodwill. The video is a transition point in the sequence that takes customers from the non-buyer bucket to the buyer bucket.

You can also create videos (or post copy) to sell a product, instead of sending only goodwill. Tie in some level of recognition for this special discount or bonus, such as “You’re receiving this offer because you’re already part of my tribe, you’ve already bought X, Y, Z course.” That definitely amplifies the ROI of the ad.

The founder thank-you video will be low budget because it’s only for your customers. When you create audiences on Facebook, you can set how long the ad runs (2 or 3 days after a purchase).

Target these customers using an objective, like video views or reach, which are cheaper objectives from Facebook’s perspective. Typically you’re not pitching anything. The video is purely a “Thank you! We appreciate your business. If there’s anything that we can do to make your experience better, feel free to reach out.”

Thank-you ads always get a lot of organic engagement. People share, comment, and tag their friends. They can become profitable ads. Customers go back to the site and might re-buy something, even without a link in the ad. When you’re not pitching and just focusing on the relationship, the effect is interesting.

You can still track conversions, even though the objective is views or reach, because Facebook tracks both clicks and views for 28 days. You typically see 7-day clicks and 1-day views by default, but you can change that setting in Facebook. For example, you can see if somebody viewed the ad and then bought within a 28-day window.

Listen to the show to discover how Max manages the challenges of running a 1-day offer.

Sequences of First-Time Versus Repeat Customers

For first-time customers, Max has three goals. First, develop goodwill and brand loyalty. Second, develop user-generated content (UGC) such as photos with the product, video testimonials, and reviews to use on cold traffic ads. And third, get a repeat purchase through an upsell, a cross-sell, or a subscription model.

For second-time repeat buyers, the goal is to connect them more deeply with your tribe. For instance, mention an ambassador or affiliate program to which you invite only loyal customers, invite them to a special meetup, or offer an early release of a product. Make sure your customers understand how important they are to the brand. Max still pitches things to second-time repeat buyers, but he treats them differently than first-time customers.

With Facebook ads that use custom audiences, one advanced option is the number of purchases. This option allows you to target people who bought more than two times or more than once. Then you have the repeat customer audience. For this sequence to work, you need to have the Facebook pixel code on your website. That way, Facebook can track all of the activity and you can build the audiences.

Place the Facebook pixel code on your thank-you page and Facebook can track purchase behavior.

If you place the purchase event on the thank-you page for your Shopify (or another) store, Facebook pixel tracks the purchase, whether it comes from Facebook, email, or word of mouth, and then tags it back to the user account on Facebook.

I steer the conversation back to focusing on UGC for first-time users. How do you get testimonials using ads?

First of all, when you run an ad after a person buys a product, make sure your targeting matches their product-delivery window. It might take 7 days for somebody to receive a product. Don’t run an ad asking for a review right after they purchase. Make sure you’re in sync.

Max runs contests to get customer photos with products. His company will create a video ad with a founder or team member explaining that the contest is just for customers. The video explains what the company wants to see, such as a photo of a customer in their favorite tee or with a product. Then the video explains the prizes, how to enter, and how to win.

These contest videos aren’t fancy. You just want to deliver the message to the right person at the right time.

You can find lots of tools for running contests and collecting UGC. Yotpo is one of the more popular platforms for collecting reviews. It was initially intended for Shopify, but it also works with WooCommerce and other major ecommerce platforms. Yotpo makes it really easy to collect UGC from customers in the follow-up sequence.

Yotpo helps you run contests and gather UGC.

For digital products, the freebie might be their next course or consulting hours. For a physical product, the prizes might be tiered. For instance, first place gets the most expensive, a $200 canvas. Then the next 10 people get t-shirts and hoodies.

You don’t want to run a contest where only one person can win because people who don’t enter on day one may see the leaderboard, feel defeated, and probably not enter. Make sure to have different levels of rewards for different rankings in the contest and maybe do some random giveaways as well.

Listen to the show to hear my thoughts on how marketers treat first-time and repeat customers the same.

Common Mistakes

Max emphasizes the importance of timing. Be careful to run the right message to your customer at the right time. For example, if you’re asking for a review or UGC, don’t ask someone who hasn’t yet received your product. Look at the average delivery time, buffer that time with a few extra days, and then start the ad. For instance, run the ad from day 14 to 21.

You don’t need special tools for targeting. At the audience level, Facebook has inclusions and exclusions. For example, you might have one buyer audience that bought in the last 21 days and another that bought in the last 14 days. Include buyer group 21 and exclude buyer group 14 to get the difference. Now you have only those people who fall between days 15 and 21.

Use Facebook’s inclusions and exclusions to fine-tune your audiences.

Marketers should also avoid reselling. You don’t want to exhaust the customer. When people think about retargeting after a purchase or customer followup, their mind automatically goes to upselling and cross-selling. However, your customer doesn’t have an unlimited well of cash. Everybody has different amounts of discretionary income, excitement, and enjoyment of your product.

Don’t constantly pitch products. That’s why Max likes the idea of having a thank-you ad (ads without the objective of selling) mixed in. Business owners, entrepreneurs, and especially marketers have trouble wrapping their head around spending money on a paid ad without getting money back.

However, when you invest that little bit of extra budget into thank you-type ads, your conversion rates increase and your cost per acquisition goes down. Plus, when you do pitch products, those people will spend more money. Look at the long-term, the whole campaign. The individual elements can be misleading.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money on post-purchase ads. In Max’s Cyber Monday deal example, the ad cost only $300 because the buyer audience is comparatively small. However, that ad brought in about $12,000. That cost doesn’t carry a lot of risk and has a massive upside.

When it comes to ROI, remember to factor in CLV.

When it comes to ROI, remember to factor in customer lifetime value.

Regarding expectations and ROI, Max says you may need to rethink how you run the numbers for acquiring customers. A lot of businesses and marketers focus on the average order value of their first-time customer, the profit, and what they can afford to pay to acquire that customer. They’re not factoring in the lifetime value of that customer.

For most businesses, the customer’s first-time average order value will be much lower than their lifetime value. So although an ad might not lead to a large number of purchases, the revenue the ad brings in and how profitable that revenue is can be a factor.

You should be willing to pay more to Facebook to get in front of your customer audience. However, the reality is you end up paying less on a cost-per-purchase basis by selling to your existing customers who are more like to say yes than you pay to reach cold prospects.

Listen to the show to hear my thoughts on reaching repeat customers.

Discovery of the Week

intoLive is a cool iOS app for creating interactive social media videos.

In the app, you can edit an iOS live photo or any video so it plays like a live photo when someone presses and holds the thumbnail image. Although the app takes advantage of the iOS Live Photo feature, when you post the resulting photo on social media, the effect works on any mobile device.

You can use the intoLive effect to reveal a cool little surprise when someone interacts with your social media post. For example, The Modern Tog created a Facebook post with a thumbnail image that says, “Press and hold.” When people press and hold the image, they see a short video that explains how to create the effect themselves. (The Modern Tog has an audience of photographers learning how to grow their businesses.)

Putting text on the thumbnail that says, “Press and hold” is a good idea because part of the surprise is that the interactivity works differently from what people expect on social platforms. The text ensures people know what to do. Add text to the image you want to use as a thumbnail and save it to Photos on your iOS device. Then in the intoLive app, add the thumbnail as the first video frame.

To understand how the intoLive app works, check out the YouTube videos that walk you through the creation process.

VIDEO

intoLive is a free app and you can unlock different themes, fonts, and so on for $1.99 and $2.99.

Listen to the show to learn more and let us know how intoLive works for you.

Listen to the show!

Listen now: Play in new window | Download

Key takeaways mentioned in this episode:

What do you think? What are your thoughts on using Facebook ads to turn customers into loyal repeat customers? Please leave your comments below.

Social Media Marketing Podcast 282. In this episode Maxwell Finn explores how to use Facebook ads to turn existing customers into repeat customers.

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December 29, 2017 at 05:07AM

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Using Facebook Ads to Turn New Customers Into Repeat Customers

12/29/2017

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Using Facebook Ads to Turn New Customers Into Repeat Customers

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Looking for tips on building customer loyalty? Need innovative ideas to generate more revenue? To explore how to use Facebook ads to turn your new customers into loyal fans and repeat customers, I interview Maxwell Finn. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It's designed to help busy marketers, business owners, and creators discover what works with social media marketing. In this episode, I interview Maxwell Finn, the co-founder of Unicorn Innovations, a Facebook ad agency that specializes in customer acquisition. His clients include Pat Flynn, Kevin Harrington, 3M, and American Express. His online course is called Facebook Ad IQ Academy. Max explains why treating repeat customers differently from new customers helps reduce Facebook ad spend. You'll discover specific ad sequences for targeting new customers versus repeat customers. Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below. Listen Now Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show: Using Facebook Ads to Turn Customers Into Loyal Repeat Customers Max's Story Max's grandfather and father (both entrepreneurs) built the largest privately owned commercial real estate company in the world, and that led to Max's pursuit of marketing. Back in 2006 and 2007, Max used SEO and Web 2.0 to help their agents build their brands and make more money. Because Max wasn't passionate about the real estate world, he decided to work with software as a service. Right out of college, he became involved with a startup that raised a good amount of money and eventually had 500,000 users. After learning about ecommerce through his work with the startup, Max began working with Kevin Harrington after Kevin's time as an investor on Shark Tank. Kevin was a huge public figure, incredibly influential, and brilliant, Max says, but didn't have the online presence that fit his persona as a star and successful entrepreneur. Max and his partner, Jeremy Adams, helped Kevin and that work naturally evolved into their agency. At the agency, people asked Kevin for help with their products and all of those products needed online marketing support. That's where Max and Jeremy came in. So Kevin brought in a product, sourced it, and got it on TV. Then Max and Jeremy helped with the funnels, marketing, Facebook ads, Shopify store, and so forth. Their partnership was a perfect match that allowed them to offer clients a full range of services. Max has been working on the Facebook ads side for about five years and has invested heavily in it since day one. Today, Max and Jeremy are running their own agency, Unicorn Innovations, and in addition to client work, they offer digital courses. Listen to the show to discover why the 2008 recession was an interesting time for Max to begin his career in marketing. Benefits of Targeting Current Customers Many marketers and business owners have a flawed assumption that when someone becomes a customer, that customer will always buy from the business because their product and followup are so incredible. In reality, the business still needs to compete for customers. Other companies will try to get the customer to leave your brand and go to theirs. One transaction isn't enough to build loyalty. If, for example, you've been drinking Coca-Cola for two decades, your grandparents drank it, and your parents drank it, moving to a different brand is harder. However, after a first-time purchase, your business doesn't have that kind of brand equity and loyalty. It's really important not to neglect your customers. When you reach out to customers, Facebook ad retargeting offers advantages over email followup. If you're great at email followup and you're lucky, you get 20% to 25% open rates. So out of 1,000 customers, 800 to 850 of them don't get your email messages. However,

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December 29, 2017 at 05:04AM

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Team internet reunites a man with an envelope full of money after he left it in the pub

12/28/2017

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Team internet reunites a man with an envelope full of money after he left it in the pub

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Here's a tale of lost and found that'll restore your faith in humanity. A pub in London rallied to find the owner of a packet of wages that had been left on the premises in the run-up to Christmas. And, much to the relief of the internet, the pub jolly well found him!

The Alexandra pub in Wimbledon, south west London, tweeted out a photo of an envelope containing someone named Mariusz's Christmas wages. "Mariusz, we found your pay packet in the Alex on Thursday night," read the tweet. "You haven't lost it, we've got it!"

But, the pub's efforts to reunite Mariusz with his hard-earned cash didn't stop at one tweet.

Mariusz, we found your pay packet in the Alex on Thursday night (21st December). It's stuffed full of cash, you haven't lost it, we've got it! If anybody knows probably a Polish man called Mariusz, near Wimbledon, it could be him. Please tell him! RT in Polish if you know any. http://pic.twitter.com/i3sjOOyJ6t

— The Alexandra (@TheAlexSW19) December 26, 2017

Using the hashtag #FindMariusz, the pub was able to spread the word on social media in the hope of tracking down the owner of this sum of money.

Lets #FindMariusz He dropped an envelope full of cash in the Alex on Thursday night. Do you know somebody called Mariusz? Could it be him? Please tell him and get him to contact us. Lets get the fella his Christmas money back, Polish people please RT in Polish. http://pic.twitter.com/JjjJVyvWAg

— The Alexandra (@TheAlexSW19) December 24, 2017

And the pub spread the word on Facebook.

Rather wonderfully, people all over the country got on board with the hashtag in an effort to find Mariusz.

Mariusz worked hard for this cash ... lost it in a pub just before Christmas. Hope they gwt it back to him #FindMariusz

— Kate Stafford (@kate_bili) December 27, 2017

Thanks to the power of social media—and perhaps a Christmas miracle—Mariusz found out about the mission to reunite him with his cash. On 27 Dec. he strolled into the pub and said, "I'm Mariusz."

OH MY GOD WE'VE GOT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's just walked in the sports bar, I've checked the CCTV, and it's him!!! Photo to follow. MARIUSZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

— The Alexandra (@TheAlexSW19) December 27, 2017

And, here's the man himself, pictured with his cash and the people who strove to reunite him with him.

The pub staff chatted to Mariusz and found out where he'd been during their quest to find him. Turns out he'd gone to Poland for Christmas and didn't tell his wife he'd lost his wages.

Matriusz facts: He DID go to Poland for Christmas. He DIDN'T tell his wide he'd lost the money "I didn't want the stress over Christmas" ??and he works in the building trade. He left a hefty tip for Nobby, & like ALL Polish people, was a brilliant bloke. Filling up here.

— The Alexandra (@TheAlexSW19) December 27, 2017

And, if you're wondering how Mariusz came to find out that his money had been found by kind-hearted strangers, then you're in luck. Mariusz's son saw a post about the #FindMariusz campaign and asked him: "Could this be you Dad?"

We just want to say a HUUUUGE thank-you to everyone who tweeted it, retweeted it, translated it, put zeds into etc. We never had one single fraudulent claim (a couple of jokey ones only) and Mariusz's son SAW IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, "could this be you Dad?". You did it people!!!

— The Alexandra (@TheAlexSW19) December 27, 2017

How wonderful!

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December 28, 2017 at 08:17AM

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How to Repurpose Blog Content Into Short-Form Social Media Updates

12/28/2017

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How to Repurpose Blog Content Into Short-Form Social Media Updates

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Want more exposure for your blog?

Wondering how to transform your blog articles into social media content?

In this article, you’ll discover six steps to turn long-form blog posts into short-form content for social media.

How to Repurpose Blog Content Into Short-Form Social Media Updates by Brian Appleton on Social Media Examiner.

#1: Curate Quotes and Takeaways From Your Top Blog Posts

To convert long-form blog posts into social media posts that engage your followers, start by making a list of your best blog posts. Your website’s Google Analytics can tell you which articles have the most visits.

For each blog post, gather information that will help you write social posts based on your blog content and place your findings in a master document that’s easy to access. Write a list of 5-10 reasons you think each post will fascinate your audience.

Also, list the best quotes and key takeaways from each blog post. For example, your blog post might include statistics, surprising statements, and quotes from influencers. Look for passages that boil down the post’s core message, too.

Below you see the beginning of a document that a beekeeping business might create. As you gather content based on each blog post, you’ll begin to see how your social posts can highlight a blog post’s value and grab your audience’s attention in busy social feeds.

blog post key points to share in social posts

#2: Assign a Content Format to Each Key Point

Turning a 1,200-word blog post into a series of riveting social media posts seems daunting, but the key to conveying big ideas in small social posts is to change the type of content.

Everyone learns differently. Some people absorb information best in a visual format, others through audio, and still others by reading.

As you review the content you gathered in your master document, determine what kind of content you want each element to become. You might turn statistics from your blog post into a video that talks about your five most shocking statistics. Key takeaways are also good for a short video.

If your post contains a surprising statement that would grab your followers’ attention on social, you might save that statement for a text post that links to your blog.

#3: Draft Social Posts That Reference Each Article’s Hook

After you know what valuable content you want to share, you need to write a compelling, unique social media post that’s different from the blog post’s headline and adds a layer of interest. Focus on why the blog post matters to your audience so you can write social posts that resonate.

share blog post on Facebook example

If you simply repeat the headline of your blog post as your social media post, your social post looks redundant and careless and it doesn’t add context. However, having a great headline still saves you some work. All you have to do is add perspective and incorporate it into persuasive copy.

In a headline, the hook usually will raise questions in the reader’s mind that are answered in the blog post. Find those answers and write a social post that hints at the solution without giving away the entire explanation. Your social post should provide just enough information to prompt the audience to engage. Share a great statistic, statement, or visual, and then hint at the value in your blog post.

For instance, your blog post might include a statistic such as “79% of social media users say they use their accounts daily.” To create intrigue in your social post, you might ask, “What percentage of people do you think use social media every day?”

Another example is this post from Crazy Egg, which conveys big ideas simply by breaking a large blog post into small chunks of information. The social post includes a quote and a surprising statement, and then the text entices the audience to read more.

share blog post on Facebook example

Add Keywords, Hashtags, and Tags

You want to ensure your social media accounts are optimized for search. Start by incorporating your website’s homepage keyword phrases in your social media profiles. Moz does an excellent job optimizing keywords on its Facebook page.

You also want to use your blog post’s focus keyword in your social posts. To illustrate, if your focus keyword is “Instagram Stories,” include “Instagram Stories” in your social post.

blog post focus keyword in social post

Turn your focus keywords into hashtags, too. Try not to use too many hashtags at a time so your post looks clean.

blog post focus keywords as hashtags

Tip: If your social or blog post includes a quote from an influencer, make sure you tag the influencer in your post.

Edit Your Social Media Posts to Emphasize Value

After you write a draft of your social post, you want to make sure the text is concise while still conveying all of the important elements such as your hook, the value the post provides to readers, and your keywords.

To polish your copy while amplifying the value, remove anything that doesn’t mirror the objective of your audience by highlighting the core message of your blog post. Delete any filler text and rework weak sentences, such as expletives (sentences that begin with there is, there are, it is). Try to replace wordy phrases with a single word.

#4: Format Social Media Post Copy for Specific Platforms

The design and arrangement of a post grab attention as much as the copy. Each social media platform has its own best practices for adding white space around text and inserting hashtags.

On Instagram, no one likes to see a jumble of 30 maxed-out hashtags mixed in with your text update. Publish clean, easy-to-read posts with plenty of white space that breaks up text blocks and hashtag clouds.

Instagram caption white space usage

On Facebook, you can write a short novel if you want, but it’s best to write no more than one or two short paragraphs. Add extra space between each paragraph to improve readability.

Facebook post with paragraph breaks

Twitter has tight character limits, so your message needs to make an impression. Use a maximum of four hashtags per tweet and tag sources mentioned in your blog post. Include one or two hashtags in the body of the tweet. If you want more hashtags, use one or two at the very end of the tweet. Shorten your links and consider using white space for multiple-sentence tweets.

Twitter white space usage

Conclusion

The most important aspect of turning blog content into social content is to retain value for the audience. Focus on what the audience cares about and how you can educate, inspire, or entertain them.

Transforming content is never easy, but sometimes the hardest tasks are the most rewarding. The more effort you put into adapting your long-form blog posts into gripping social posts, the better results you’ll achieve.

What do you think? Have you tried any of these ideas in your social media posts? What tactics have worked for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Discover six steps to turn your long-form blog posts into short-form content for social media.

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December 28, 2017 at 05:01AM

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Instagram has a new feature that adds 'recommended' posts to your feed

12/27/2017

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Instagram has a new feature that adds 'recommended' posts to your feed

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Instagram has a new feature that adds 'recommended' posts to your feed

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By Shannon Connellan2017-12-28 00:40:15 UTC

What are your friends liking on Instagram? Whatever it is, it's about to land in your feed.

Instagram is quietly rolling out a new feature that will recommend posts for you based on the activity of the accounts you follow. "Recommended for You" posts will sit in their own section, accessible through a thumbnail above your main feed, according to TechCrunch.

So, how does Instagram determine which posts will appear in the Recommended for You section? According to Instagram's help section, the posts are suggested according to content liked by the accounts you follow. If you see something you don't like, you can temporarily hide "Recommended for You" posts by tapping the camera icon above the post and selecting "Hide."

It seems pretty similar to both the "Following" section, which shows what posts your friends are liking, and the "Search and Explore" section, where you can find photos and videos that you might like from accounts you don't yet follow.

Instagram told TechCrunch the "Recommended for You" section won't replace or get in the way of the accounts you explicitly follow, and will instead appear after you've seen all posts in your feed.

Some folks are indifferent to the new feature, while others aren't having a bar of it:

It’s not like they haven’t been putting ads all over my feed or recommended users to follow anyway. Nothing new

— Darth (@darthbatman00) December 27, 2017

No Instagram I don't want "recommended posts" on my feed. I follow the accounts I follow for a reason. CyA.

— Bella (@bellaabrookss) December 27, 2017

@instagram is forcing more of this crap on us, but all we really want is the ability to switch "chronological order" off/on!

— Chip Hoosier (@chiphoosier) December 27, 2017

It's not the only new feature Instagram has been subtly rolling out. In December alone, the platform allowed you to follow hashtags like a regular account, and added a new commenting feature that is only unlocked if you look at a post for over five seconds.

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December 27, 2017 at 06:48PM

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President Obama warns against getting cocooned in bias via social media

12/27/2017

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President Obama warns against getting ‘cocooned’ in bias via social media

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President Obama warns against getting ‘cocooned’ in bias via social media | TechCrunch

VIDEO

Former President Barack Obama sat down with the UK’s Prince Harry for an extended and far-ranging interview with the BBC this week, and their conversation touched on social media, the use thereof, and Obama’s take on what the current state of social media means for human discourse.

The full interview is embedded above, but the breakouts regarding social media include an admonition against those “in leadership” using it in ways that prevent establishing “a common space on the intenret,” which seems an oblique reference to Donald Trump and his use of Twitter, which is often divisive, and seemingly intentionally so.

“One of the dangers of the internet is that people can have entirely different realities,” Obama told the Prince, according to the BBC. “They can be cocooned in information that reinforces their current biases.”

Obama never overtly named Trump in his comments, but he did make reference to a need for us to “harness this technology in a way that allows a multiplicity of voices” without leading to “a Balkinisation of society,” per the news agency’s transcript.

The former U.S. President didn’t go so far as to completely condemn social media — in fact, he referenced it as a “really powerful tool for people of common interest to convene and get to know each other and connect.” But, he also said that people should then take that further and meet and become familiar in public spaces, too, in order to deepen their mutual understanding.

Featured Image: SAUL LOEB / Staff/Getty Images

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December 27, 2017 at 10:33AM

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The Top 9 Marketing Trends to Look for in 2018

12/27/2017

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The Top 9 Marketing Trends to Look for in 2018

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The most successful marketers have one thing in common.

They find a way to gain an edge over their competitors.

Marketers who can analyze the trends and prepare for the future have the best chances of setting their companies up for success.

You don’t want to be the last one to jump on the bandwagon.

As we head into 2018, I’ve taken the time to identify the top marketing trends for the year.

I want to share my insights with you so that you can apply these concepts to your business and start the new year on the right track.

Properly applying these trends to your marketing strategy will improve customer engagement.

You’ll also be able to acquire more customers this year.

Let’s dive right in. These are the top 9 marketing trends for 2018.

1. Live video streaming

Social media platforms paved the way for the live video trend.

Instead of using social media for posting pictures and videos, you now have the ability to stream live content.

Take a look at how marketing experts are expecting live video to rise over the next two years:

If you weren’t using live video to interact with your customers in 2017, it needs to be a priority for you in 2018.

Studies suggest 80% of consumers prefer watching a live video from a brand as opposed to reading a blog.

And 67% of people are more likely to purchase a ticket to events like a concert after watching a live stream of a similar event.

Some of the most popular live video platforms include:

Facebook live
YouTube live
Instagram live
Twitter
Periscope

I like it when businesses use live videos because it gives them a chance to interact with their audience directly.

You’ll be able to communicate and get feedback from customers in real time.

Plus, it’s not like your live video is gone forever once you stop streaming.

You can save those videos and repurpose that content in the future.

2. Artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence will continue to rise in 2018.

If you’ve been to any marketing conferences or events in the last year or so, you’ve probably seen at least one session on AI.

AI tools are used to analyze consumer behavior.

Once the behavior is analyzed, these robots can make decisions according to how they are programmed.

AI robots can start to take over some basic human roles, which will allow your team to spend more time on assignments that require actual human insight.

An example of AI you may be familiar with is a chatbot.

These computer programs can have conversations with your customers.

I’m sure you’ve been on a website where a “customer service representative” popped up to start an instant message conversation with you.

That’s an example of a chatbot.

With artificial intelligence on the rise, marketing executives feel unprepared for this trend.

Now is the perfect time for you to educate yourself on the use of AI to improve different areas of your business.

It will give you an edge over your competitors who aren’t prepared.

3. Micro influencers

I’m sure you’re familiar with brand ambassadors and social influencers.

These are people on social media who have relationships with companies and get paid to promote products on their personal profiles.

It’s a legitimate marketing strategy.

When it comes to social influencing, to be considered a celebrity, one has to have over 1 million followers.

People with 500k–1 million followers and 100k–500k followers fall into the macro influencer and middle influencer categories, respectively.

Micro influencers have between 1k–100k followers on social media.

Brands are reaching out to these micro influencers because it’s easier for people to relate to them.

Let’s be honest.

Not many people can connect with celebrities. Plus, it’s obvious when they’re promoting something on their profiles.

You may even have doubts that those celebrities use the products they’re pitching.

But it’s much easier for the average person to relate to a micro influencer.

Why?

Well, for the most part, these people aren’t actually famous. They have normal jobs and live regular lives. But they happen to be popular on social media.

Take a look at how micro influencers are perceived by consumers:

In this case, less is more.

Notice the difference in user engagement between influencers with 1k to 4k followers and influencers with over 100k followers.

Consider finding some micro influencers to represent your company on social media.

Another benefit of this strategy is the cost.

If you want to partner with a celebrity like Beyoncé, it’ll cost you $1 million per post.

That’s absolutely outrageous.

But a micro influencer will likely cost you only $250 – $500 per post.

Plus, you can also send them some free stuff to keep them happy.

4. Content marketing

If you’ve had any marketing success over the past few years, I’m sure you’ve used content marketing strategies.

Well, 2018 isn’t the year to take your foot off the gas pedal just yet.

Content marketing is still trending upward.

Compared to other factors, content marketing will have the biggest impact on companies in 2018, according to business executives:

Rather than coming up with new content marketing strategies, refine your existing ones.

Make sure your content is relevant and has a clearly defined audience.

Content marketing is great because it’s typically not expensive.

You’ll also see more sales and an increase in customer loyalty when you properly execute these strategies.

Don’t think you need to focus all your energy on new trends, like artificial intelligence in 2018.

Continue your content marketing efforts.

5. Generation Z

It seems over the past several years, companies have been focusing on Millennials.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s important to target consumers while they are young so you can try to retain them for as long as possible.

Every generation has different buying habits.

Millennials have helped shape the marketing trends over the last decade or so.

But now it’s time to put some more emphasis on younger generations as well.

Generation Z, also known as the iGeneration, Post-Millenials, or the Homeland Generation are people who were born in the late 1990s to mid-2000s.

The oldest people in this generation are entering their early 20s.

As they get ready to graduate from college, they’ll enter the workforce, which means their consumption habits will change.

A steady job means they will have more buying power.

Companies need to do more research on this generation and find out how to target them.

It doesn’t matter what industry your company is in.

Start to shift your focus toward Generation Z in 2018.

I’m not saying you should abandon your approach with Millennials or Generation X, but just recognize there is a fresh market for you to target.

Find out how they spend their free time. For example, look at how active Generation Z is in sports compared to the general population:

Even if your company doesn’t make sporting equipment, you can still use this data for your marketing strategy.

You can focus your Generation Z marketing campaigns around physical activity or athleticism.

That’s just one example.

Do your research, and find out what Generation Z wants and how they consume information.

That’s the key to acquiring these consumers.

6. Consumer personalization

You need to give your customers a personalized shopping experience.

That’s one of the best ways to increase engagement and sales.

It’s what your customers want.

In fact, 75% of consumers prefer retailers that use personalization to improve their shopping experience.

Encourage people to create a customer profile on your website or mobile application.

That way, you can monitor their habits and give them special offers based on their browsing pattern or previous purchases.

This is absolutely essential for companies who have an ecommerce website.

Personalization tactics make it easier for you to upsell and cross-sell to your customers.

Ultimately, this means you’ll make more money without spending much.

It’s cheaper to target your current customers than it is to acquire new ones.

You can also send personalized email messages to your subscribers.

Email personalization can improve your conversion rates by 10% and increase click-through rates by 14%.

If you personalize the subject line of an email, there is a 26% greater chance of the recipient opening it than if you don’t.

Numbers like this are too good to ignore.

Those of you who weren’t using personalization in 2017 need to start doing so in 2018.

7. Privacy protection is more important than ever

People are worried about their privacy.

Marketers need to start using privacy protection as a selling point.

Let your customers know how you are protecting their information.

Over 143 million Americans were affected by the Equifax breach in 2017.

That’s scary.

It’s especially scary since the company is a consumer credit reporting agency.

If your information isn’t safe with them, where is it safe?

This event has consumers on high alert moving into 2018.

They may be hesitant to do things like entering their credit card information online fearing they could become victims of credit card fraud.

How can you make consumers feel safe?

There are certain things you can do to add credibility to your website.

display all your security badges
provide up to date contact information
add customer reviews and testimonials
make it easy to navigate
have fast-loading pages
make sure your checkout process is secure

All of this will make customers feel safe when they’re shopping.

If your company appears sketchy or untrustworthy online, it’ll be difficult for you to get lots of sales.

8. LinkedIn will continue to lead the way for B2B marketers

While B2C companies will have better luck using social media platforms and email marketing tactics to connect with their clients, B2B marketers have to focus on their LinkedIn presence.

Look at these numbers.

Over 90% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn is the most effective platform for lead generation.

If you’re in the market for new customers, LinkedIn should be the first place to look in 2018.

Connecting with a potential client on LinkedIn increases the chances of them buying from you by 50%.

I expect these trends to continue in 2018.

Beef up your LinkedIn presence if your company operates on a B2B revenue model.

9. Interactivity

In 2018, your company needs to focus on interactivity, especially when it comes to email marketing.

Contrary to popular belief, email marketing is far from dead.

But you can’t just keep sending out the same boring emails over and over again and expect to get different results.

Interactive emails improve engagement with your subscribers.

In 2017, interactivity was a top email marketing trend.

But that wasn’t a fad.

This trend will continue through 2018 as well.

Here are some of the best ways to incorporate interactivity into your email marketing campaigns:

use real-time marketing
add surveys, polls, and reviews
include videos
add menus for easy navigation
use GIFs instead of pictures
add live shopping carts

If you saw success with interactivity tactics in 2017, continue to use them in the new year.

And if you haven’t tried them yet, it’s not too late to jump on board in 2018.

Conclusion

Staying up to date with the latest marketing trends is a recipe for success.

The best marketers look toward the future to predict consumer behavior.

If you can identify trends and make applicable changes to your marketing strategy, it will give you an edge over your competition.

After extensive research, I came to the conclusion the above trends will have a major impact on the success of your brand in 2018.

If you’re struggling to come up with new ideas, start with the topics I’ve outlined in this post.

What marketing trends has your business identified, analyzed, and implemented for 2018?

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December 27, 2017 at 10:13AM

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